Are Facebook Ads Still Worth It in 2024?

Do Facebook ads still give bang for your buck in 2024? See if they’re still effective and worth investing in to grow your business.

Facebook has been around for a long time.

With new social media and advertising platforms popping up all the time, it’s reasonable to wonder if Facebook ads will be effective in 2024.

The short answer is yes.

Many factors are at play that determine whether you will get good returns from your ads. These range from your business type, industry, bidding strategy, ad formats, and ad creative, competitor activity, and even the time of year or season.

Join me as I delve into the subtle nuances of Facebook advertising. I look at the pros - and cons - of running Facebook ads and everything else you should consider before you take the plunge.

Are Facebook ads still worth it after the iOS updates?

Facebook has more users now than ever before (over 3bn monthly active users in 2023!) and the numbers continue to rise.

This means that since the dreaded iOS14 update was released in 2021, the number of users, and advertisers, continued to rise.

In 2022 Facebook reached 200 million businesses advertising on the platform, and I’d bet good money that this number continues to grow.

Post the iOS14 release, many businesses still advertise on Facebook. They’ve learned to live with less accurate data because advertising on the platform still offers great returns.

The restrictions haven’t stopped people from buying.

They’ve reduced the amount of data advertisers can gather from browsers and other third parties.

Yet, there are other ways of getting the data you need to find the right target audience. You can use the Facebook Conversions API to bolster your tracking and fill the data gaps.

Facebook ads vs. Google ads

In a nutshell, Google ads excel when it comes to matching the intent of users searching for your keywords. It does this with your Google Search ads and products on Google Shopping.

But they generally also cost more and can take longer to get going and deliver results.

Then, Google Display ads show across the Google Display Network (GDN). Google chooses websites to show your ads from ones that align with your chosen keywords.

Often, for Google Ads to be successful, you need a larger budget than when advertising on Facebook. This can be daunting for small businesses.

Yet, Facebook is the ultimate carrot dangler.

Meta focuses on interests that you can combine when creating target audiences. This lets you advertise based on interest versus intent. This method can open up more possibilities with more untapped interests you discover.

It’s undeniable that Facebook’s targeting capabilities are exceptional. Meta’s algorithm is second to none when it comes to discovering new potential customers. The Meta algorithm matches your Facebook business account with people who are likely interested in your offer.

Another notable point is that Meta has an abundance of creative options whereas Google is pretty limited. Meta ads display across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and the Audience Network.

Facebook has numerous ad types and formats to choose from giving you more creative license when it comes to planning your next ad.

We cover all this in greater detail in our Facebook ads vs. Google ads article.

How much do Facebook ads cost?

While these costs vary between regions, industries, and times of year, there are benchmarks that you can aim for. It’s best to use these numbers as a guide as they fluctuate.

The average Facebook CPM (or cost per 1000 impressions) is around $10.53 at the time of writing this article.

According to Databox, the average Facebook CPM was $5.61 in 2023.

Then, the average Facebook CPC according to Wordstream is $1.68.

The average CPA (cost per action) is around $18.68.

You can read the full list of Facebook ad costs in 2024 in our in-depth article about the topic.

What is the conversion rate of Facebook ads?

Your conversion rate is the number of times that your Facebook ads turn clicks into a conversion or lead. This is given as a percentage.

The average Facebook ad conversion rate is 9.21% across all industries. It’s best to pay close attention to your industry to know where to aim.

The higher the number, the more likely your ads are to convert. A lower conversion rate can also be an indicator of competitiveness.

If your industry has a low conversion rate, you can expect to work a bit harder for them. Plus you may have to spend more to get them too.

Advantages of Facebook ads

Meta offers many benefits to running Facebook ads, which we can sum up broadly as a ‘finely tuned machine.’ Facebook has spent years developing its product, and the algorithm works efficiently.

Here are more advantages of advertising on Facebook.

Endless targeting possibilities

Honestly, this is the best one because your options are limitless.

You can target a gigantic broad audience that spans many regions to increase brand awareness. Large audiences are powerful tools when it comes to the acquisition stage of your marketing funnel.

However, this audience works better when you have enough Pixel data for Meta to optimize your audience.

You can also zoom in on specific interests to target.

Think of it this way… if you’re selling aquariums, you don’t want to waste your ad spend to show your ad to all animal lovers.

That’s not specific enough to drive conversions. You need to focus on the fish people!

