Overview
Facebook video ads allow businesses to promote video content to reach new audiences and increase engagement. The cost to advertise a video on Facebook depends on several factors like objective, targeting, placement and length of the ad. On average, businesses spend between $0.10-$0.30 per view for Facebook video ads. The minimum daily budget is $1.
Cost Per View
The main pricing model for Facebook video ads is CPV or cost per view. This refers to how much you pay when a viewer watches your video ad for at least 10 seconds. The average cost per view is:
- $0.10 – $0.30 for most objectives like video views, conversions and reach.
- $0.40 – $0.80+ for highly competitive objectives like lead generation and app installs.
So at $0.20 per view, reaching 100,000 views would cost around $20,000. The actual cost depends on factors like targeting, placements and length which we’ll cover next.
Key Factors that Impact Cost
Here are some of the main factors that determine how much it costs to advertise a video on Facebook:
Campaign Objective
Objectives focused on driving actions like conversions or lead generation tend to cost more than brand awareness objectives.
| Objective | Average CPV |
|---|---|
| Video Views | $0.10 – $0.30 |
| Reach | $0.10 – $0.30 |
| App Installs | $0.40 – $0.80+ |
| Lead Generation | $0.40 – $0.80+ |
Targeting
Narrowly targeted ads focused on specific demographics and interests tend to have higher CPVs. Broader targeting to all Facebook users generally costs less. Location also impacts costs – targeting countries like the US or Canada costs more than targeting developing nations.
Placements
In addition to the News Feed, you can choose to advertise your video on Facebook Stories, Instagram Stories, Audience Network and more. Videos promoted exclusively on the Facebook News Feed tend to have lower CPVs starting at $0.10. However, adding Instagram and Instagram Stories could boost the average CPV to $0.25+.
| Placement | Average CPV |
|---|---|
| Facebook News Feed | $0.10 – $0.15 |
| Facebook + Instagram Feed | $0.15 – $0.25 |
| Facebook + Instagram + Stories | $0.25 – $0.35 |
| Audience Network | $0.10 – $0.30 |
Video Length & Format
Longer videos over 30 seconds may have slightly higher CPVs than shorter videos. Square 1:1 format videos generally cost more to advertise than landscape 16:9 videos.
Lifetime Budget
The more lifetime budget you set for your campaign, the lower your average CPV is likely to be. Facebook video ad auctions favor larger budgets.
Ad Quality
High quality videos tailored to your objective tend to get better engagement at lower CPVs. Low quality, irrelevant videos may need bigger budgets to get views.
Minimum Daily Budget
Facebook has a minimum daily budget requirement for running video campaigns. This starts at $1 per day. However, most experts recommend at least $5-$10 day minimum to get decent results.
At the bare $1 per day minimum, you could get 10 views for $0.10 each = $1. But such a low budget isn’t recommended and $5-$10 per day is ideal.
Estimating Video Ad Costs
As a general guideline, here’s how to estimate costs for a Facebook video campaign:
- Set realistic objective like video views or conversions.
- Define your target audience and preferred placements.
- Review average CPV benchmarks for your objective, placements and targeting.
- Multiply estimated CPV by your view count goal.
Let’s look at an example:
You are running a video views campaign targeted to United States, Age 18-45. You want 50,000 views. Your placements include Facebook and Instagram feed plus stories.
Average CPV for your targeting and placements is $0.25.
50,000 views x $0.25 average CPV = $12,500 estimated cost.
With this estimate, you can set an appropriate budget and develop your video ad creatives.
Cost Management Tips
Here are some tips to help manage and optimize costs for your Facebook video ads:
A/B test ad creatives
Test different video styles, lengths, captions and thumbnails. The top performing variation should have the lowest CPV.
Analyze and refine targeting
Monitor which audiences and placements are driving conversions at the right CPV. Remove ones with high CPV and low relevance.
Bid cap your CPV
Set a max CPV bid, so you don’t spend too much per view. Bid caps give you better budget control.
Use Facebook video ad tools
Take advantage of Facebook tools for optimizing video ads like split testing, sequencing, dynamic creative and more.
Learn from metrics
Analyze video completion rate, 30 sec views, CPM, CPC etc. These metrics give insights to refine your video strategy.
Patiently scale budget
Don’t blow your full budget on day one. Gradually scale daily budget up to learn what works as you go.
Conclusion
The average cost per view for Facebook video ads ranges between $0.10 to $0.30. But the actual amount depends on your campaign objective, targeting settings, placements, daily budget and video creative. Test different options to find the right balance of reach and cost for your business. Monitor key metrics and optimize for conversions or views at a sustainable CPV.