How To Run Your First Successful CBO Campaign On Meta: Everything You Need To Know

Getting started on your first CBO campaign (now rebranded to Meta Advantage Campaign) on Meta can be overwhelming. However, equipped with the right knowledge and understanding, you can run a successful CBO campaign that yields results beyond your imagination.

At Client Accelerators, we manage over $3 million a month in ad spend for our clients across various industries and verticals. We ranked #207 on the Inc 5000 – Fastest Growing Private Companies List in 2022, so rest assured, we speak from experience.

In this article, I’m going to show you step-by-step, without taking any shortcuts, how to run your first profitable CBO/Meta Advantage campaign on Meta ads. 

That’s not all…

I’m also going to share a recent case study with you where we helped one of our clients scale to $21,000 net profit per week using CBO – from how we formed this strategy to why we used it and why it worked so successfully.

But before I do, let’s ensure you understand exactly what CBO (Meta Advantage Campaigns) is and how it works.

Meta Advantage Campaigns, formerly known as CBO, can feel daunting. But with our proven strategies and a touch of patience, you’ll soon be wielding this tool like a pro.

In simpler terms, think of the Meta Advantage Campaign (CBO) as an evolved budgeting approach. Instead of painstakingly allocating funds to every audience, you set an overarching budget. 

From there, Meta’s algorithm adjusts spending across ad sets based on real-time performance. It’s optimization, redefined.

By setting a global budget for your campaign, you entrust Meta’s seasoned algorithm to manage the distribution. 

The primary goal? To transition smoothly from the learning phase and ensure your ads find their mark with efficiency. This translates to achieving optimal ROAS, ensuring every dollar is put to its best use.

Imagine CBO as an automatic car and standard campaigns as manual. 

With CBO, cruising is smoother and easier, but the traditional stick shift (standard campaigns) gives you more control. It’s like deciding between a cappuccino and a latte – both have coffee, but the experience differs. If you like to clutch the reins, ABO might be your jam. 

But if you’re more “chill and thrill”, let CBO take the wheel.

Do you trust the wisdom of algorithms? If you’re nodding, then CBO is your go-to mate. 

Especially if you’re juggling ad groups like a circus pro and want your dollar to work the hardest. But remember, CBO demands a certain daily tribute. 

So, if you’re pinching pennies, weigh your options. 

Because, as we say at Client Accelerators, it’s not about spending more. It’s about spending smart.

Campaign Budget Optimization (CBO) was introduced by Facebook (now Meta) in November 2017. It was introduced as a solution to a couple of key challenges advertisers faced:

Before CBO, advertisers had to manually adjust budgets across multiple ad sets to optimize for the best performance. This manual process was often time-consuming and relied on constant monitoring to ensure the campaign budget was spent efficiently. 

CBO turned this process upside down. 

Facebook’s algorithms automatically distribute a campaign’s budget in real-time to the highest-performing ad sets, which can lead to better results with less manual effort.

The underlying idea behind CBO is to leverage Facebook’s vast data and machine-learning capabilities to get the most value out of an advertiser’s budget. By allowing the system to allocate budget based on real-time performance data, advertisers can potentially achieve better outcomes, be it more conversions, higher reach, or any other objective.

With traditional ad set level budgeting, advertisers had to juggle multiple budgets, and any scaling or optimization effort was done ad set by ad set. CBO simplified this by centralizing the budget on the campaign level, making it easier for advertisers, especially those managing multiple campaigns, to handle their budgets.

By consolidating spend and optimizing across ad sets; campaigns can often gather data faster and help ad sets exit the learning phase more quickly. This means the ad delivery system can more rapidly optimize for better performance.

The logic behind this is simple. 

By letting Meta decide where to dedicate your budget based on adset performance, you can spend faster on the better-performing adsets, resulting in more conversion, ultimately leading to your escape from the ‘learning phase’.

User behavior and platform dynamics can change rapidly. 

By automating budget allocation based on real-time data, CBO ensures that ad spend reacts dynamically to these changes, giving ads the best chance to perform at any given moment.

