Dive Brief:

• Facebook added two tools this week that let marketers target users who are more likely to take action after interacting with an ad campaign, according to a blog post. The value optimization tool allows brands to optimize their campaigns using the social network’s machine learning capabilities. The optimization also relies on purchase value data mined from the Facebook pixel, which is a code that marketers put on a website to track the actions of users.
• On Monday, Facebook announced its value optimization tool, which will be available "to eligible businesses over the next few months." Businesses can access the new tool when they create website conversion ad sets in Facebook’s Ads Manager self-serve system.
• Facebook also started a global rollout of its value-based Lookalike Audiences tool, which was introduced four years ago to help marketers reach people who are likely to become new customers based on their online usage history. 

Dive Insight:

This is Facebook's latest move to make its ad tracking and metrics tools more useful to marketers. The social network added a tool last month to help marketers learn more about how ad campaigns generate sales leads in offline settings like a store, phone call or in-person meeting.

Marketers that advertise with Facebook want to build campaigns that drive an efficient return on investment, but optimizing campaigns typically requires other metrics like clicks, impressions and app installs to measure the effectiveness of an ad. Value optimization is intended to let marketers focus their campaigns on anticipated purchase value. The purchase values tracked by Facebook pixels estimate how much money a person might spend during a seven-day period at a specific business. Facebook automatically adjusts the ad's bid based on the estimate, which allows marketers to easily deliver ads to people who are likely to spend more.

The tools appear to work for marketers, at least according to testimonials provided by Facebook. David Rose, director of performance marketing at Pocket Games, said he tested the enhanced Lookalike feature on its mobile storytelling app Episode. The campaign saw a 13% decline in cost per install and a 53% increase in return on ad spend, according to the blog post.