Measuring, Analyzing & Optimizing Your Facebook App Campaigns

Measuring, Analyzing & Optimizing

Your FacebookApp Campaigns

The Definitive Guide to

Table of Contents

Intro .................................................................................................... 3

What Are Your Measurement Options? .................................. 5

Data-Driven Learnings & Optimization ................................15

Conclusion .......................................................................................25

The Definitive Guide to Measuring, Analyzing & Optimizing Your Facebook App Campaigns

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Intro

The latest Facebook earnings report from Q3 2015 has proven once

and for all that the social network is a mobile-first company. Why

mobile first? How about 1.39 billion mobile monthly users, 894 million

mobile daily active users and no less than 78 percent of ad revenue

coming from mobile? I rest my case.

As a company that adapted so well to the mobile era, it is no surprise

that Facebook is the most popular media source among app marketers

who want to drive both performance and scale in their app promotion

campaigns.

A previous guide we’ve written explores how to set up your Facebook

campaign, find the right targeting, create the best creative and make

smart use of the various pricing models offered by Facebook. Get

your free copy by clicking on the following:


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THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO

SETTING UP YOUR APP CAMPAIGNSON FACEBOOK

GET YOUR FREE COPY

investor.fb.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=940609


http://get.appsflyer.com/fb-mobile-setup-guide/?utm_source=guide_ref&utm_medium=ref&utm_campaign=FB_Guide_ref



�http://get.appsflyer.com/fb-mobile-setup-guide/?utm_source=guide_ref&utm_medium=ref&utm_campaign=FB_Guide_ref�

This guide will focus on a key aspect of Facebook app advertising

— measurement. Since there are only two ways to measure your

Facebook campaigns, through Facebook’s SDK or the SDK of one of

its official mobile measurement partners, it is crucial to understand

which way is the right way for your business.

We’ll cover everything there is to know about measurement, analytics

and how to use the data at your fingertips to fully optimize your

Facebook app promotion campaigns.


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What Are Your Measurement Options?

1

2

As you are well aware, it’s not marketing in 2015 if it’s not data-driven.

And it won’t work if you don’t measure it all, and then measure again,

and again. That’s why getting your Facebook campaign tracking

right is crucial, be it app install or Custom Audiences. But know this,

there are only two ways of doing this:

Integrating the Facebook SDK and using its own reporting

solutions: Analytics for Apps or Ads Manager. The former allows

the marketer to learn, on top of the standard app marketing

and engagement metrics, about the types of people using

his/her app, how they got there, and how they are interacting

with the app. The latter is used to create, manage and measure

Facebook ads.

Adding the SDK of one of Facebook’s official Mobile Measurement

Partners, aka MMPs (here’s the list). Following movements in the

mobile advertising analytics space — particularly Facebook’s

removal of Mobile App Tracking (now called Tune) as a Mobile

Measurement Partner and the retirement of Criteo-owned Ad-X

— companies like Facebook are dependent on a limited number

of partners to facilitate their mobile advertising business.


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developers.facebook.com/products/analytics/

https://www.facebook.com/business/help/510910008975690

https://facebookmarketingpartners.com/marketing-partners/#sp%5B0%5D=Measurement&in%5B0%5D=eCommerce


Important note #1

MMPs can also track your efforts to drive scale outside of Facebook

by measuring attribution and in-app events from your campaigns

running on its Audience Network. In addition, the Facebook-owned

and integrated Instagram has rounded up a number of Facebook

Marketing Partners to allow marketers the option of measuring the

campaigns with a 3rd party.

Important note #2

Some non-MMP companies claim that they can still attribute Facebook

campaigns by using the social network’s deeplinking solution. However,

know this: the Facebook deeplink is not an attribution solution as it

does not include click time — which makes any time based attribution

modeling like last click or first click impossible.

MMP

Non-MMP

Network 2Click Time

12:47

Network 1Click Time

12:03

Network 1Click Time

12:03

Network 3Click Time

12:59

Network 3Click Time

12:59 13:17

Network 2Click Time

12:47

Facebook Click Time = Unknown

Facebook Click Time= Last Click

Last clickUnknown

✔

???


