Create an automatic Facebook ads rule : optimize your Facebook ads campaigns

What is an automatic rule on Facebook ads?

Setting the Facebook automatic rule :

The Facebook Auto Rule is a setting that is present when you create an ad campaign on social media. This option is found in the “Ads Manager”, via a drop-down menu that allows you to “Create a rule”. The automatic rule you create will impact your Facebook ad campaigns and your paid ads themselves.

 

When you create an automatic rule, you will be able to choose the criteria that triggers the rule and the action of the rule on the ad. You will also define the ad campaign, ad or set of ads you want the rule to act on.

Types of automatic rules :

There are mainly two automatic rules on the Facebook Ads platform :

 

Custom rule

The ‘Custom Rule’ option allows you to create your own rule by choosing actions and conditions from a form. Actions can include disabling a specific campaign, sending a notification, setting a budget or adjusting bids. 

 

Conditions impact many parameters: cost per result, number of conversions, number of hours since activation, number of mobile downloads, cost per conversion or budget spent. You can automatically control a large number of variables with these custom Facebook rules.

 

Reduction of auction overlaps

The ‘Reduce bid overlap’ option allows you to create a rule that prevents your ad sets from competing with each other. 

 

When you select this option, a predefined template will open. It will contain conditions and actions recommended by the Facebook Ads platform. You can review these and adjust these actions and conditions to suit your needs and advertising goals.

 

Why create an automatic Facebook rule?

The creation of an automatic Facebook rule allows you to optimize the management of your Ads. You will be able to better :

 

Control your indicators according to your objectives

Facebook’s automated rules automatically check your ad campaigns, ads and ad sets. It updates them or notifies you if they change. In addition to performing these automatic checks and notifications, the tool will also take the necessary actions for you.

 

As you can see, using this Facebook tool allows you to control certain indicators very precisely and above all automatically. You will thus generally be able to better meet your objectives, with a more minimal management, because it is automated. The automatic rules help you to manage several ads that are broadcast at the same time. 

 

Think about the most important elements for your different paid campaigns, the indicators that you check the most (click rate, average click rate, impressions, …). You will be able to set your automatic Facebook rules according to these.

 

Staying informed about your expenses

Using Facebook’s automatic rules also allows you to better track and manage your spending. Depending on your choices, you will be able to stay informed of the costs of your ads on the social network. You can then better control your budget. 

 

It’s a good way to control your spending and make sure you get the best return on investment per euro spent, for your click-through rate.

 

Adjusting your budget during the campaign

As mentioned earlier, the automatic rules will also allow you to readjust your budget while your ad campaign is running. This is another advantage of this advertising network option. You have more control over your advertising budgets.

 

If an ad campaign is performing well or has mixed results, your automatic rule will automatically adjust the funds invested in each ad or group of ads. This will increase your overall results and especially the return on investment of your advertising campaigns.

How do I create my automatic Facebook rule?

The steps for creating automatic rules

To create an automatic rule, it’s very simple: open your “Ad Manager” on Facebook. If you want to add rules to only certain campaigns, then select them. If you don’t, the settings you set will apply to your individual ads or to all your ad sets. 

 

In the top menu you can click on the “Create Rule” button. You will then be able to set the different parameters of your rule.

 

The different conditions

When creating a Facebook Ads rule, you will have the opportunity to set several actions and conditions, as discussed above. The conditions are the elements that need to be confirmed to lead to the action, the causes leading to the consequences.

 

On the action side, you will have access to 4 main choices :

• Deactivate the campaign
• Send a notification

• Adjust the budget
• Adjust the bids

 

For conditions, there are many more variables and choices. In particular, you can choose parameters related to expenses, cost per result, installation or mobile application installation cost. But these choices also relate to conversions on a website, or even the cost per conversion. You will thus have a lot of choices for the elaboration of your Facebook automatic rule.

 

Additional options

Several additional options are also available for the development of your automatic rule. You will be able to choose the frequency of application as well as the possible notifications to follow its application. We invite you to consult the different possibilities during the creation process to familiarise yourself with what the rule can and cannot allow. Facebook Ads generally offers inserts with explanations for each option.

 

Logical expressions

Logical expressions are the set of parameters expressed with relational operators such as: < , <= , > , >= , =, etc. When you create your automatic Facebook rule, you have obviously defined logical expressions for several purposes. For example, you may decide to deactivate an ad campaign if the cost per purchase goes above $1.75. In this case, your automatic rule will allow you to control this cost per result and to keep the effectiveness of your Facebook ads within your budget.

 

Also, to better control your spending, you can choose to receive a notification when spending exceeds a certain amount, such as $125 for an ad set or an effective campaign.

 

Allocation periods and windows

In addition to the conditions, there is also the period over which the rule applies and the allocation window. This last option is rather difficult to explain. But in short, the attribution window is calculated as the given period between a conversion and a touchpoint, in blocks of 24 hours. You can adjust it as you wish, as well as the period.

 

How do I change or delete my automatic Facebook rule?

To change or remove the Facebook Auto Rules, you will simply need to go to the “Ad Manager”. You can then adjust your rules for each campaign, ad set or ad. If a rule is not serving your purpose or you don’t like it, you can also delete it and go back to managing it more manually.

 

The limits of the Facebook automatic rule

Facebook’s automatic rules obviously have some limitations. Their purpose is to save you time in monitoring your performance. If set up correctly, they will save you from having to check all your Facebook ad campaigns one by one every day. However, it will still be necessary to keep an eye on your notifications and track your performance. They are an aid only and cannot automate everything.

 

While this Facebook feature helps you optimise the effectiveness of your ads, such as letting you know which ones are working, you will still need to make the improvement yourself and decide whether they are worthwhile based on your marketing strategy. To achieve better performance, you can use a specialist Facebook advertising agency to advise you and help you create more effective and relevant campaigns.