Strategically Optimizing Facebook Video Ad Frequency to Maximize New Audience Reach

When managing Facebook video ads, it's crucial to ensure that your content is shown to new viewers. Campaigns that repeatedly show ads to the same audience can lead to diminishing returns, as viewers become desensitized over time. In this article, we'll explore how to effectively manage ad frequency and frequency capping to maximize your reach with new audiences.

Understanding Ad Frequency and Its Impact

Ad frequency is a crucial metric that measures how many times the average audience is exposed to your video ads within a given period. A high frequency can lead to negative engagement, as viewers may start to tune out or even report the ad as spam. Our findings suggest that video consumption, click-through rates, and overall engagement start to drop off significantly once the average frequency reaches around 4.0. Once the frequency hits 7.0, engagement often plummets dramatically.

Implementing Frequency Capping

The simplest and most effective way to control ad frequency is by setting Frequency Capping at 1 for your campaign. This ensures that an individual user will only see your ad once within the campaign period. This approach guarantees that your ad is shown to new viewers, helping to maintain engagement and prevent viewer fatigue.

Strategies to Minimize Repeated Exposures

While Frequency Capping is a reliable method, it's important to note that you can never be 100% sure that you're only showing your ads to new viewers. To get as close as possible, consider implementing the following strategies:

Create a Suppression CRM List

Gather a comprehensive list of past email signups, purchases, and other interactions. Exclude these users from your ad targeting. By doing this, you eliminate the risk of showing ads to individuals who have already engaged with your brand, ensuring that your ads reach new audiences who haven't previously interacted with your content.

Exclude Based on Recent Page Views

Create a custom audience targeting your most recent visitors (e.g., 180-day page views) and exclude them from your ads. This prevents your ads from overwhelming users who have already shown interest in your brand, thereby keeping engagement high among new viewers.

Exclude Fans and Subscribers

To further refine your audience and avoid showing ads to fans and subscribers, exclude the fans of your page from your ad targeting. This additional layer of exclusions reduces the chances of repetitive ad exposure and ensures that your ads reach a more diverse and engaged audience.

Conclusion

Managing ad frequency is essential for maintaining engagement and reach on Facebook. By setting up Frequency Capping and implementing targeted exclusions, you can significantly reduce the risk of showing ads to the same audience repeatedly. Employ these strategies to optimize your Facebook video ads for maximum new audience reach, ensuring that your content stays fresh and engaging for viewers.