In essence, Meta introduced CBO to harness the power of its machine learning capabilities, simplify the ad management process, and drive better, more efficient results for advertisers.

When it comes to managing your marketing budget effectively, Meta Advantage Campaign (Formerly CBO) can be a game-changer. 

However, just like any other strategy, CBO has its own advantages and disadvantages. Understanding these aspects can help you make informed decisions about whether or not to use CBO for your campaigns.

When CBO Works Best

It’s not safe to say that CBO is the end-all, be-all but it most definitely has transformed advertising on Meta. Let’s take a look at when you should leverage CBO in your advertising:

Varied Ad Sets

CBO shines when there’s diversity in your ad sets, as it can then learn and allocate budget to the most effective ones. So if you are running 2 adsets or more, you should consider CBO.

Sufficient Budget

If you’re working with a sizable budget, CBO can efficiently spread it across ad sets, allowing the algorithm enough data to make informed decisions. On larger budgets, across multiple adsets, it can become difficult deciding which adsets to spend more money on. CBO saves you from your own emotions and logic and decides for you.

Broad Objectives

When your campaign’s goal is more general, like brand awareness or reach, CBO can dynamically allocate your budget to tap into various audience segments.

Time Constraints

For advertisers pressed for time, CBO reduces the need for frequent manual adjustments, thus streamlining campaign management.

Testing Phases

If you’re exploring new audience segments or creatives, CBO can help you understand which ones resonate best without manual intervention.

As I mentioned earlier, CBO is not necessarily for everyone. Here’s why:

Tight Control Needed

For campaigns where precise budgeting for specific audiences and goals is essential, CBO might relinquish too much control to the algorithm.

Limited Ad Sets

With only one or very few ad sets, CBO doesn’t have enough variation to optimize budget distribution effectively. Although CBO works on two adsets or more, it’s most effective across multiple ad sets with the same goal.

Niche Objectives

If your campaign targets a very specific niche or has unique KPIs, the broad strokes of CBO might not be as effective.

Smaller Budgets

For minimal budgets, CBO might spread funds too thin across ad sets, potentially limiting the depth of engagement with any one audience.

Alternatives To CBO

Although CBO is one of the best ways to run your ad campaigns, it’s not the only way and most definitely not always a good fit for your goals. Here’s your alternatives:

ABO (Ad Set Budget Optimization)

This is the traditional way of setting budgets at the ad set level. It allows for manual control and precision in allocating funds to specific audiences or strategies.

Mixed Approach

What we like to do is blend CBO and ABO within our campaigns, using CBO for broader objectives and ABO for more targeted efforts.

Rule-based Automations

Utilize Facebook’s own automated rules to adjust budgets and bids based on predefined criteria, combining automation with specific goals.

While CBO offers automation and can be a powerful tool, it’s essential to understand its best applications. Depending on your campaign’s objectives and constraints, a hybrid approach or alternative methods might be more appropriate.

Firstly, let me clarify that there’s no “secret” to running CBO campaigns successfully. 

And for that matter, there’s not really any secrets to advertising.

It all comes down to data, which we have a lot of and this creates ‘best practices’ which are what we’re sharing with you today.

Let’s start by dissecting a Meta campaign, and then we’ll go through the step-by-step process of actually creating your CBO campaign inside the Ads Manager.

Your bid strategy is like your CBO campaign’s pacemaker. It sets the rhythm. And just like in a dance-off, if you get the rhythm wrong, you ain’t winning any trophies.

With Meta’s Ads Manager, you can sift through an array of bid strategies. Whether it’s cap bidding or other options, your choice should sync with your endgame.

With CBO, while the budget distribution across ad sets is automated, the bid strategy still plays a pivotal role in influencing each ad set’s auction competitiveness.

Lowest Cost: Formerly known as “automatic bidding,” this strategy bids with the goal of getting you the most results at the lowest cost. Within a CBO campaign, using the Lowest Cost strategy gives the algorithm maximum flexibility. It will allocate budget and bid amounts dynamically based on real-time performance, often leading to cost-efficient results.