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Facebook’s Analytics for Apps

Facebook first announced Analytics for Apps during its F8 Developer

Conference back in March 2015. The in-app analytics tool includes a set

of features that enable developers to better understand how different

users engage with their app in order to optimize user experience

and ultimately improve their key goals, whether monetization or

engagement. Data can be crunched by zooming in on segments,

cohorts, and funnels — all of which are based on mapped in-app events.


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Benefits of Facebook’s analytics tool include:

• Accurate cross-device measurement within Facebook properties:

Since users use Facebook when they are logged-in, it’s easy to

connect one device with another

• Access to highly accurate demographic data at scale (after all,

the company knows a lot about its users, their interests, and what

leads them to engaging with content)

• Facebook excels at self-service platforms. The social network

included the ability to easily create a custom audience and lookalike

campaign within Analytics for Apps


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Mobile Measurement Partners

Facebook first introduced the MMP program at the end of 2012 and

it was one of the key decisions that helped them adapt so well and

so quickly to mobile. After all, Facebook was not first-to-market and

since there were already several established mobile measurement

companies and networks in the game, partnering with leading players

made a lot of sense, particularly if measurement and attribution is

not your core business.

MMPs were chosen based on their technology and ability to support

accurate measurement at scale, their market penetration and last

but not least their level of security and privacy. In the past, several

official partners that violated Facebook’s strict terms were removed

from the MMP program.


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http://venturebeat.com/2014/02/12/facebook-drops-mobile-ad-partners-hasoffers-and-kontagent-for-holding-on-to-user-data-too-long/


The key differentiator of an MMP — particularity the mobile attribution

specialists among them — has to do with connection to the ecosystem

at large.

• A marketing dashboard cockpit to consolidate all mobile

marketing data into a marketer’s attribution logic. This includes

owned marketing channels like email, SMS and push notifications,

in addition to paid and social campaigns across the ecosystem

(user acquisition and retargeting). Last but not least, data on

organic and viral installs is also included, while some even offer

attribution of TV ads.

• Integrations with thousands of media source partners. What

this means is that app marketers only need to add the MMP’s

single SDK to connect to all of its integrated partners (AppsFlyer

for example has over 1,400 such integrations). With integrations

in place, marketers can properly attribute and measure user

acquisition and advanced audience targeting campaigns

such as retargeting across multiple networks, publishers and

campaigns.

• A connection to other 3rd party ecosystem players like in-app

analytics, marketing automation, fraud detection, messaging,

push notifications and A/B testing providers.


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• Direct access to Facebook’s user level data: An extremely

valuable data source that Facebook provides only through its

MMPs. With this data you can:

1) Create lists of highly targeted users using device identifiers

and then run lookalike targeting or retargeting campaigns

on Facebook and / or with other DSPs or bidders.

2) Upload it to your BI systems to extract and analyze deep

analytics from Facebook campaigns. You can then apply

learnings in your campaigns as well as across other marketing

activities.

• A focus on attribution: As an attribution rather than a media

company, dealing with a variety of measurement issues such

as discrepancies and fraud analysis, in addition to other

integration and implementation problems is part of an MMP’s

core business.

• An unbiased platform: When it comes to measurement and

attribution, many advertisers prefer working with a 3rd party

company that is completely independent.


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Depth of Facebook-MMP integration

An important factor to consider is how deep an MMP’s integration is

with Facebook. This can range from basic install data to a complete

funnel: views, clicks, conversion rate, installs, post install in-app events

and cost to calculate ROI.

The following table shows AppsFlyer’s dashboard with full funnel data:

Enabling Granular Custom AudienceAnd Lookalike Campaigns On Facebook

MMPs are able to report back to Facebook on any in-app event, which

can then be used to run advanced targeting campaigns. For example,

if data on an add-to-cart event is sent to Facebook, the advertiser

can then configure a Custom Audiences campaign targeted for those

users who added a product to cart.

