Are Facebook ads worth it?
Short answer
Yes, for most apps and games Facebook ads are worth testing. Meta's App Promotion objective can optimise for installs, in-app events or value across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Meta Audience Network. Whether they pay back depends on your unit economics, tracking and creative supply.
Why Meta works for apps
- The App Promotion objective lets you buy installs, optimise for app events or go after your highest-value users.
- Advantage+ app campaigns use Meta’s automation for bidding, audiences and placements.
- You can upload up to 50 images, videos, playable ads or instant experiences at one time, which suits high-volume creative testing.
When they may not pay back
- Your tracking is not ready. Meta needs your app registered and its SDK and app events in place to optimise for installs, events or value.
- Your budget is too small to leave the learning phase. Meta says this usually happens after about 50 results in the week after the last significant edit.
- You cannot refresh creative. For Advantage+ app campaigns, Meta suggests a high volume of assets refreshed a few times a month.
In practice
Judge Meta on cohort revenue and payback, not on cost per install alone. Start with a fixed test budget, keep the account structure simple and let ad sets finish learning before you edit them.
See how we run Meta for apps and games on our Facebook ads agency page.
Related Meta (Facebook) questions
- Is $100 enough for Facebook ads?
- What's a good budget for Facebook ads?
- How much does Facebook pay per 1,000 views?
- How many followers do you need on Facebook to get verified?