Pacing is a basic concept in the world of online advertising, yet it can have a strong impact on the performance of ad campaigns. Improper pacing can lead to budgets spent too quickly or underdelivering on volume goals.

Even if you are reaching your spend goals by the afternoon, you may be missing out on even better opportunities later in the day. With proper pacing, advertisers are able to easily analyze whether different hours of the day impact campaign performance and ROI through our data analysis tool.

There are many ways to control the pacing of a social media ad budget, and the solution often depends on campaign settings. Below are the answers to some common pacing questions that Nanigans customers have asked:

Q: How do I set up my pacing strategy?

A: There are three paths you can take:

Maximize Volume will always bid with the objective of spending as quickly as possible while respecting the goal and cost constraints you apply to the strategy group. This option is ideal for scenarios where advertisers need to get in front of audiences quickly (e.g. the launch of a new mobile game). It’s important to note that Nanigans will still take your CPA or yield goals into account while bidding if you select Max Volume.

Minimize CPA will adjust your bid up and down in an effort to pace to your spend target evenly throughout the day. The pacing will aim to get you your goal CPA and, if possible, a lower CPA. This is the best choice for controlling cost.

Maximize Yield optimizes campaigns to generate a certain amount of value based on either a conversion event or by assigning a value to a particular event.

Q: Why is today’s pace different than yesterday’s?

A: It’s worth noting that Facebook is a dynamic advertising channel with different users entering and exiting the market at various points of the day, so pacing is not always controllable at the ad level. However, if spend has significantly changed from the previous day, it’s good practice to check your bids, active ads, and budget:

Q: How can I regulate my pacing?

A: There are many ways to adjust pacing to your goals:

• Increase or decrease your Strategy Group goal. Nanigans associates value with your goals and will bid accordingly.
• Push more ads or pause down ads. Every ad will attempt to spend and the more ads that are spending the campaign as a whole will typically pace quicker.
• Increase or decrease your ad set budget. If Facebook receives a higher or lower budget they will pace accordingly.
• Utilize Maximize Volume or Minimize CPA Strategy Group goals.

Always remember: Social media is a live marketplace. Customer behavior varies widely throughout the day, week, and seasons, and advertisers that don’t want to miss out on unexpected prime times can ensure even spend with the right pacing strategy and tactics.