Target Cost (for App Install or Conversion Objectives): This strategy aims to achieve a stable average cost close to the target cost you set. When used with CBO, the system will prioritize ad sets that are meeting or approaching the target cost, potentially leading to more predictable costs but potentially sacrificing volume.

Cost Cap & Bid Cap: These strategies set a maximum limit on your bid or average cost. CBO can influence how aggressively the budget is allocated to specific ad sets. For instance, an ad set with a low bid cap might receive less budget if its auction competitiveness is diminished by the cap.

It’s essential to note that the relationship between bid strategies and CBO is dynamic. 

The algorithm continuously evaluates the performance of ad sets based on the chosen bid strategy, adjusting budget distribution in real-time.

Imagine you’re planning a week-long Vegas trip. 

You decide you have $700 for the whole escapade – that’s your ‘lifetime budget.’ It would be wise to think, “I should limit myself to $100 a day to make the most of the week,” right? 

That’s your ‘daily budget.’

But let’s spice things up Vegas-style. On the first night, you hit a hot streak and decide to splurge $150. Exciting, no doubt! But to ensure you don’t run out of funds before the trip ends, you’ll want to scale back and spend maybe just $85 the next day. 

This is exactly how Meta’s CBO operates with a daily budget. Some days, it might spend a little more if it sees a potential return, but it’ll compensate by spending a little less on other days to keep the average spend in check.

You must understand these fluctuations and trust the system to level things out over the duration you’ve set. Just like in Vegas, it’s about playing smart and knowing when to go big and when to hold back!

Your CBO’s success leans heavily on your audience. It’s like throwing a party – your guest list can make it a hit or a…well, not-so-much-of-a-hit.

Imagine your favorite bands. 

Now, split your tested audiences into two mega-groups (let’s call them ‘Super Groups’): one that loves Pop (interests) and another that’s all about Rock (lookalikes). Then, for good measure, throw in an Indie group—a broader demographic to keep the vibe interesting. 

This mix lets Meta’s DJ-ing algorithm play the right tunes to keep the party hopping.

This is like choosing the menu for a dinner party. Will it be steak, vegan, or gluten-free? Your choices define the experience.

Did you know? Based on 2021 data, campaigns optimized for ‘landing page views’ had a 15% better conversion rate compared to those going for ‘link clicks.’ It’s like the difference between a gourmet burger and fast food. 

Both can be tasty, but one just hits different.

Even with all of CBO’s fancy automation, your ad’s look and message ultimately decide whether you’re laughing or crying while walking to the bank.

Struggling between auto placements and manual? Let’s settle this. 

It’s like asking if you should let a chef choose your meal or do it yourself. Trust the chef (in this case, Meta’s algorithm). They’ve cooked more meals than you’ve had hot dinners. But, this is a big BUT; if you’re going the bid cap route, don’t be a cheapskate. 

An ultra-low bid might give your ad the visibility of a needle in a haystack.

And there you have it! Your cheat sheet to rocking a CBO campaign.

Ok, I had a little too much fun explaining those concepts. Now it’s crunch time. Let me show you step-by-step how to create and launch your first CBO campaign:

1. Log into Ads Manager

• First things first, head over to your Meta Ads Manager. If you haven’t set one up, you’ll need to create an account.

2. Select ‘Create’ 

• Click the ‘Create’ button to start a new campaign.

3. Choose Your Objective

• Depending on what you want your ad to achieve (e.g., website visits, conversions, brand awareness), select the most appropriate campaign objective.

4. Activate CBO

• In the ‘Budget & Schedule’ section, you’ll see an option for ‘Campaign Budget Optimization’. Turn this on. This tells Meta to automatically distribute your budget across ad sets for the best results.

5. Set Your Budget

• Daily Budget: This is the average amount you want Meta to spend daily.
• Lifetime Budget: If you opt for this, specify the total amount you want to spend over the duration of the campaign.

