Facebook Ad Campaign Tracking: Vanity Metrics vs. Actionable Metrics

Here we go again, talking about things like metrics and campaign tracking when all you want to do is enjoy a few free minutes in your day.

We know how rare those are, Montessorians!

But hear us out; this simple piece of marketing advice might just get you closer to your ultimate goal—which, in our experience working with Montessori schools, is to enroll more students.

With that goal in mind, you may be thinking about incorporating some form of paid advertising into your digital marketing strategy, at which point any marketer worth his or her salt will point out that 2 billion people use Facebook every month. (Yep. 2 billion.)

Of course, if you’ve been keeping up with our blogs, there’s a good chance you already have a Facebook ad campaign or two in place.

You’re off to a great start!

Today we’re going to take a quick detour from talking about ad content to delving into something called analytics, which is essentially measuring how effective your ad campaign is.

The good news is that you can easily tell if your marketing efforts are paying off by using the built-in metrics in Facebook Ads Manager.

Why are metrics so important?

In our experience, most Montessori schools are working with a limited marketing budget. That means you want to waste as little time and money as possible on the things that aren’t working and instead focus your energy on the things that are.

That, our Montessori friends, involves metrics.

At this point we should tell you there are two main types of metrics: vanity metrics and actionable metrics. (Side note: there is some debate over which is more beneficial, but the majority of experts lean toward the latter.)

Vanity metrics are things like page views, shares, likes, downloads, and followers.

In terms of analytics, these top-of-the-funnel metrics are typically considered empty and of little value (hence, their name) because they aren’t actionable. In other words, it isn’t always easy to see the direct impact of vanity metrics on profitability.

For example, it’s great that your school reached 1,000 likes on Facebook, but what did you do to get there?

Since it could be any number of things, you have no idea what to do next—what to tweak or improve in your ad campaign to turn all those likes into actual conversions.

Bottom line: vanity metrics are pretty awesome for your ego but fall short when it comes to measuring tangible results that can help you optimize your campaign.

Actionable metrics, on the other hand, are very measureable.

This type of metric is far more trackable and results can easily be linked back to specific steps you took to reach your goal. Take A/B split testing, for example.

In the case of split testing, you create two different versions of something—an ad, a landing page, a feature on your website—and track which one (A or B) performs better.

Let’s say you test two different forms on your home page that prospective parents can fill out when inquiring about tuition rates. Form A asks for their name, email address, and phone number, while Form B only asks for their name and email address.

In analyzing the results, you are able to see that 23 parents filled out Form A, while a whopping 112 parents filled out Form B. Bingo! Form B it is!

Knowing where your conversions come from allows you to see which elements of your ad campaigns are working. Plus, it helps define what the next steps are so you can optimize your marketing strategy even further.

One final note: Using a zillion different metrics isn’t always better. You just need a small number of really good metrics to get the job done.

Now that you know a thing or two about metrics, what’s the next step?

Talk to us!

At Nido Marketing we understand that tracking the right statistics makes all the difference when it comes to helping your Montessori school grow and be successful.

We can help you determine exactly which metrics you should be paying attention to, and what you can avoid wasting your time on.

And because you have enough to worry about with the day-to-day tasks of running your school, our digital marketing experts will take it a step further.

Nido Marketing will continue to monitor your analytics reports and use that data to make your campaign even more effective and ultimately boost your return on ad spend.

Because, as you may be starting to realize, there is no resting on your laurels when it comes to efficient marketing.

Still deciding on a strategy?

Join our online community today and take advantage of digital marketing tips, tools and easy-to-navigate courses exclusively for Montessori educators. Plus, you’ll be able to connect with other Montessorians and see what’s been working (or not working) for them.

It’s a win-win!