case study facebook

11 Facebook Case Studies & Success Stories to Inspire You

Published: August 05, 2019

Although Facebook is one of the older social media networks, it's still a thriving platform for businesses who want to boost brand awareness.

With over 2.38 billion monthly active users , you can use the platform to spread the word about your business in a number of different ways -- from photos or videos to paid advertisements.

Because there are so many marketing options and opportunities on Facebook, It can be hard to tell which strategy is actually best for your brand.

If you're not sure where to start, you can read case studies to learn about strategies that marketing pros and similar businesses have tried in the past.

A case study will often go over a brand's marketing challenge, goals, a campaign's key details, and its results. This gives you a real-life glimpse at what led a marketing team to reach success on Facebook. Case studies also can help you avoid or navigate common challenges that other companies faced when implementing a new Facebook strategy.

To help you in choosing your next Facebook strategy, we've compiled a list of 11 great case studies that show how a number of different companies have succeeded on the platform.

Even if your company has a lower budget or sells a different product, we hope these case studies will inspire you and give you creative ideas for your own scalable Facebook strategy.

Facebook Brand Awareness Case Studies:

During the 2017 holiday season, the jewelry company Pandora wanted to boost brand awareness in the German market. They also wanted to see if video ads could have the same success as their other Facebook ad formats.

They began this experiment by working with Facebook to adapt a successful TV commercial for the platform. Here's a look at the original commercial:

The ad was cut down to a 15-second clip which shows a woman receiving a Pandora necklace from her partner. It was also cropped into a square size for mobile users. Pandora then ran the ad targeting German audiences between the ages of 18-50. It appeared in newsfeeds and as an in-stream video ad .

Results: According to the case study , the video campaign lifted brand sentiment during the holiday season, with a 10-point lift in favorability. While Pandora or the case study didn't disclose how they measured their favorability score, they note that the lift means that more consumers favored Pandora over other jewelers because of the ad.

Financially, the campaign also provided ROI with a 61% lift in purchases and a 42% increase in new buyers.

Video can be memorable, emotional, and persuasive. While the case study notes that Pandora always had success with ads and purchases, the jeweler saw that a video format could boost brand awareness even further.

In just 15 seconds, Pandora was able to tell a short story that their target audience could identify with while also showing off their product. The increase in favorability shows that audiences who saw the ad connected with it and preferred the jeweler over other companies because of the marketing technique.

Part of Pandora's success might also be due to the video's platform adaptation. Although they didn't create a specific video for the Facebook platform, they picked a commercial that had already resonated with TV audiences and tweaked it to grab attention of fast-paced Facebook users. This is a good example of how a company can be resourceful with the content it already has while still catering to their online audiences.

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame , a HubSpot customer, wanted to boost brand awareness and get more ticket purchases to their museum. Since they'd mainly used traditional customer outreach strategies in the past, they wanted to experiment with more ways of reaching audiences on social media.

Because the museum's social media team recognized how often they personally used Facebook Messenger, they decided to implement a messaging strategy on the Hall of Fame's official business page.

From the business page, users can click the Get Started button and open a chat with the Hall of Fame. Through the chat, social media managers were able to quickly reply to questions or comments from fans, followers, and prospective visitors. The reps would also send helpful links detailing venue pricing, events, other promotions, and activities in the surrounding area.

Since the Messenger launch, they claim to have raised their audience size by 81% and sales from prospects by 12%. The company claims that this feature was so successful that they even received 54 messages on an Easter Sunday.

Being available to connect with your audiences through Messenger can be beneficial to your business and your brand. While the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame boosted purchases, they also got to interact with their audiences on a personal level. Their availability might have made them look like a more trustworthy, friendly brand that was actually interested in their fanbase rather than just sales.

Facebook Reach Case Study:

In early 2016, Buffer started to see a decline in their brand reach and engagement on Facebook due to algorithm changes that favored individuals rather than brands. In an effort to prevent their engagement and reach numbers from dropping even further.