6. Ad Creation

• Format: Choose from options like single image, video, carousel, slideshow, etc.
• Media: Upload your images or videos.
• Text & Links: Add your headline, primary text, description, and URL. Ensure your message is clear and aligned with your objective.
• Call to Action (CTA): Select a CTA button like ‘Shop Now’ or ‘Learn More’ that best suits your ad’s goal.
• Bid Strategy Selection: Decide your bid strategy based on your campaign’s goal. Remember, with CBO, the bid strategy you choose will apply at the campaign level for all ad sets.

7. Review and Launch

• Go over every aspect of your campaign to ensure everything’s set up correctly.
• Make sure your payment methods are in order.
• Click the ‘Submit’ or ‘Publish’ button to launch your CBO campaign.

8. Monitor Performance:

• Regularly check your campaign’s performance in the Ads Manager.
• Make adjustments as necessary based on performance data. For instance, if an ad set or creative isn’t performing well, consider pausing it or adjusting its audience.

Not so hard, is it? The real challenge is crafting the right ad image, ad copy, and offer. But since this is a guide on CBO, we won’t be discussing those factors. 

If you’re growing impatient and want to start advertising immediately without breaking the bank, feel free to book a free consultation with one of our advisors at Client Accelerators.

You’ve got AI working round-the-clock in CBO, not unlike a team of expert traders monitoring the stock market. Imagine overseeing a spend of over $1 million a month. I’ve seen how this AI zeroes in on real-time data, channeling the budget towards the ad sets that scream “winning horse.”

Bid Strategy Alignment

Picture this: You’re an artist with a palette full of colors. Each color is a potential bidding strategy. The masterpiece you want to create? That’s your campaign objective. Whether it’s vibrant audience engagement or subtle brand awareness shades, ensure your brush strokes (bidding strategy) match the picture in your mind.

Open the Gates, but Set Boundaries

Targeting? Broaden it out. But it’s not about going haywire. Think of it as inviting guests to a party. You want a good crowd, so you invite a variety of people. But, you don’t want party crashers. Set minimum boundaries to keep things under control.

Powerful Ad Sets

Ever found that golden recipe that everyone begs you to make at every gathering? Your best ad sets are just like that – your secret sauce. Harnessing their potential can change the game. Mix those golden ad sets judiciously; too many spices can muddle the taste.

Crystal-Clear Objectives

An unclear objective is like setting off on a voyage without a map. Even the smartest AI gets befuddled. Be laser-focused on what you want. Is it conversions? Brand awareness? Choose wisely, and watch the algorithm work its magic.

Lowest Cost Strategy First

Imagine entering a high-stakes poker game for the first time. Would you bet all your chips right away? Probably not. When diving into CBO, play it safe initially with the ‘lowest cost’ bid strategy. As you get a feel for the game, up the ante.

Pixel Precision

Think of the pixel as your campaign’s GPS. If it’s off by even a little, you might find yourself in the middle of nowhere. Ensuring its setup is precise helps navigate your campaign to the desired destination. A little extra time here saves a lot of directionless wandering later.

Remember, every tweak, every setting, every adjustment – it’s like tuning an instrument before a grand concert. Get it right, and the music you produce can be harmonious and mesmerizing.

Navigating the world of Campaign Budget Optimization can feel like deciphering a complex code. Here’s how you can understand and evaluate your CBO campaign performance, ensuring it’s aligned with your goals.

Understanding Key CBO Metrics

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): A direct indicator of your ad’s profitability. 

Cost Per Action (CPA): Measures the cost of a specific action, like a purchase or sign-up. Obviously, the lower, the better.

Frequency: Monitors how often the same user sees your ad. A high frequency may indicate audience saturation.

Contextualizing Performance with External Factors

Sometimes, external events can influence your CBO campaign performance. For example, a major holiday might spike sales, or a website outage could deter potential customers.

This table can help you directly compare the performance metrics of different ad sets, identifying top-performers and areas of improvement. You’ll notice several insights:

Ad Set 3 is leading in terms of Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) at 4x, coupled with the lowest Cost Per Action (CPA) at $4. This suggests it’s the most cost-effective ad set.

