Facebook’s Business Manager is the central hub for our social media team. Business Manager is where we build Facebook ads for our clients, analyze their traffic, and build out their monthly campaigns. It’s an invaluable resource, but it seems that Facebook is still playing around with its interface and the way in which they score the relevancy of the ads that are created in the platform.
With most ads that exceed 500 impressions, Facebook generates a Relevance Score for the advertiser’s use.
What is a Relevance Score, you ask?
See below for the definition directly from Facebook.
The relevancy of the ads that are built within Business Manager is all linked to the engagement, quality, and conversion rate of your competitors that are utilizing the same targeted audiences. The key thing to understand with how the Relevance Score is created is in the targeted audiences that are being utilized. Facebook is comparing your ad’s engagement, quality, and conversion rate to competitors that are using the same audience but not necessarily the identical copy or creative.
Should we care?
Yes and no. It is always important to review and refine your current ad’s copy and creative when you see a change in engagement, but from our social team’s perspective, we wouldn’t take Facebook’s Relevance Score as gospel.
It is our opinion that there is a gap in the way that Facebook is creating advertisers’ Relevance Scores. Dealer Authority is an agency that utilizes third-party data in building Facebook Ad audiences for our clients. This helps a dealer insure that their ads are served to shoppers on Facebook and Instagram that are actually in the market for a new vehicle, not just Uncle Joe who is a Ford truck enthusiast or Cousin Kim that always wanted a Mini Cooper. That being said, it’s not entirely possible for Facebook to give us an accurate Relevancy Score for our clients, without first including third-party data in the comparison.
If you are a dealership that is managing your own Facebook Ads and do not have access to third-party data, the Relevance Score is more applicable to you, but don’t worry if you do not see solid “10” across the board. Use the Relevance Score as a guide to ensure that your ads are meeting the general mark for your ideal audience but not the end-all-be-all for overall success.
What to consider when building a Relevant ad?
Though we aren’t sold on the validity of the Relevance Score, some factors need to be considered when one is building Facebook Ads. Facebook’s algorithms pay attention to important factors when it comes to copy and creative in ads, and it’s the advertiser’s job to make sure that they are not falling into any of Facebook’s “Black Hat” practices. These practices can include engagement bait and clickbait.
According to the social scheduling platform, Hootsuite, clickbait is “an ad that intentionally leaves or exaggerates important details of a story in an effort to lure Facebook users to click on the link”. Basically, don’t fudge your content. Create copy that reinforces the creative that is supporting it (i.e. photos, videos, etc.) and ensures that where you are landing your traffic is mirroring or reinforcing the ad they are clicking on.
Engagement bait is “an ad that directly asks for likes, shares, and comments in an effort to boost its position in the feed”. Below you will find a few examples of engagement bait directly from Facebook.
If you still feel a little stuck when it comes to building ads that will result in a positive Relevance Score and a solid engagement, check out our blog from on 5 Keys to Engaging Your Facebook Community by our Social Strategist, Emily Bower. In this blog, Emily breaks down 5 key ways to engage with your Facebook audience, all while avoiding Facebook’s algorithm no-nos.
At the end of the day, don’t be discouraged if your Relevance Score comes back lower than desired. Every digital marketer knows that there is always room for improvement. Our seasoned social media team will be more than happy to assist your dealership in creating a custom social media strategy that leads to continual engagement and quality leads that are ready to purchase at your dealership.