The brand decided to cut their posting frequency by 50%. With less time focused on many posts, they could focus more time on creating fewer, better-quality posts that purely aimed at gaining engagement. For example, instead of posting standard links and quick captions, they began to experiment with different formats such as posts with multi-paragraph captions and videos. After starting the strategy in 2016, they continued it through 2018.

Here's an example of one an interview that was produced and shared exclusively on Facebook.

The Results: By 2018, Buffer claimed that the average weekly reach nearly tripled from 44,000 at the beginning of the experiment to 120,000. The page's average daily engagements also doubled from roughly 500 per day to around 1,000.

In 2018, Buffer claimed that their posts reached between 5,000 to 20,000 people, while posts from before the experiment reached less than 2,000.

Although Buffer began the experiment before major Facebook algorithm changes , they updated this case study in 2018 claiming that this strategy has endured platform shifts and is still providing them with high reach and engagement.

It can be easy to overpost on a social network and just hope it works. But constant posts that get no reach or engagement could be wasted your time and money. They might even make your page look desperate.

What Buffer found was that less is more. Rather than spending your time posting whatever you can, you should take time to brainstorm and schedule out interesting posts that speak directly to your customer.

Facebook Video Views Case Studies:

Gearing up for Halloween in 2016, Tomcat, a rodent extermination company, wanted to experiment with a puppet-filled, horror-themed, live video event. The narrative, which was created in part by their marketing agency, told the story of a few oblivious teenage mice that were vacationing in a haunted cabin in the woods. At peak points of the story, audiences were asked to use the comments to choose which mouse puppet would die next or how they would die.

Prior to the video event, Tomcat also rolled out movie posters with the event date, an image of the scared mouse puppets, and a headline saying, "Spoiler: They all die!"

Results: It turns out that a lot of people enjoy killing rodents. The live video got over 2.3 million unique views , and 21% of them actively participated. As an added bonus, the video also boosted Tomcat's Facebook fanbase by 58% and earned them a Cyber Lion at the 2017 Cannes Lions awards.

Here's a hilarious sizzle reel that shows a few clips from the video and a few key stats:

This example shows how creative content marketing can help even the most logistical businesses gain engagement. While pest control can be a dry topic for a video, the brand highlighted it in a creative and funny way.

This study also highlights how interactivity can provide huge bonuses when it comes to views and engagement. Even though many of the viewers knew all the rats would die, many still participated just because it was fun.

Not only might this peak brand interest from people who hadn't thought that deeply about pest control, but interactivity can also help a video algorithmically. As more people comment, share, and react to a live video, there's more likelihood that it will get prioritized and displayed in the feeds of others.

In 2017, HubSpot's social media team embarked on an experiment where they pivoted their video goals from lead generation to audience engagement. Prior to this shift, HubSpot had regularly posted Facebook videos that were created to generate leads. As part of the new strategy, the team brainstormed a list of headlines and topics that they thought their social media audience would actually like, rather than just topics that would generate sales.

Along with this pivot, they also experimented with other video elements including video design, formatting, and size .

Results: After they started to launch the audience-friendly videos, they saw monthly video views jump from 50,000 to 1 million in mid-2017.

Creating content that caters to your fanbase's interests and the social platform it's posted on can be much more effective than content that seeks out leads.

While videos with the pure goal of selling a product can fall flat with views and engagement, creative videos that intrigue and inform your audiences about a topic they relate to can be a much more effective way to gain and keep your audience. Once the audience trusts you and consumes your content regularly, they might even trust and gain interest in your products.

Facebook App Installs Case Study:

Foxnext games.

FoxNext Games, a video game company owned by 20th Century Fox, wanted to improve the level of app installs for one of its newest releases, Marvel Strike Force. While FoxNext had previously advertised other games with Facebook video ads, they wanted to test out the swipe-able photo carousel post format. Each photo, designed like a playing card, highlighted a different element of the game.

The add offered a call-to-action button that said "Install Now" and lead to the app store where it could be downloaded. FoxNext launched it on both Facebook and Instagram. To see if the carousel was more efficient than video campaigns, they compared two ads that advertised the same game with each format.

Results: According to Facebook , the photo ads delivered a 6% higher return on ad spend, 14% more revenue, 61% more installs, and 33% lower cost per app install.

