Don't Autopilot Social Media Ad Campaigns

Last week was week 3 or 4 of a Facebook ad campaign I had been running for a group on campus.

I normally check the numbers each weekday, just to make sure things are going smoothly and any numbers don't need to be adjusted.

Usually, the types of numbers I have to adjust are spending limits. Say a college wants to do 2 different messages to 2 different audiences and has only $20 a day to spend. Well, I may start off with a 50/50 split of that $20 to each campaign, but as I look at the different impression rates as the campaign progresses, I might up one spending limit and decrease another.

But back to last week. So I log in one day and I'm showing zero impressions for the previous day and zero impressions for the current day. DW is a bit perplexed. Why didn't anyone see the ad at all? I checked, and it was still running.

Then, I happened to glance at the cost-per-click bid box. The "suggested bid" (which is what Facebook recommends you bid to get the most impressions based on number of other advertisers vying for eyeballs) had gone up about 10 cents!

That was the problem. The cost per click bid window had gone up, and we were being outbid! You better believe I upped us that minute.

This story is a good reminder to not put your social media campaigns on autopilot. Don't set the parameters and walk away and assume technology will take care of it. You need to be looking at all aspects at least once a day. Isn't it nice to know that the machines haven't made us obsolete yet?