If you target people interested in marine fish, freshwater fish, saltwater fish, pet fish, aquarium fish, and tropical fish you are more likely to get those sales from the right people who are genuinely interested in what you offer.

This means you can get into the heads of your existing customers to unlock new targeting opportunities.

You can create lookalike audiences that rely on the algorithm to show your ad to user profiles that match your existing audience closely.

You choose the tightness of the match by adjusting the percentage setting - you can't predict which percentage will be the most lucrative.

Then, you have custom audiences that are used for your retargeting and reengagement audiences funnel stage.

Custom audiences can use customer data from a list like a customer list, or an email list to show your ads to people who’ve already purchased from you.

A custom audience can be created using your website visitors who added an item to their cart but didn’t check out.

These audience types are game changers for any business. Facebook enables you to reach these people.

So, with these targeting options at your fingertips, you can craft an amazing marketing strategy.

Exceptionally effective for retargeting

Showing ads to an already warm audience is extremely effective in closing the gap on abandoned carts.

If you use both the Meta Pixel and the Facebook Conversions API (CAPI), you can easily identify audiences you can retarget like website visitors and existing clients.

Then, by creating custom audiences in Meta based on Facebook user actions on your website and your existing customer purchases, your ads can help them complete the buying journey.

You do this by creating ads that speak specifically to them, like reminders of their abandoned cart, or offer them a discount on the product they added to their cart but didn't buy to sweeten the deal. Advantage+ catalog ads can help you show more products to users that they may like.

These ads use information gathered by the Facebook Pixel and the CAPI to find similar products to one they’ve already engaged with.

This means you can target these audiences to help them complete the buying journey.

Ad type flexibility and customizability

Facebook offers a smorgasbord of ad types to reach people however they prefer to interact with Meta’s suite of products.

From existing posts and simple image and video ads to dynamic ads and catalog ads to enhance your e-commerce game, you’re spoiled for choice. You can read my article about Meta's ad types for the full list.

As long as you stick to the size and formatting specs, you can customize each of these ad types for your business.

Ads using dynamic creative help you combine different elements of your ad to make ad variations that are more likely to deliver results. You can turn on dynamic creative in Meta Ads Manager to access this feature.

Take a look at some examples of Facebook ads to learn more about your options.

Quick results and high ROAS

To go from campaign creation to launch depends on your workflow. But once your ad is launched, it should be approved within 24 hours at the most. Next, it goes through a learning phase, but once it's up, you get to see the data in real time. You can then make necessary adjustments as you see fit.

Furthermore, advertisers have the potential to reach an even higher ROAS. We recommend reading our article about ROAS, which also lays out the ways you can improve yours.

Considering all this coupled with the speed at which you can turn around ads, makes advertising on Facebook effective. Plus, it grants advertisers the flexibility to change direction quickly.

Inexpensive advertising costs for small businesses

One of the reasons why Facebook advertising is still relevant in 2024 is that you don't need a massive advertising budget to see results.

Facebook still manages to beat most of the other contenders with a cheaper cost per click.

The average TikTok CPM is $10 and the average CPC is $1, while the average Snapchat CPM costs $3.03.

Advertising on Facebook lets you start small and scale your business at your own pace, while still giving you results.

Small businesses can benefit greatly from using Facebook ads to maintain the flow of new customers.

Detailed real-time performance reporting

The sheer amount of data that Meta gathers is staggering and a total godsend to marketers. Without this data, it is impossible to assess the performance of your ads.

Not just that, this information is accessible in real time, which makes it all the more valuable. This lets you analyze performance, make necessary adjustments and optimizations, and improve results quickly.

Facebook advertisers get a speed advantage when compared to other platforms.

Or, you can opt for the best solution by far and use One-Click Report for your e-commerce data. Imagine a live dashboard with your Meta, TikTok, Shopify, Google Ads, Google Analytics, and GA4 data in one place.

You can use any of the prebuilt report templates or simply drag and drop to create the report you want.

Try One-Click Report for free for simpler reporting.

Disadvantages of Facebook ads

There are certainly some challenges when it comes to using Facebook ads. Every business is different so you need to make sure that using Facebook ads is a good fit for you. Let's look at a few of the drawbacks.

Less trendy among younger audiences

It ain't TikTok.

