Facebook Auction Ads vs. Reservation Ads: Key Differences You Need to Know

Facebook has repeatedly made it clear that advertising revenue is its primary income source, with Investopedia reporting that it accounts for around 99% of what Facebook brings in annually. The main reason for this is the platform's massive reach, so it's understandable if you want your own piece of that proverbial pie.

However, with so many options for ad types, how do you know whether to use, for example, auction ads or reservation ads?

Below, we offer information to help you understand the difference between auction vs reservation ads on Facebook, so you can use both better. Discover how:

• Auction ads allow you to have faster access to users
• Reservation ads can allow you to aim for more valuable users

See how the various metrics involved with each differ, refine your future ad campaigns, and discover what Taradel can do for you today.

Auction vs Reservation Ads on Facebook

While Facebook offers some basic information on reservation and auction ads, there are far too many variables for them to be able to help with your specific campaign. 

In short, the main difference is the speed at which these ads go live:

Auction campaigns go live as soon as you hit the "Publish" button. You don't need to wait for approvals before they go live, allowing you to start promoting yourself instantly or testing new forms of the advert.

Reservation campaigns need you to book slots to ensure that you can have a more predictable ad spend. With greater control over the frequency at which they appear, you can use the data you receive to predict future efforts and pivot more easily.

Auction Ads Benefits

After you define the daily or lifetime budget in the MEta Business Suite, you can click on "Start" to create and launch an ad, putting it straight out to viewers. With no wait time, you don't need to worry about wait times, meaning you can get instant feedback.

These ads will put you in a "bidding pool", meaning that Facebook will choose from a selection of submitted ads, including yours and potentially your competitors. It will then pull money from your funds as people click on or view the ad, depending on your preference, and use the ad whose bidder offered the most money to the target demographic for any specific user.

A lot of the time, this allows you to leverage a low-competition market. You can also "fire and forget" the ads, putting them online and waiting for the bidding pool to get low enough to fit your specific budget, even if it won't get shown immediately. 

Auction ads also allow you to adjust your settings at any time, such as the:

• Bid
• Audience demographics
• Images
• Text
• Link

Reservation Ads Comparisons

Compared with an auction ad, the reservation ads are much more specific in who they target and how.

When you have finalized your ad, you will select reservation buying, then choose specific:

• Dates
• Times
• Target demographics

On-screen, you will then see a fixed cost-per-mille (CPM) rate for the time and demographics you selected, telling you how much you will spend for one thousand impressions or clicks. Doing this offers you a clear understanding of when people will start to see your ads, putting the mindset and audience engagement details much more firmly in your hands. You can, for example, target people specifically when they are likely to be leaving work or lying in bed and preparing to sleep.

While you cannot adjust the ad once it launches, such a campaign works much better alongside physical marketing efforts such as direct mail, where Facebook can start sending out ads exactly when people are likely to receive your mailshot or postcard. Coordinating these will ensure you make the maximum impact, reinforcing the perceived authority of your business and message.

Key Differences with These Facebook Advertising Strategies

Deciding which direction to go in will significantly affect how you design and implement digital marketing on Facebook. You will need to consider whether you want to focus on:

• Flexibility
• Audience reach
• Scalability
• Optimization
• Gathering insights

Understanding how your advertising choice affects each of these will allow you to make an easier decision and further assist with ad campaign optimization by giving you a clearer direction for your efforts.

Flexibility Versus Predictability

Using auction ads means spending smaller amounts of money in real-time due to the reduced focus of your ads. Then, you can respond to any unpredictability at a moment's notice, including whether from:

• Market changes
• Competition ads
• Product announcements
• Recent news

You can choose to pull or edit your ads moment to moment, adjusting them to fit your message. Adapt them to your budget, pausing underperforming ads, reviewing them, and then putting them back online to attempt to renew user interest.

On the other hand, reservation ads almost guarantee impressions at a specific time for a pre-arranged price, meaning there will be no surprises in your budget. They are suitable if you need consistent visibility, such as at specific dates or times, like when you are about to attend a conference or when a piece of real estate goes on sale. 

While you can target specific demographics with both ad types, reservation ads allow you to reserve specific demographic slots 

Another benefit of auction ads is the detail of the immediate metrics you will receive. While both offer a valuable bank of data, auction ads report real-time data on:

• Bids
• Spend
• Performance
• CPM
• Conversion
• Audience segment
• Time

You can use this immediately to update your efforts and reinforce your targeting to get your ads in front of the right eyes.

Leverage the Right Ads to Elevate Your Campaign

Whether you want predictable costs or the ability to respond faster to changes in your campaign, auction vs Reservation ads on Facebook both have their benefits. So, try them out or even blend your efforts with both to learn, ensuring the highest conversion level. 

For example, Taradel's team of marketing experts can help you start a campaign that targets your demographics both in the digital and physical world. If you want to know more, get in contact and plan your campaign with us. Learn how we can make your next ad campaign something to be truly proud of.