How To Optimize And Scale Facebook's Advantage+ Campaigns (Complete Guide - 2024)

Summary

This video offers a comprehensive guide on optimizing and scaling Advantage Plus shopping campaigns on Facebook. It emphasizes the importance of patience during the initial machine learning phase and outlines five key steps to enhance campaign performance, including setting kill switch thresholds, monitoring trends, turning off underperforming ads, injecting new ads, and adjusting budgets strategically. The presenter shares insights on achieving stability and scaling while minimizing losses, drawing from over 18 months of experience with these campaigns.

Takeaways

• 🚂 Start with Advantage Plus shopping campaigns which, once optimized, can be very stable and perform like 'great trains'.
• 🔒 Resist the urge to adjust campaigns in the first 5-7 days as they rely heavily on machine learning to find their groove.
• 📈 There are five key steps to optimize and scale Advantage Plus campaigns: setting kill switches, monitoring trends, turning off underperforming ads, injecting new ads, and adjusting the budget wisely.
• 🎯 Ask yourself how the campaign is performing against your KPIs before making any changes.
• 🛑 Implement two kill switches: one for the cost to get the first purchase and another for the cost to reach your target KPI.
• 📊 Monitor day-over-day trends to determine if ads are improving or declining in performance.
• ❌ Turn off ads that do not meet the kill switch thresholds to allow budget to be redistributed to better-performing ads.
• 🆕 Inject new ads into the campaign to keep the ad pool full for Facebook to find the ideal customers.
• 💰 Adjust the budget only when the campaign has proven its performance and stability over the last 7-14 days.
• 📉 Be prepared for a temporary dip in performance following a budget increase, as stability is typically regained after a few days.
• 🔍 Scale budgets based on performance trends and tolerance for initial losses, with the understanding that large jumps can sometimes have the same effect as smaller ones.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video?

The video is about how to optimize and scale Advantage Plus shopping campaigns on Facebook.

Why should one not touch their Advantage Plus campaigns in the first 5 to 7 days?

The campaign is heavily reliant on machine learning and needs time to find its groove and get traction. Interfering too soon may jeopardize the optimization process.

What are the five steps mentioned for scaling Advantage Plus shopping campaigns?

The steps are: 1) Determine two kill switch thresholds, 2) Monitor trends, 3) Turn off ads that don't pass the kill switches, 4) Inject new ads, and 5) Adjust the budget when appropriate.

What is the purpose of setting kill switch thresholds?

Kill switches help determine the amount one is willing to spend to get the first purchase and to be at the target KPI, ensuring that the campaign does not overspend before it stabilizes.

Why is it important to monitor day-over-day trends in the campaign?

Monitoring trends helps in understanding if the campaign is moving in a positive or negative direction, which is crucial for making decisions on keeping or turning off ads.

What should one do when an ad reaches the kill switch thresholds?

If an ad reaches the kill switch thresholds, it should be turned off, and the budget should be redistributed to other active ads in the campaign.

Why is it recommended to inject a new ad every time an ad is turned off?

Injecting a new ad keeps a full hopper for the Facebook algorithm to work with, ensuring that the campaign continues to have fresh content to find ideal customers.

When should one consider adjusting the budget for their Advantage Plus shopping campaign?

The budget should be adjusted when the overall campaign is performing within the target KPI range in the last 7 to 14 days and the trends are positive.

How should one approach increasing the budget for their campaign?

Budget increases should be based on performance and stability. It's not about the percentage increase but rather the impact on performance, and one should be prepared for a potential dip in the first few days after adjusting the budget.

What is the significance of the 'first purchase' in the context of the video?

The first purchase is significant because it provides Facebook with data to find other potential customers, making subsequent purchases usually cheaper and more targeted.

What is the recommended approach to scaling up the budget for an Advantage Plus shopping campaign?

The recommended approach is to make significant jumps in the budget, as small and large jumps have shown similar results in terms of performance stability, and to allow the campaign to stabilize after each increase.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Optimizing Advantage Plus Shopping Campaigns

The video introduces a method to optimize and scale Advantage Plus shopping campaigns, a feature not commonly shared. It emphasizes the importance of patience during the initial setup, as these campaigns rely on machine learning to stabilize, which can take 5-7 days. The speaker outlines five steps for optimization, starting with understanding campaign performance and the significance of not altering campaigns within this initial period to avoid disrupting the learning process.

05:02

🛠️ Setting Kill Switch Thresholds for Campaign Scaling

This paragraph delves into the first step of scaling, which is setting two kill switch thresholds to manage ad spend relative to the first purchase and the target KPI. The speaker explains the rationale behind allowing Facebook to gather data after the initial purchase to find similar customers more cost-effectively. The example given illustrates how to set these thresholds based on the average order value, ensuring that ads are performing within an acceptable cost range.

