Facebook Ads: How Will New Limits Impact Your Marketing?

Facebook recently announced that it will be implementing limitations on the number of ads any Facebook Page will be allowed to run simultaneously. As part of its most recent Graph and Marketing API Update, Facebook declared that by mid year of 2020, the limitations will go into effect. According to Facebook, these new limits will only impact a very small percentage of advertisers currently making use of Facebook services.

The company also announced that it would be providing more information about these added limits early in 2020, for all those interested in determining whether or not they are affected by the new constraints. Your first reaction, like that of most people hearing the announcement, would probably be to question why in the world Facebook would want to place limits on its own potential for earning revenues. 

After all, these kinds of restrictions should reduce the amount of money that any one brand would be able to spend on advertising, assuming that it reaches the necessary threshold.

Why the limits are being imposed

According to Facebook, the ad limits are actually being implemented because the platform has identified a trend where high ad volume can actually pose as an obstacle to a given advertiser's overall performance. With an excessive number of fb advertising running simultaneously, very few of those ads actually make it out of the learning phase, and a considerable amount of budget is spent before any delivery system can achieve maximum results on a given ad.

In effect, Facebook is saying that running an excessive number of ads causes a degraded overall performance. From its own selfish point of view, that could cause a reduction of a company's ad spend, because effectiveness has been degraded. 

In other words, if a number of large advertisers were to begin complaining about poor results they achieve through Facebook ads, that could have a big impact on lowering the ad spend of a great many other advertisers.

Facebook and Advertising – Who is affected?

Facebook has tried to make it clear that this new limitation on number of ads will only affect a very small number of brands, obviously those companies who currently run a great many ads at the same time. The vast majority of advertisers on Facebook should not be affected by this policy change, so chances are your company won't be impacted at all.

If you care to monitor your Page's ad volume, you can use the new Ad Volume API, to find out whether you're anywhere near the threshold which will trigger the Facebook limitation. Facebook will undoubtedly release far more information on this situation prior to mid-year 2020, because it's in their best interest to have all clients have a clear understanding of their policy. 

There are a couple other changes which were announced by Facebook in this most recent API update, and these are described below.

Removal of video at metrics

As of November, 2019, Facebook is implementing several updates to the platform's video view metrics. The first significant change is that the 10-second video view metric will be removed. 

The text of the company announcement goes as follows, "In July 2019, ThruPlay replaced 10-second video views as the default optimization for video views campaigns. ThruPlay optimizes for video plays to completion, or for at least 15 seconds. 

We've found that ThruPlay optimization drives cost-efficient brand that's on par with 10-second video views, and exceeds 10-second video views for ad recall lift. As part of this transition, we removed the 10-second video view optimization and billing option in July 2019. We will remove the corresponding metrics mentioned in October."

At the same time, Facebook will be renaming 11 of its video viewing metrics in order to make the names more consistent, and to more closely identify the function being performed. There is no functionality change associated with these renaming efforts, since the change is in nomenclature only.

Business messaging options

Also in November 2019, Facebook has released three new features which are designed to provide brands with a huge assist in establishing better connections with their customers by using messaging. For app developers, Facebook intends to simplify the process of using the right app for all of your Messenger fb ads campaigns.

Many companies have been forced to attach multiple apps to their Messenger platform, and this change will help those companies select the right app for use with its Click To Messenger ads. This option will allow developers more leeway in utilizing the Click To Messenger ad option, which in turn will then allow them to achieve better promotion of their various apps.

Another feature being released this month is Facebook's 'Icebreakers' option for brands, which will allow businesses to offer a number of questions most frequently asked by users, as a means of initiating conversation between the two parties. It is thought that this option will also allow for more quick responses, which can be paired with pre-recorded replies, that will help to save a great deal of time and effort for customers making the inquiries, and brands attempting to supply answers.

The last of the new features being released by Facebook in November is that of adding user Reactions to interactions initiated by businesses. It will also now be possible to show the specific message that a user is replying to directly above each response in any given stream. That should save the user from having to scroll through prior conversations to find out which reaction is being responded to.

While none of these new features is major in its impact, they should all be useful in that they will add to a brand's capacity for using messaging in an effort to connect with their customers. Any brand which is already using messaging for that reason, is likely to have already discovered some of the issues mentioned above, and found them to be at least a nuisance, if not a show-stopper. 

All three of these changes are part of Facebook's Graph API V5.0 release, and all three should be beneficial for most brands.

FAQs – Here Is More For You!

How will new limits impact Facebook Advertising?

New limits set on Fb Advertising may affect the reach and frequency of Facebook Ads, potentially influencing ad performance and overall marketing strategies.

What types of limits are being implemented for Facebook Ads?

Facebook may introduce limits on ad impressions, budget allocation, audience targeting options, or other factors within the Facebook Ads Manager platform.

Will these limits affect all advertisers on Facebook?

The impact of new limits on Facebook Advertising may vary depending on factors such as ad spend, audience size, and campaign objectives.

How can advertisers adapt to the new limits on Facebook Ads?

Advertisers may need to optimize their fb ads campaigns, adjust targeting strategies, or explore alternative advertising channels to mitigate the impact of new limits on Facebook Ads.

Where can I find updates and information about changes to Facebook Ads?

Stay informed about updates to Facebook Ads and advertising policies by regularly checking official announcements from Facebook and utilizing resources provided within the Facebook Ads Manager platform.