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Facebook Is Taking Credit Where Credit May Not Be Due

Thank you for taking our Facebook Attribution Assessment. Keep reading to find out the result for each area:

#1 Attribution fail: Can’t tell if ad clicks turned into revenue

Facebook teaches you that measuring how many people reach the next funnel step is sufficient.

You indicated that most of your customers buy after going through your nurture sequence, so you are probably measuring your campaign success based on how many visitors turned into leads.

That’s about as useful as optimizing for click through rate. Just like a higher CTR doesn’t mean a higher RoAS, a higher lead conversion rate doesn’t mean more revenue!

The Truth

Facebook only wants you to feel like your ad spend is worth it. It doesn’t matter to them if none of the leads you get turn into sales.

SegMetrics users are surprised to see the variation in lead value across their campaigns. There can easily be a 2-3x variation in the least to sale conversion rate between campaigns. Ads that bring in lots of leads can secretly be a huge waste of money, as it turns out those leads were all a bunch of freebie-chasers who don’t spend a cent.

So, be careful. Facebook can tell you the quantity of leads it attracted, but not the quality.

#2 Attribution fail: Facebook claims credit wherever possible

Facebook can be like some sleazy manager, taking credit for other people’s work.

You said you use both Facebook and other platforms, so you have two or more competing attribution systems.

Seeing high conversion stats on every platform is great, but you won’t be able to tell how many conversions are being attributed twice.

The Truth

Facebook likes to act like they are the only type of marketing that matters. 

If a customer discovered you via a search ad, scrolled past your Facebook ad, then purchased after clicking a YouTube ad…Facebook will count it in their report.

You will need to take Facebook’s conversion figures with a large pinch of salt, and assume that the figures are over-optimistic at best.

#3 Attribution fail: Facebook can’t measure lifetime value

Facebook will tell you it attracted a customer, pat itself on the back for a job well done, then walk away.

Which is fine, but knowing about single purchases isn’t enough.

To really create a flourishing business you need long-term customers, the big spenders who make repeat purchases or stick with their subscription.

The Truth

Facebook let’s you assume that all your customers are equally likely to become long term buyers, but that’s not the case.

The LTV can vary across campaigns, with some ads, products or lead magnets proving more likely to bring in big spenders. But unfortunately, Facebook gives you no way of knowing which of your campaigns were responsible for more than just an immediate purchase.

So while it’s tempting to only think about things like post-purchase emails affecting retention, don’t forget that there is hidden variation in LTV across your campaigns and traffic sources.


Most SMEs report that over half of their annual revenue comes from repeat customers

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— Michelle Warner — Strategy Consultant

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Where “80 conversions”
means 80 names

When SegMetrics says you had 80 conversions, you can see 80 actual customers. You can then click into any entry to see their customer history, complete with every touchpoint and purchase.

By building the date around people, not website sessions, it becomes impossible to double count a sale.

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