10:02

📊 Monitoring Ad Trends and Making Informed Decisions

The speaker discusses the importance of monitoring day-over-day trends to assess whether ads are improving or declining in performance. It advises using intuition to decide whether to keep or turn off ads based on their trend direction. The paragraph also encourages viewers to like the video to support the channel and provides a step-by-step guide on turning off underperforming ads and injecting new ones to maintain a diverse ad set for Facebook's algorithm to work with.

📈 Adjusting Budgets Based on Performance and Stability

The final paragraph focuses on the strategy for adjusting campaign budgets, emphasizing the need for a strong foundation of performance and stability before scaling. It outlines the criteria for increasing the budget, such as consistent performance above the target KPI and positive trends over the last 7-14 days. The speaker also shares personal experiences with different budget increase strategies and the typical initial dip in performance following a budget adjustment, before stabilization.

Keywords

💡Advantage Plus shopping campaigns

Advantage Plus shopping campaigns refer to a type of advertising strategy used on Facebook that leverages machine learning to optimize ad performance for e-commerce businesses. In the video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of patience and proper setup during the initial phase, as these campaigns rely heavily on machine learning to find their optimal performance over time. The script mentions that once these campaigns are optimized, they can be highly stable and efficient, running for over a year with significant ad spend.

💡Optimization

Optimization in the context of the video refers to the process of refining and adjusting Advantage Plus shopping campaigns to achieve better performance metrics. The speaker discusses a five-step process for optimizing these campaigns, which includes setting kill switches, monitoring trends, turning off underperforming ads, injecting new ads, and adjusting budgets based on performance. The goal of optimization is to improve key performance indicators (KPIs) such as return on ad spend (RoAS) or cost per acquisition (CPA).

💡Machine Learning

Machine learning is an artificial intelligence technique that enables systems to learn from data and improve over time without being explicitly programmed. In the video, the speaker points out that Advantage Plus shopping campaigns are heavily reliant on machine learning, which means they require time to analyze data and find the best way to target and convert potential customers. The script mentions that the campaigns can take a bit to optimize, highlighting the importance of allowing the machine learning process to run its course.

💡Kill Switch Thresholds

In the video, kill switch thresholds are defined as predetermined spending limits set to determine when to stop investing in a particular ad. There are two types of kill switches discussed: one for the initial cost to get the first purchase and another for the cost to achieve the target KPI. These thresholds help in managing campaign spend and ensuring that ads are only continued if they meet certain performance criteria, as illustrated by the speaker's example of spending $100 for the first purchase and $250 to stay within the target KPI range.

💡Key Performance Indicator (KPI)

A KPI is a measurable value that determines the success of a company's marketing strategies and goals. In the context of the video, the speaker uses KPIs such as return on ad spend (RoAS) or cost per acquisition (CPA) to evaluate the performance of Advantage Plus shopping campaigns. The script emphasizes the importance of not touching campaigns that are performing within the target KPI range, even if individual ads within the campaign may appear to be underperforming.

💡Trends

Trends in the video refer to the direction of performance over time for ads within the campaign. The speaker advises monitoring day-over-day trends to determine whether ads are improving or declining in performance. Understanding trends is crucial for making informed decisions about which ads to keep running or to turn off, as it provides insight into the potential future performance of the ads based on their current trajectory.

💡Budget Adjustment

Budget adjustment is the process of increasing or decreasing the amount of money allocated to a campaign based on its performance. The speaker in the video outlines a strategy for adjusting budgets, suggesting that it should only be done when the campaign has demonstrated stability and performance within the target KPI range over a certain period. The script provides examples of different budget increase strategies, such as jumping from $100 to $250 or from $150 to $750, and notes that there is usually a temporary dip in performance following a budget increase.

💡Return on Ad Spend (RoAS)

RoAS is a metric used to measure the revenue generated from each dollar spent on advertising. In the video, the speaker uses RoAS as a target KPI for evaluating the success of Advantage Plus shopping campaigns. The script mentions a target RoAS of 2.2, meaning the campaign should generate $2.20 in revenue for every $1 spent on ads. This metric is used to decide when to increase the budget, as well as when the campaign is performing well and when it may need adjustments.

💡Injection of New Ads

The injection of new ads into a campaign is a strategy discussed in the video to keep the campaign fresh and to give Facebook more options to find the ideal customers. When an underperforming ad is turned off, the speaker suggests adding a new ad to the campaign to replace it. This ensures that the campaign continues to have a variety of ads running, which can help in maintaining or improving overall performance.