If your target market is Gen Z, Facebook is probably not where they spend most of their time online. They generally prefer platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and even Snapchat. Many younger people find Facebook passé or irrelevant to them.

You should meet your audience where it is. Before you spend any precious ad budget, you should ensure Facebook is right for your target audience.

You can do this by analyzing your target audience to determine your ideal customer. Then, research them to find which e-commerce platforms to use to reach them.

Strong competition

If you advertise on Facebook, you’ll know your competitors do too.

This is because Meta is an established player in the game, delivering consistent results. The number of active advertisers on the platform shows how competitive it is.

There are more than 200 million businesses worldwide on Facebook. 3 million of those use Meta's advertising platform.

Undeniably, Facebook dominates the digital world when you look at their user count.

As a result, competition is fierce, which has a ripple effect on the ad costs in your industry or niche.

With so many Facebook advertisers bidding on your audience demographics, interests, and behaviors, it can raise your costs.

To counteract this, you need to be strategic about which target audiences you invest in and ensure your ad creative is on point.

A steep learning curve

Let’s be honest, the Meta Ads Manager interface is not intuitive.

There is a lot to learn before you understand the ins and outs of how to create your ad campaigns and get used to it.

We recommend doing Meta’s Facebook Blueprint Certification to navigate your way around. The more you educate yourself on using the platform and advertising on it, the easier it gets.

That is until they release another major Facebook software update. These often leave us feeling like we're using a brand-new app.

Or you could opt for the much easier solution of using Madgicx ✨

Madgicx’s AI Marketer tells you what to do next, and it’s packed with powerful features to optimize and improve your Facebook ad performance. It analyzes your account daily to continuously look for ways to improve.

Madgicx uses machine learning to analyze your account and tells you exactly how you should tweak your ads to get better results. You can learn as you go with the Madgicx by your side.

Increasing costs

As mentioned before, the competition is fierce when up against so many other advertisers. Facebook ad costs fluctuate all the time and vary wildly between industries. Costs are also said to be increasing which is something that all advertisers face.

This is unfortunately unavoidable. Yet, there are ways you can reduce your advertising costs...

iOS 14 updates

Since Apple’s iOS14 software update, the advertising landscape changed.

By letting its users choose to opt out of advertising, Apple diminished not just the accuracy of the data sent via the Meta Pixel, but also added a few hurdles on the way to the finish line for marketers.

Facebook advertisers have to go to extra lengths to get as much tracking data as possible. First, you must use your Meta Pixel and ensure it’s installed correctly.

Moreover, you should also use the Facebook Conversions API to enhance the accuracy of your data tracking. It provides a way to send data using a server-to-server connection versus using third-party software, like your web browser.

You can get the Conversions API set up in 2 days with Madgicx Cloud Tracking to close your tracking data gaps. The best part is you don’t have to fork out hefty development costs with Madgicx - our team does all the heavy lifting. Try it free for 14 days and see the results for yourself.

Banner blindness on the Facebook Feed

The number of posts we scroll through daily is astonishing if you think about it. All you see are ads. Many of us become immune to advertising content and don’t even notice it anymore.

We call this banner blindness, and the struggle is real.

It’s essentially a selective attention issue, and everyone does it - it's part of being human.

A recent study found that 41% of consumers actually tune out ads and 67% experience banner blindness.

Banner blindness places pressure on advertisers to produce thumb-stopping creatives to keep people engaged.

By personalizing your ads for users and making them interactive and look less like ads, you can counteract this problem.

So, unless you have a creative strategy and an efficient creative workflow for your ad production, this is difficult to achieve.

Conclusion: Facebook ads are still worth it!

Do Facebook ads work? It’s a resounding “yes” from me. Facebook ads are a surefire way to put your offer into the hands and minds of interested people.

And let’s face it… if you don’t use Facebook marketing for your business, know that your competitors are. And they’re reaping the rewards.

As is true to life, the best way to approach advertising on Facebook is with an AI-powered sidekick. With Madgicx in your digital artillery, you can only improve the efficacy of your Facebook marketing machine.

Try Madgicx for free and see for yourself how it augments Facebook advertising in your favor.

Make every cent of your Facebook ad budget count with Madgicx

Madgicx is the AI-powered Facebook partner every advertiser wishes they had on their side. Use it to browse for ad ideas, save hours on ad creation, launch ads in a few clicks, optimize and automate your ads, and analyze the results.

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