Facebook launches ROI tool to measure conversions

The days of debating the ROI of social media advertising are over, at least for one platform, as Facebook has launched a conversion measurement and optimisation system for direct-response marketers.

In an announcement yesterday, Facebook claimed its tool can reduce the cost of customer acquisition by about 40 per cent. For example, online retailer Fab.com was able to reduce its cost per new customer by 39 per cent as the tool allowed the brand to target the consumers most likely to convert. 

The tool allows advertisers to measure relevant user actions such as registrations and shopping cart checkouts that originate with people seeing ads on Facebook.

According to Facebook, this conversion measurement is the only solution capable of reporting when a user views an ad on one device, such as a mobile phone, but converts on another (like a desktop computer), enabling measurement of cross-platform ad campaigns. 

This capability was hinted at when Facebook partnered with Datalogix last September. 

"This means that marketers who are interested in using Facebook ads and sponsored stories to drive specific actions on their websites can now use conversion measurement both to understand the ROI of their ad spend and to improve that ROI on future campaigns," according to Facebook. 

Conversion measurement is currently available in power editor, the ads manager, and to API partners. It allows advertisers to set a budget and optimised CPM for targeted ad delivery and can be used with all Facebook ads and sponsored stories and in combination with any targeting capabilities.