Why Frequency in Social Media Advertising is key.
When trying to understand how our ads are performing online, most only tend to look at the "classic" KPI (Key Performance Indicators). Some of the most popular being: Click Through Rate (CTR), Conversation Rate (CR), and Cost Per Click (CPC) / Cost Per Action (CPA).
However, there is one KPI that is often overlooked: Frequency.
What is Frequency?
Simply put, Frequency is the number of times a specific user has seen your ad (on average). We get this number by dividing the total impression you ad has made, by reach (total number of unique users that have seen your ad).
Frequency = Impressions / Reach
Why Frequency is Important
Knowing what we know now, we can already start to see why you should always keep an eye on your frequency. If a user sees your ad only once or twice, over the course of the ad's entire lifespan, they will most likely miss or forget about the ad. On the other hand, seeing an ad too many times can also have a negative effect. We've all had experiences with that one ad that just won't leave us alone. Being responsible for a negative experience a potential customer may have is something you do not want to do as a business. You want positivity tied to your brand, not the opposite. Also, this can attract negative comments or feedback which lowers your ad's Relevance Score; which directly hurts your ads and ad spending. Which, in turn, will result in higher costs to reach your targeted audience.
Knowing how many times your ad is being shown to users is key to avoiding the dangers of both ends of the spectrum. Thanks to in-depth research, and client results, we have discovered a frequency range that yields the most optimal results.
Optimal Frequency Levels
Currently, research shows that the most optimal Frequency range is 3 to 5. Which means, the best performing ads are seen between 3 to 5 times (on average) by a single user. Anything lower, your ad gets lost amid the plethora of other Facebook and Instagram advertisements. Anything higher, you run the risk of negatively impacting your audience. 3 to 5 is the sweet spot.