💡Stability

Stability in the context of the video refers to the consistent performance of an advertising campaign over time. The speaker emphasizes the importance of stability alongside scale, indicating that it's not just about growing the size of the campaign but also ensuring that it performs consistently well. The script mentions that the campaigns can run for long periods with high spend once they have stabilized, highlighting the value of stability in long-term advertising success.

Highlights

Optimizing in scale Advantage Plus shopping campaigns is a key strategy that most people don't share.

Advantage Plus campaigns require an initial period of optimization before they can be scaled effectively.

Campaigns can run for over a year with high stability once they are optimized.

Machine learning plays a crucial role in the early stages of these campaigns, requiring a 5-7 day settling period.

There are five steps to optimize Advantage Plus shopping campaigns effectively.

Campaign performance should be evaluated against set KPIs before making adjustments.

Understanding the interplay between different ads in a campaign is crucial for overall performance.

Setting kill switch thresholds on the ad level is essential for managing campaign costs.

Monitoring day-over-day trends is key to understanding campaign dynamics and making informed decisions.

Turning off underperforming ads is a strategic move to redirect budget to more successful ones.

Injecting new ads into the campaign keeps the ad pool fresh and gives Facebook more options to find customers.

Adjusting the budget should be based on earned performance and stability over the last 7-14 days.

Performance dips are common after budget increases, so patience is required for stabilization.

The magnitude of budget increases can vary, with significant jumps sometimes yielding the same results as smaller ones.

The speaker has been implementing these strategies for over 18 months with consistent improvement.

Engagement and learning from others' experiences with Advantage Plus campaigns are encouraged in the comments section.

Subscribing to the channel for more valuable content is recommended, with the option to unsubscribe at any time.

Transcripts

[Music]

