In this multiple-part series, we’re highlighting how you can become a savvier Meta marketer by minimizing cost and maximizing results. 

Today’s article is for all the Meta Advantage+ catalog ads users in the house. What can you be doing to train the algo to work for you and maximize your success with this ad format?

What Are Meta Advantage+ Catalog Ads?

Formerly known as Dynamic Product Ads, Meta Advantage+ catalog ads target people based on their interests, intent, and actions. Whether someone’s already purchased one of your products or they’re just looking around, the Meta algorithm chooses the best possible ad fit based on their specific behaviors.

Why Expand Your Product Feed?

Whether you’re using Meta’s catalog ads for eCommerce, real estate listings, or travel listings, the first thing you should do is make sure you have a large number of products you’re advertising. The bigger the set of products, the more effective you’ll find catalog ads. 

As a starting point, make sure you have at least 100 products. Why is this a good thing? Having more product options will make it likelier that Meta’s algorithm finds the right product for your existing and potential customers. Meta tries to match products to the person’s history:  interactions, interests, brand affinity, etc. The more products you have to offer, the more relevant matches you’ll enable the algo to make. 

Patience Is a Catalog Ads Virtue

With this type of product variety, however, you’ll need two things: budget and patience. The algorithm needs time to work through its learning phase. 

In general, there’s a rule of thumb that says you need 50 conversions a week for the algo to start optimizing. With catalog sales, that number goes up since you’re advertising more products. Think of it this way: the algo needs to test each region, examine buying patterns, etc., for every single product. So, you need to give the algo more budget and not expect immediate results. 

In the long run, patience = efficiency. The more items you have, the longer your learning phase. Expect fluctuations and wild swings and be okay with that–the algo’s learning. Give it enough budget and time, and you’ll see some great results.

Keep Building Your Meta Marketing Toolkit 

Check out our previous posts in this series:

• Part 1: Consolidate Your Audiences
• Part 2: Use Advantage+ Shopping for Lead Generation
• Part 3: Consolidate Campaigns
• Part 4: Feed the Algorithm
• Part 5: Target Like an SMB
• Part 6: Use Creative Optimizations

Need help with your Meta campaigns? Get in touch with Playbook Media’s experts.