Facebook audience network

Facebook Audience Network is an off-Facebook, in-app advertising network for mobile apps. Advertisers can serve up their ads to customers who are using mobile sites and apps other than Facebook,  extending their reach beyond the platform while still getting to use Facebook’s exceptionally powerful ad system.

Why Should I Use The Facebook Audience Network?

This is a good question: if I’m paying for the high engagement and excellent placements on Facebook and Instagram, why should I enable Audience Network placements?

There’s two big answers to this question. As we’re addressing them, remember that though the ads aren’t on Facebook or Instagram, you’re still benefiting from the laser-sharp targeting capabilities.

The first answer is that you’re getting extended reach. Your ads are being shown on an additional platform, which could help it connect with the right audience. And, since audience network ads may stand out a bit in an app a bit more than it would in a newsfeed, this could be an advantage.

The second answer, however, is the perhaps the biggest one. Audience network placements cost a heck of a lot less than other placements, including Facebook and definitely Instagram. By enabling the audience network placements, you’re lowering your average CPC on your ad campaigns.

When you do this, you have more room to bid higher on some of your other placements while still maintaining that desired average CPA bid.

In fact, AdEspresso’s in-depth cost analysis showed that average audience network CPCs consistently stayed well under $0.10, while all other placements ranged from $0.20 (mobile newsfeeds) to over $0.70 (Instagram Ads).

As a result, you’ll be able to afford more placements on more high-ticket placements while simultaneously extending your reach further. Win-win. Oh, and Facebook wins, too, so as Michael Scott would say, win-win-win.

What Do I Need to Know Before Running Facebook Audience Network Ads?

There’s a few things you’ll want to decide right off the bat, and they pretty much involve the exact format and audience placement ad that you’re going to use. You have three different options:

• Native, banner, and interstitial
• In-stream videos
• Rewarded videos

You can absolutely use both video ads and still images, whichever you prefer.  You should, however, stick to the correct aspect ratios for both to guarantee that they look great. By Facebook’s own recommendations, these are:

• Square (1:1) and full landscape (16:9) for in-stream ad placements; Facebook recommends sticking to these ratios if you’re using both Facebook and Audience network placements.
• 9:16 and 16:9 for both rewarded videos and native, banner, and interstitial ads

Conclusion

Facebook’s audience network is an excellent opportunity for both advertisers and app owners.

It helps keep costs down for the businesses and marketers running Facebook Ads with multiple placements.

It also provides a direct source of monetization for app owners.

It’s a great asset to have on hand and use as you wish, and since the placement is automatically enabled for almost all ad campaigns, you don’t have to worry about forgetting to select it.