Whenever you set up a storm campaign, you're able to draw a specific polygon (or even several unconnected polygons) on the PSAI Weather map. This area is then analyzed to build a highly targeted custom audience for your Facebook ads.
However, even with our tool's precise targeting, you may at times receive interest from storm campaign leads outside of your specified geographic area. For example, maybe you drew the blue shape shown below to target the cities around Sandwich, RI...but you are seeing leads coming in from Worcester and Boston.
This article explains the two primary reasons you might be receiving leads outside of your specified storm swath. Don't worry—it does not mean that the tool is broken or imprecise.
1. Your Ad Is Being Shared by Facebook Users
The first reason you may be getting leads outside of your specified area is that your Facebook ads are being shared organically. This is one of the major benefits of advertising on social media—that you can post to a certain audience but also benefit from that audience's existing social connections.
For example, a homeowner may have seen your ad and tagged a friend in it, and that friend may live outside of your targeted area.
While organic social sharing can result in leads outside of your originally specified area, this expanded opportunity comes at no additional cost to your campaign.
2. Your Ad Used a Lookalike Audience
While our storm tool offers precise targeting, there's also a balance to be achieved between audience targeting and ad traction. Facebook relies on user behavior data to deliver the best placement for your storm campaign ads—and to do so, it needs to gain enough traction to measure behavior.
If your ad campaign is too limited in scope, then it may get stuck in what Facebook deems the "learning" phase. In order to move past this stage and get your Facebook ads to "active," we may recommend expanding your ad's reach through a lookalike audience.
A lookalike audience allows Facebook to serve your ad to users who share key demographics with the audience you chose, ensuring that your ad gets the momentum it needs. Best of all, this audience is targeted at a lower-cost strategy.
You can learn more about lookalike audiences directly from Facebook.
If your storm campaign needs a wider audience to gain traction, the PSAI team would be happy to work with you to make the necessary changes, whether that means a lookalike audience or another type of optimization. Note that we will not make any changes without your approval.
In the case of a storm campaign, homeowners in a lookalike audience may not have been affected by the exact storm you're targeting, but they'll still be able to use the tool to see previous storms that hit their home. They'll also see your company's branded landing page, helping to establish name and brand recognition at no additional cost.
The bottom line? Even if you are receiving leads outside of your storm swath, this does not mean that the tool is working incorrectly. Your ad campaign is still working to generate leads at a very low cost-per-lead (CPL), helping you capitalize on the relevance of this and other recent storms.
If you have any questions about your storm campaign's performance or audience, we are here to help. Fill out a Support ticket through this link or by opening the Help widget at the bottom of the screen.
Your storm leads have come in, but do you know how to approach them effectively? Check out our guide on what makes storm campaign leads unique and how to manage them successfully.