In brief
The objective is the first decision in a campaign: it tells Meta what you want to achieve. It then determines the available options (where to send people, what to optimize for) and how delivery is carried out.
The six objectives
| Objective | To… | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Awareness | Get known by as many people as possible | Brand launch |
| Traffic | Send visitors to a destination | Get an article read |
| Engagement | Get messages, video views, reactions | Promote an event |
| Leads | Collect contacts | Quote requests |
| App promotion | Get installs | Mobile app |
| Sales | Generate purchases | Online shop |
How to choose
- Write down the specific action you expect (buy, sign up, call, visit).
- Choose the objective closest to that action.
- Don’t choose “Traffic” by default: it brings clicks, not necessarily sales.
- Make sure your website or your page is ready to receive that action (pixel installed for Sales or Leads).
Pitfalls to avoid
- Choosing Awareness while hoping for sales.
- Choosing Sales without a pixel or purchase event.
- Changing the objective midway: a new campaign is better.
- Measuring a campaign with the wrong metric (judging awareness by sales).
Key takeaways
- One objective = one main action.
- The objective steers the whole campaign.
- Measure with the matching metric.
Practice in TRIALO
Click Create and go through the six objectives. In the list, the name of the result changes depending on the objective you pick (reach, clicks, leads…).