Therefore, the greater the granularity in measuring in-app events, the

deeper you can go on Facebook. In-app events are often standard,

for example in gaming: install, tutorial completion, registration, level

up, achievement unlocked, in-app purchase etc.


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The difference between providers has to do with the number of

attributes that can be associated with an event beyond a simple name

parameter. For example, an 'Add to Cart' event that can be broken

down by price, content type, revenue, currency, quantity, customer

ID etc. With this data, you can create a granular Custom Audience

like users who added at least 2 women fashion items priced above

$100 to the cart.

Attribution Windows

Facebook attributes an install when a user clicks on an ad and then

installs the app, so long as it happens within 28 days, and so will the

measurement partner. However, if the MMP tracks a click from another

source that came after the Facebook click (after all, a lot can happen

and does happen within 28 days) it will credit that source with being

the last click, while Facebook will be credited for an assist.

Therefore, if you're running campaigns with multiple networks and

channels including Facebook, it is extremely important to pay attention

to the possibility of double attribution. Although you will probably

have to pay both Facebook and the last click network, you can gain

a better understanding of the real value each network is delivering —

in installs and assists — and optimize accordingly going forward.The

bottom line is that an MMP offers marketers industry-wide coverage,


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https://www.appsflyer.com/blog/app-marketers-need-to-move-away-from-double-attribution/


The bottom line is that an MMP offers marketers industry-wide coverage,

which is what marketers running campaigns on dozens of sources

require to 1) determine accurate attribution, and 2) measure in-depth

post-install marketing analytics to determine which channel, media

source, campaign, publisher and / or creative delivered the users with

the highest lifetime value. The next chapter focuses on how this data

can be used to fully optimize your entire app marketing efforts.


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Data-Driven Learnings & Optimization


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The following scenarios illustrate how to learn from in-depth, cross-channel

mobile marketing data to optimize your Facebook campaigns within

the context of a marketer’s entire marketing activities.

Smart User Acquisition

The table below from the AppsFlyer dashboard shows how Facebook

compares with other channels (like email, SMS, and QR campaigns)

and other media sources (Networks 1-6 in this case). The data is sorted

by a key rich in-app event a travel advertiser wanted to measure —

users who searched for a business class ticket to New York.



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Key Takeaways•Facebookisthebestsourcetofindthespecifictypeofusers

theadvertiserseeksdeliveringatotalof727users;network2

isalsoperformingwell

•WhenitcomestoARPU(AverageRevenuePerUser),wecan

seethatFacebookdoesnotfareaswellasnetworks2,3andQR

(whichhardlydeliveredanyusersbuteachonewasawinner)

•Facebookdeliveredahighvolumeofloyalusersbutnotahigh

loyalusers/installratioasnetworks1,2,3,inadditiontotheemail

andQRchannels



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The next scenario is sorted by sales in USD from in-app purchases.

Key Takeaway•AlthoughFacebookisperformingwellinthisrespect,Networks2

and4outperformit(intotalrevenueandinstall-to-eventratio).



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In order to better understand how this Facebook campaign can be

improved, let’s break it down to campaign level and see which ones

are under-performing. The following table shows In-App purchases

from lowest to highest:

Key Takeaways•FacebookCampaigns9andespecially3areunderperforming

withapoorinstall-to-eventratioandcanthereforeberemoved

•Asthetopin-appsalesperformer,gatheringasmuchinformation

aspossibleoncampaign10canoffervaluablelearnings

•Campaign5haspotentialwiththehighestloyal/installrateso

itmakessensetodivedeeper


Indeed, when breaking down Campaign 5 into creative variations,

we can see that creatives 3 and 4 should be removed and budgets

shifted to creatives 1 and 2.


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Optimizing the Conversion Journey

Even in a space dominated by last click attribution, knowing which

sources actually lead users down the funnel is highly valuable

information. After all, without the introducers and assistants, the

closers would not be able to seal the deal.

For example, the following table shows the share of installs vs. assists

per media source.