Ad Set 2, although having fewer impressions than Ad Set 1, has a close Click count. However, its ROAS is lower, indicating that while its engagement is commendable, it’s not translating as effectively to meaningful outcomes (sales, sign-ups, etc.).

If you were purely optimizing for clicks or engagement, Ad Set 1 might appear as a potential top performer due to its 500 clicks. But when considering the CPA and ROAS, it’s not as efficient as Ad Set 3.

Consequently, it’s vital to avoid tunnel vision by focusing on a single metric. If you had solely optimized for the highest click count, you might have overlooked the overall efficiency and profitability of Ad Set 3, potentially scaling the wrong ad set.

• Monitor key metrics daily.
• Compare current performance to historical data.
• Assess external factors and their potential impact.
• Regularly review and adjust bid strategies.
• Check for audience overlap between ad sets.

With these tools and insights, you’re well on your way to mastering the evaluation of your CBO campaigns, ensuring that your advertising endeavors yield fruitful results.

Sign #1: Stellar Conversion Rates 

The heart of any online campaign is its conversion rate. When your CBO campaign is taking off, you’ll notice that your conversion rates, whether it’s sales, sign-ups, or any other action, are soaring. 

Heck, when your lead gen or sales are blowing up – you’ll know you’re doing something right!

Sign #2: Optimized Ad Spend 

A well-optimized CBO campaign ensures that every dollar you invest yields maximum returns. You might begin to notice that your campaign is spending less money on certain adsets and maximizing on others that are getting you the best results. 

It’s just like a well-tuned car; it gives optimum mileage without guzzling extra fuel.

Sign #3: Highly Engaged Audience 

A telltale sign of a great CBO campaign is a highly engaged audience. If you find more likes, shares, comments, and overall interactions, your campaign has reached the right audience and resonated with them. 

Sign #4: Positive Feedback and Reduced Negative Feedback

In the Meta environment, user feedback plays a pivotal role. A thriving CBO campaign will often witness increased positive feedback (people saving your post, sharing it, etc.) and reduced negative feedback (fewer hides, reports, or unlikes). It’s the same feeling you get when you improve your offer, start getting more testimonials and reduce complaints and refunds.

Sign #5: Expanding Reach within the Set Budget 

Great campaigns don’t just resonate with your core audience; they expand your brand’s horizons. If you see your campaign reaching newer demographics or geographies without you explicitly targeting them and all within your budget, it’s a good indication. 

Sign #6: Consistent Performance Across All Ad Sets 

Instead of one ad set dramatically outperforming the others, a well-optimized CBO campaign ensures each ad set performs to its fullest potential. 

Remember, while metrics and signs can guide you, always align your observations with your primary objectives and goals. Adjust and pivot as necessary, and soon, you’ll have a CBO campaign that your competitors envy!

Internet Profits, led by CEO and founder Dean Holland, has been sharing high-powered strategies to help clients generate more leads and significantly boost their profits. By 2011, Dean had already sold over half a million dollars worth of digital products and was actively sharing his techniques with entrepreneurs globally.

Client Accelerators collaborated with Internet Profits and implemented a three-phase scaling methodology that heavily depended on CBO.

Creative Testing: Keeping creatives fresh and relevant by using raw footage provided by Internet Profits. The team monitored the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and focused on the top-performing creatives.

Audience Testing: The goal was to find new audiences that hadn’t been targeted before, ensuring ads reached the right people.

CBO Scale Campaign: The best-performing ad sets and creatives were put into a Campaign Budget Optimization (CBO) campaign, allocating 80% of the budget to it. The remaining 20% was reserved for testing and developing new creatives.

And the results?

• • Achieved a profit of $267,700.30 in Q1 2023, translating to $21,000 a week.
  • Generated $533,461.66 in total revenue with 3,910 unique sales.
  • Cost per unique sale was $67.97, with an Average Order Value (AOV) of $136.44.
  • Q1 2023 profits exceeded Q4 2022 profits by $78,102.63.

