How Facebook Pays Off for Paid-Search Campaigns

As consumers spend more time online, they also tend to spend more money on the products and services they discover while visiting various online channels. Facebook is a fan favorite with almost 1.28 billion people worldwide logging on each month. With this tremendous traffic, there are always plenty of people on the social media site who are searching for products, shopping for deals, and sharing their latest finds. That’s why this popular platform has become a prime space for brands to place their ads. And thanks to Facebook’s position in the purchasing cycle, placing Facebook ads with a paid-search campaign can help businesses greatly increase their paid-search performance and decrease their cost per acquisition. This is more than a theory, it’s now solid statistic from a new report by Kenshoo titled “Finding The Sweet Spot for Search & Social Investment.” The report evaluated the effect of adding Facebook advertising to paid-search campaigns. Its key findings were featured on the Facebook for Business site.

The study analyzed the impact of adding Facebook advertising to paid-search campaigns for Experian, the leading global information services provider. The campaigns took place over a two-week test period in early 2014, and were structured to generate online applications for the company’s credit reports. For the analysis, Experian exposed different groups of U.S. consumers to various spending levels of Facebook ads in the News Feed and the right-hand column. The goal was to determine which level of Facebook ads would deliver the strongest performance.

The results revealed that Facebook advertising makes paid-search campaigns perform better.

There was a 19% average increase in total conversions among the people who were exposed to the Facebook ads compared to those who only saw general paid search ads. There was also a 10% average decrease in cost per acquisition based on the increase in conversions among people exposed to both the Facebook ads and the general paid search ads.

It’s important to note that there was a direct correlation between conversions and the spending levels of Facebook ads, with conversions rising as spending levels increased. The study even pinpointed a “sweet spot” spending level on Facebook ads that yielded the highest conversion for the lowest cost.

The study showed that Facebook ads give brands much more for their paid-search spend. In addition to driving more people to search, Facebook ads can also enhance the effectiveness of search ads by building brand preference in searchers and compelling them to convert at higher rates.

“This is more great research that shows how Facebook and search work better together,” said Blake Chandlee, VP Global Partnerships at Facebook. “Search is a powerful medium for capturing intent and Facebook is a proven platform for driving more people to search and buy.”

Add Facebook ads to your paid-search campaign for maximum reach and results. Contact MDG.

MDG, a full-service advertising agency with offices in Boca Raton and New York, NY, is one of Florida’s top branding firms. MDG’s capabilities include print advertising, direct mail marketing, branding, logo design, creative, digital marketing, media buying and planning, radio and TV advertising, Web design and development, online video advertising, infographic development, email marketing, mobile marketing, content marketing, social media marketing, paid search marketing, and SEO. To learn about the latest trends in advertising and branding, contact MDG.