Key Takeaways•Facebookisnotjustaboutinstalls.Italsoplaysaroleearlierin

thefunnelwith10.65%ofassists

• Inthiscaseemailisextremelyimportantinraisingawarenessand

encouragingactionwitha50-50install/assistsratio;Network

4isalsodeliveringvalueacrossthefunnel

•Network1shouldonlybeusedtotargetbottomfunnelusers


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Improving Retention & LTV

App marketers are turning their focus to driving retention and

engagement. Why the shift? Rising costs of user acquisition means

marketers must hang on to the users they’ve invested so much to

acquire. Also, frequent app usage is a tough goal to meet with dozens

of apps on average per device of which only several are routinely

used, and millions in the app stores just waiting for their chance.


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Key Takeaways•Facebookandretargeting(RT1)network1outperformRT2

andRT3whichshouldbebrokendownintoadgrouplevelto

furtherexamineperformance.Sincethesenetworksareable

todriveconversions,perhapsthereisawayforthemtogrow

•Overtime,RT1climbs(excludingNov.10)whileFacebook’s

CustomAudiencesshowsamodestdecline

Custom Audiences and retargeting

Consumer dialogue through Facebook’s Custom Audiences and

other retargeting networks is a proven method to drive engagement

and performance.

The graph below shows a retailer’s retargeting campaigns divided

between “re-attributions” and “re-engagements.” The former

represents users who re-installed the app after interacting with

a retargeting campaign (assuming the IDFA/GAID remains the

same), while the latter describes users who have the app installed

and engaged with a retargeting campaign.


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Retention Reports

Retention is the basis of lifetime value. Savvy app developers know

how to monetize users but for that they need to be active. The greater

the granularity of a retention report, the higher your ability to improve

retention. This includes applying different filters such as media source,

campaign, publisher, ad group, geo, OS version, brand etc.

The following table shows the retention of Facebook campaigns,

broken down by country:

Key Takeaways

•RetentioninSpain(ES)isunderperformingcomparedtoother

countriessounderstandingwhyisvital.Thiscanbedoneby

breakingdowngeointocity/campaign/creativelevel

•Countriesthatdrivegoodretentionshouldbeexploredinan

attempttounderstandwhatworkedwellthere,whetherin

termsoftargeting,creativeandmessaging(makesureyou

takelocalizationfactorsintoeffectthough!)


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Taking The Audience Deep Dive With Cohort Analysis

A cohort report enables you to group users with common characteristics

and measure specific KPIs over different timeframes. This “apples to

apples” comparison is a really good indication of change over time.

It tells us about the quality of the average customer and whether it’s

increasing or decreasing over time.

As in retention, the greater the ability to slice and dice, the deeper the

insights. Filters can include geo, media source, campaign, ad set and more.

The following example shows a cohort report that focuses on revenue.

Key Takeaways•RevenuefromFacebookusers(brownline)beginstoflatten

outonday14soitmakessensetorunCustomAudiences

campaignsduringthistimetoensurethegraphkeepsclimbing

(dataisaccumulativesothat’swhythegraphneverdrops)

•Network2(orangeline)isperformingwellovertimesoit’s

importanttounderstandwhatmakesittick(targeting,creative,

publishersetc.)andperhapsapplylearningsintheFacebook

campaign(aswellasothercampaigns)


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Conclusion

With its unrivaled scale, targeting capabilities and performance,

Facebook is all but a must-have element in any app marketer’s

mix. But as the app ecosystem becomes more flooded

by the day, it’s harder and harder to rely on organic installs, leaving

non-organic costs rising considerably. In such an environment, proper

cross-channel attribution and in-depth post-install measurement is

the enabler of smart decision-making cannot be underestimated as

every cent needs to be well spent.

About the Author

Shani Rosenfelder is a senior marketing manager

at AppsFlyer — the leading mobile attribution and

marketing analytics company. With over 10 years of

experience in key content and digital marketing roles,

he brings vast knowledge about the ecosystem and a

deep understanding about what marketers are after.

Follow Shani on


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https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanirosenfelder

https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanirosenfelder


Measuring, Analyzing & Optimizing Your Facebook App Campaigns

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