By focusing on creative testing, audience targeting, and leveraging the power of CBO campaigns, Internet Profits saw significant growth in their profits. The strategies employed ensured that the ads stood out in a crowded marketplace, leading to impressive results.

Read the full case study here

The emphasis on structuring campaigns for TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU remains significant in traditional media buying. However, with CBO’s automation, do these distinctions still hold weight? Let’s dissect this.

In the world of CBO, the algorithm thrives on learning from interactions, making tweaks and adjustments for optimal performance. 

A well-structured campaign acts as a beacon, sending clearer signals to this algorithm. 

But there’s more. 

While CBO takes the reins in distributing the budget, having a clear distinction between funnel stages is essential to guarantee that every ad set receives the attention it truly deserves. 

And when it comes to testing and scaling, a well-organized approach is invaluable. It shines a spotlight on the top-performing segments, streamlining the process of scaling up or fine-tuning as needed.

TOFU Blueprint

Rather than broad awareness, TOFU in CBO should aim for high engagement to provide positive signals to the algorithm.

Target: Broad but relevant segments. CBO can then determine the subsets within these audiences that resonate most.

MOFU Blueprint

Instead of just relationship deepening, MOFU with CBO should prioritize actions like content shares, video views, or newsletter sign-ups. These actions signal interest and aid CBO optimization.

Target: Engaged non-converters. Retarget based on interactions to nudge them further.

BOFU Blueprint

Direct offers or testimonials work best here. Recognizing the high conversion potential, CBO might allocate more budget for these.

Target: Cart abandoners, website visitors (specific product pages), or those who engaged deeply with MOFU content.

While TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU distinctions exist, their objectives shift within CBO. It’s about aiding the algorithm and driving micro-conversions as much as the final sale. 

Ultimately, balance is key. 

While structure is essential, allow CBO the flexibility it needs to optimize across ad sets.

With CBO’s dynamic nature, it’s about evolving traditional strategies, ensuring the algorithm and the audience journey are harmoniously catered to.

When it comes to the Meta Advantage Campaign, many questions often arise. Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about CBO.

Question 1: How long does it take for CBO to stabilize performance? 

CBO typically requires a “learning phase” of several days to a week to stabilize and optimize performance. It’s advisable to allow at least 7 days without major changes to let the algorithm gather data and calibrate effectively.

Question 2: Will CBO re-enter the learning phase, or will other ad sets be affected if I make a significant edit to an ad set? 

When you make a significant change to an ad set within a CBO campaign, that specific ad set will re-enter the learning phase to adapt to the new settings. However, only the edited ad set goes through the learning phase again, not the others. 

Question 3: How does ad delivery and optimization affect the results of a CBO campaign?

Ad delivery and optimization directly influence the performance of a CBO campaign by determining how and to whom your ads are shown. By ensuring accurate ad delivery settings and optimization choices, CBO can effectively allocate your budget to the most promising ad sets, thereby maximizing returns and achieving campaign objectives.

CBO isn’t just a shiny new tool – it’s a powerful ally that streamlines your ad campaigns, enabling smarter budget distribution and data-driven decisions. No more labor-intensive tweaks; you can lean on the intelligence of Meta’s algorithm to do the heavy lifting. 

But imagine the heights you could reach if you paired this advanced optimization with expert insights. That’s where our team steps in.

Book your free consultation to fine-tune a CBO strategy that aligns seamlessly with your brand’s objectives.

With Client Accelerators by your side, you’re not just spending on ads – you’re investing in guaranteed results. Our dedicated media buyers dive deep into your ad analytics to enhance the KPIs crucial to your brand’s success.

No more settling for mediocre Facebook campaigns. 

Experience the synergy of human expertise and automated efficiency that CBO promises.

Partner with us, and we’ll redefine what a successful advertising campaign looks like for your brand. The next chapter in your Facebook CBO journey is just a click away – book your consultation, and let’s elevate your ad game to unprecedented heights.