Facebook Launches Cross-Device Reporting

Being able to track campaign performance across devices has become increasingly crucial to advertisers as consumer attention shifts from desktop to mobile screens. To that end, Facebook on Wednesday rolled out cross-device reporting for ads, allowing marketers to see how people are moving among devices and across mobile apps and the Web.

“Facebook already offers targeting, delivery and conversion measurement across devices. With the new cross-device report, advertisers are now able to view the devices on which people see ads and the devices on which conversions subsequently occur,” stated a Facebook blog post today.

As an example, the company said an advertiser can view the number of customers who clicked an ad on an iPhone, but then later converted on desktop, or the number of people who saw an ad on desktop, and later converted on an Android tablet.

In a recent analysis conducted between May 15 and July 24, Facebook found that among people who viewed a mobile Facebook ad in the U.S., nearly a third (32%) eventually clicked on the same ad on the desktop within 28 days. The conversion rate was lower over shorter periods of time. So within a week of seeing a mobile ad, 22% converted on the desktop, and after a day, 11%.

The cross-device reporting relies on data from Facebook’s conversion pixel, a piece of tracking code used in conjunction with the social network’s software development kit (SDK), to get reports on which device someone saw an ad and eventually converted. The overall aim is to go beyond last-click attribution to see how different devices and app actions influenced a click.

To see cross-device conversions for campaigns, advertisers can go to the Facebook Ad Reports page, click Edit Columns and select Cross-Device on the left-hand menu.

2 comments about "Facebook Launches Cross-Device Reporting".
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  1. Demos Ioannou from DCI Consulting LLC, August 14, 2014 at 8:28 a.m.

    Ha. I'd bet that most click-throughs are errors. I also surmise that the actual number of cross-device interactions will be shockingly, pathetically low (especially for CPGs.)

  2. Scott Fasser from Hacker Agency, August 14, 2014 at 2:43 p.m.

    This is a great step forward for Facebook. We've been using cross-device ad technology partners like TapAd and Drawbridge to understand the cross device impact and it is significant. We look forward to testing on FB.

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