Have you been keeping an eye on your Facebook ads charges and performance?
You probably should, because according to a new report from Bloomberg, Facebook’s ad system has been “glitchy” for weeks.
As per Bloomberg:
“[Meta’s ad system] has been hampered by major performance issues, according to numerous marketers. The cost of running ad campaigns is up significantly, while results are mixed and ensuing sales are down — and there has been no formal explanation from the company, ad buyers say.”
Various marketers have shared their concerns about this in recent months, which has seen CPMs rise “by a factor of three”, according to additional reporting by Search Engine Land.
Meta has acknowledged that it has seen some issues with ad delivery, though it doesn’t think the problems are widespread.
As per Meta:
“We recently fixed a few technical issues and are researching a small amount of additional reports from advertisers to ensure the best possible results for businesses using our apps.”
So some accounts are seeing issues, but not every advertiser has been impacted. Which could mean that your ad sets are fine, but it is worth keeping an eye on your Facebook ads performance at the moment.
Because we know, based on a similar glitch, almost exactly a year ago, that Facebook’s ad system issues can cause significant overspend.
Last April, Meta was forced to acknowledge a delivery problem, which saw many advertisers charged way more than they should have been on their ad accounts.
Interestingly, we’ve also just closed out the Q1 reporting period (January to March), and given the timing, any overspend could theoretically help to boost Meta’s overall revenue performance in the period, even if they do have to then issue refunds at a later stage.
That’s probably a little too conspiratorial, and Meta says that it’s only impacting some accounts. So it’s most likely not related. But the timing is interesting.
Either way, the bottom line is that you need to be monitoring your Facebook ads, and note any fluctuations in costs. Because there may or may not be a glitch that may or may not be impacting your account.
