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Meta Ads Campaign Objectives Explained

Writer: Sotirios SeridisSotirios Seridis

You're just starting out on Meta Ads and you're confused which objective you should go with? Should it be awareness, traffic, or perhaps sales? If you're super confused, then this article is for you! We'll explain all about campaign objectives and performance goals in Meta Ads, so by the end of it you'll know exactly which one to go for. Let's dive in!







Campaign Objectives in Meta Ads:


Awareness:


Best for: Reach, impressions, views. Reach as many people as possible and get top of mind awareness, brand awareness/memorability so people remember your brand, views for your video, or to make your store location known to audience.


Recommendation: Don't use this objective if you're an SME, as most companies don't necessarily want awareness but want sales. The system doesn't optimize towards conversions, so it will not take into account if anyone sees the ads and make conversions, it will only show your ads to as big of an audience as possible.


Who should use it:

  • Big brands and companies with large budget.


Performance Goal options:

  • Maximize reach of ads (as many users as possible)

  • Maximize number of impressions (as many users and as many times as possible i.e. memorability)

  • Maximize ad recall lift (memorability)

  • Maximize ThruPlay views (15 second views)

  • Maximize 2-second continuous video plays (2 second views)



 


Traffic:


Best for: Link clicks, landing page views or for sending traffic to WhatsApp or Messenger.


Recommendation: Similar to Awareness, the system doesn't optimize towards conversions, so the system will only give you traffic, but not necessarily high-quality traffic that will convert.


Who should use it:

  • If you don't have conversion tracking on Meta Ads (i.e. you're not able to track through Meta Ads when visitors go to your website and perform a conversion), then you can use this objective.

  • If you want to grow your remarketing lists.

  • If you want people to message you (WhatsApp and Messenger).


Performance Goal options:

  • Maximize number of link clicks (people click on the link, but might not necessarily land on the website/landing page)

  • Maximize number of landing page views (people lands on your website/landing page until it fully loads)

    • Note: in order to use landing page views as your performance goal, you will need to have Meta Pixel installed on all the pages of your website

  • Maximize daily unique reach: not recommended

  • Maximize number of unique conversations (WhatsApp, etc)

  • Maximize number of impressions: not recommended




 


Engagement:


Best for: Reactions, likes, comments, shares, post saves, video views and event promotion.


Recommendation: Similar to Awareness, the system doesn't optimize towards conversions, so the system will only give you users who will engage, but not necessarily user who might make a conversion.


Who should use it:

  • If you want people to engage with your content and creates social buzz.

  • If you want people to contact you.

  • If you want people to engage with your events.


Conversion location options (where the conversion is happening):

  • Message destinations

  • On your ad

  • Calls

  • Website

  • App

  • Facebook page


Depending on where the conversion location is, you can select the engagement type (what kind of engagement you're looking for):

  • Video views

  • Post engagement (reactions)

  • Event responses

  • Reminders set



 


App:


Best for: App downloads or App engagement.


Who should use it:

  • Mobile app companies.

  • Companies with mobile apps.


Performance Goal options:

  • Maximize number of app events (engagement)

  • Maximize number of app installs (downloads)



 


Leads:


Best for: Leads on the website or via instant forms


Who should use it:

  • Marketing teams that want to collect leads easily


Conversion location options (where do people fill in the leads):

  • Website

  • Website and calls

  • Instant Forms

  • Messenger

  • Instant Forms and Messenger

  • Instagram

  • WhatsApp

  • Calls

  • App



Depending on the conversion location , you can select the performance goal:

  • Maximize number of leads (as many leads as possible)

  • Maximize number of conversion leads (leads with higher conversion potential): not recommended



 


Sales:


Best for: KEY ACTIONS (sales or other actions that matter)


Who should use it:

  • If you want conversions on key actions


Performance Goal options:

  • Maximize conversions

  • Specify which conversions you'd like to maximize:

    • Purchase

    • Start trial

    • Create account

    • Add to cart

    • Subscribe

    • etc


📝 In order to use the Sales campaign objective you need to:




 


Frequently Asked Questions on Campaign Objectives in Meta Ads


Can I use multiple objectives in a single Meta Ads campaign?


No, you need to choose one primary objective per campaign. However, you can run multiple campaigns with different objectives as part of your overall marketing strategy.



Can I change my campaign objective after launching a Meat Ads campaign?


No, you cannot change the campaign objective once a campaign is launched. If you need to change the objective, you'll need to create a new campaign.



How does choosing an objective affect ad optimization in Meta Ads?


The objective you choose influences how Meta's algorithms optimize the delivery of your ads. For instance, if you select the Traffic objective, the system will prioritize showing your ad to users who are more likely to click through to your website.



How does the choice of objective affect my ad budget in Meta Ads?


Different objectives may require different budget allocations. For instance, awareness campaigns might need a larger budget to reach a wide audience, while conversion-focused campaigns might require more budget for retargeting and optimization.






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