in this video I'm going to walk you

through how to optimize in scale

Advantage Plus shopping campaigns now

this is a secret most people don't share

but guess what this guy this guy this

guy this guy is about to expose it for

everyone first if you haven't watched

the last video about Advantage Plus

shopping campaigns go ahead and check

that out that'll show you how to use it

how to make sure an Works how to

structure everything uh but if you

already have it set up you want to know

hey how do I actually scale this thing

here we

go first and foremost with Advantage

Plus shopping campaigns they can take a

bit to optimize but once they do we've

seen them be like great trains and they

have this insane level of stability I

mean we have campaigns that we we've run

for more than 12 months and have spent

hundreds of thousands of dollars after

they've stabilized on only one or two

acts which is why we don't really

recommend touching these campaigns in

the first 5 to 7 days because this

campaign is heavily reliant on machine

learning and it does take a little bit

of time to find its Groove and to get

that traction if you mess with it too

soon you may jeopardize the optimization

now knowing that there are five steps to

go through with Advantage Plus shopping

campaigns that will allow you to cut

Port performance hedge against loss

inject new ads and also know when to

turn off and when to scale the ads now

before I dive into all of that the most

important thing to ask yourself is how

is my campaign performing you know if

your campaign is overall performing

inside your target key performance

indicator range that you've set whether

that's a Raz goal or a cost per

acquisition goal then don't touch

anything even if there's an ad inside

the campaign that is maybe Bringing Down

the average it's very natural to want to

go and turn off that ad to then let the

other ones bring the overall results up

right but there's a lot of stuff that's

at play that you may not even realize

you know somebody may have clicked on

that lower performing ad and then they

clicked on a different ad that maybe got

hit them with retargeting and the

purchase came from there but it

originated from here there's a lot at

work so if your campaign is performing

at your target range then leave it leave

it

there but assuming it isn't working here

are the five steps that we go through to

scale Advantage Plus shopping

campaigns step number one determine two

kill switch thresholds so getting to the

first purchase in any campaign is

usually the most expensive because

Facebook doesn't have a whole lot of

data to go on once it gets that first

purchase however subsequent purchases

usually become cheaper now around our

office we' like to say purchases equals

potential because once you get that

first one Facebook is able to then use

that data to go find other customers

that's why I recommend setting two kill

switches on the ad level kill switch

number one is the amount you're willing

to spend in order to get that first

purchase kill switch number two is the

amount you're willing to spend to be at

your target kpi for example let's say my

average order value is $50 my level one

kill switch might be $100 or two times

aov and my level two kill switch might

be

$250 meaning I'm willing to spend $100

to get that first purchase assuming

Facebook would use that data to then get

the next purchase much faster but by

$250 I would want that ad to be within

my target kpi

range step number two monitor Trends so

as the ads begin to spend we monitor day

overday Trends using the breakdown chart

inside ads manager to see if it's

trending in maybe a good direction or

unfortunately sometimes a bad Direction

sometimes it's very apparent that the ad

got a purchase on day one and then just

kind of went downhill with no more

purchases other times you'll see it get

nothing on day one but on day two three

and so on it begins to get more

purchases at a low lower cost that means

that maybe by the time you reach the

kill switch number two threshold your

overall results might be lower than your

kpi but trend-wise you're on track

you're trending in a good direction in

these scenarios use your intuition to

decide hey to keep them on or to turn

them off based on the direction of the

trend of that ad whether up or weather

down having our kill switches in place

and monitoring these Trends will then

move us into step number three but

before you do if you're finding this

video valuable please give this video a

thumbs up it will help the YouTube

algorithm get a little bit of love to us

and it'll get it in more hands of other

entrepreneurs just like you who will

benefit from it all right so step number

three turn off ads this is pretty simple

shut ads off that don't pass kill switch

number one or number two usually what

happens when you launch Your Advantage

Plus shopping campaign is Facebook will

spend a few dollars on each of the ads

and then heavyweight most of the budget

into a single ad this is completely fine

don't don't freak out about it because

you'll be making decisions on an ad

level so as each of those ads reach

those two different kill switch

thresholds you'll simply turn things off

and Facebook will RIS distribute the

budget to the other ads so they all get

their fair share of spent so using the

example from before if we launched with

three ads and uh it heavy weighted the

spend to let's say Ad number three and

it had a purchase by $100 but it wasn't

in our target kpi range by

$250 well then we would shut off that ad

so it could then begin spending on the

other ads this takes us to step number

four once we have turned off an ad that

reach those kill switch thresholds we

would then move to the step and inject

new ads if you turn off an ad inside the

running campaign it will usually

redistribute to one of the other two ads

or one of the other ads that are also

active in that campaign at that time

while that happens we're also going to

inject a new ad into that campaign so

that Facebook has more to work with so

every time you turn it out off you

inject a new one in doing so we'll

always keep a full hopper for your

Facebook account to pull from as it

finds your ideal customers but using the

strategy when do you actually get to

scale up your budget this brings us to

step number five adjust your budget the

easy answer to when you adjust your

budget is when you've earned it we don't

like scale up anything that doesn't have

a strong foundation so for Advantage

Plus shopping campaigns we're looking

for scale but more importantly we're

also looking for stability so there are

two questions we need to answer when it

comes to adusting the budget question

number one is when do we address the

budget and question number two is by how

much do we adjust the budgets with

Advantage Plus shopping campaigns we

usually see performance dip for a few

days following a budget increase so we

usually only like to do them once per

week sometimes twice but we'll only

increase budgets if the overall campaign

is in our Target kpi in the last 7 to 14

days and the trends look positive for

example let's say you're using return on

ad spend Raz as your metric with 2.2 row

as as your target so meaning hey at 2.2

and above we are in our target range

well if your overall campaign is above

2.2 in the last 7- 14 days and it has

been consistently producing that result

then we'll increase the budget if

however it's downtrending and let's say

it's a

1.5 then we may consider pulling back

the budget as we trim the poor

performing ads and let the results come

back

up so how much do you increase the

budget well this is going to be more

preferential while we used to increase

budgets by let's call it 10 or 20% we

used to use percentages every few days

we've seen that with Advantage Plus

shopping campaigns you can make big

jumps and experience the same results as

small jumps for example you may go from

$100 a day and spend to $250 a day and

spend let it stabilize over the next

week then jump it to from $250 to $500 a

day in spend we've even tested going

from 150 to 750 a day and we saw the

same results as going from 150 to

250 the most important thing to know is

that we usually see a dip in the first

few days after adjusting the budget so

how much you decide to adjust the budget

will be largely dependent on how much

you can really stomach knowing that

you'll likely lose a bit over those

first few days but then it typically

stabilizes out a few days

later if you follow these five steps

you'll be able to hedge your losses

amplify your winners and create

stability inside your Facebook ad

account we've been doing this for more

than 18 months now with Advantage Plus

shopping campaigns in particular and we

have only seen the results get better

and better and better thank you for

watching this video if you found this

valuable please consider subscribing to

our channel it's absolutely free that's

the great thing about YouTube and you

can always unsubscribe if you're like

hey I don't really like you guys anymore

also if you've ever run an Advantage

Plus shopping campaign and you have any

tips or tricks or things that you have

learned I would encourage you drop it in

the comments we love doing engaging

conversation and we learn a lot by

seeing other people are doing and having

those conversations and while you're

down there hit the like button and we'll

see you next

[Music]

time