Takeaways If your product is visual, a carousel can be a great way to show off different elements of it. This case study also shows how designing ads around your audience's interest can help each post stand out to them. In this scenario, FoxNext needed to advertise a game about superheroes. They knew that their fanbase was interested in gaming, adventure, and comic books, so they created carousels that felt more like playing cards to expand on the game's visual narrative.

Facebook Lead Gen Case Study:

Major impact media.

In 2019, Major Impact Media released a case study about a real-estate client that wanted to generate more leads. Prior to working with Major Impact, the Minneapolis, Minnesota brokerage hired another firm to build out an online lead generation funnel that had garnered them no leads in the two months it was active. They turned to Major Impact looking for a process where they could regularly be generating online leads.

As part of the lead generation process, the marketing and brokerage firms made a series of Facebook ads with the lead generation objective set. Major Impact also helped the company build a CRM that could capture these leads as they came in.

Results: Within a day, they received eight leads for $2.45 each. In the next 90 days, the marketing firm claimed the ads generated over 370 local leads at the average cost of $6.77 each. Each lead gave the company their name, email, and phone number.

Although these results sound like a promising improvement, readers of this case study should keep in mind that no number of qualified leads or ROI was disclosed. While the study states that leads were gained, it's unclear which of them lead to actual sales -- if any.

This shows how Facebook ad targeting can be helpful when you're seeking out leads from a specific audience in a local area. The Minneapolis brokerage's original marketing and social media strategies weren't succeeding because they were looking for a very specific audience of prospective buyers in the immediate area.

Ad targeting allowed their posts to be placed on the news feeds of people in the area who might be searching for real estate or have interests related to buying a home. This, in turn, might have caused them more success in gaining leads.

Facebook Engagement Case Study:

When the eyewear brand Hawkers partnered up with Spanish clothing brand El Ganso for a joint line of sunglasses, Hawkers' marketing team wanted to see which Facebook ad format would garner the most engagement. Between March and April of 2017, they launched a combination of standard ads and collection ads on Facebook.

While their standard ads had a photo, a caption and a call-to-action linking to their site, the collection ads offered a header image or video, followed by smaller images of sunglasses from the line underneath.

Image from Digital Training Academy

To A/B test ad effectiveness of the different ad types, Hawkers showed half of its audience standard photo ads while the other half were presented with the collection format. The company also used Facebook's Audience Lookalike feature to target the ads their audiences and similar users in Spain.

Results: The collection ad boosted engagement by 86% . The collection ads also saw a 51% higher rate of return than the other ads.

This study shows how an ad that shows off different elements of your product or service could be more engaging to your audience. With collection ads, audiences can see a bunch of products as well as a main image or video about the sunglass line. With a standard single photo or video, the number of products you show might be limited. While some users might not respond well to one image or video, they might engage if they see a number of different products or styles they like.

Facebook Conversion Case Study:

Femibion from merck.

Femibion, a German family-planning brand owned by Merck Consumer Health, wanted to generate leads by offering audiences a free baby planning book called "Femibion BabyPlanung." The company worked with Facebook to launch a multistage campaign with a combination of traditional image and link ads with carousel ads.

The campaign began with a cheeky series of carousel ads that featured tasteful pictures of "baby-making places," or locations where women might conceive a child. The later ads were a more standard format that displayed an image of the book and a call-to-action.

When the first ads launched in December 2016, they were targeted to female audiences in Germany. In 2017, during the later stages of the campaign, the standard ads were retargeted to women who had previously interacted with the carousel ads. With this strategy, people who already showed interest would see more ads for the free product offer. This could cause them to remember the offer or click when they saw it a second time.

Results: By the time the promotion ended in April 2017, ads saw a 35% increase in conversion rate. The company had also generated 10,000 leads and decreased their sample distribution cost by two times.

This case study shows how a company successfully brought leads through the funnel. By targeting women in Germany for their first series of creative "baby-making" ads, they gained attention from a broad audience. Then, by focusing their next round of ads on women who'd already shown some type of interest in their product, they reminded those audiences of the offer which may have enabled those people to convert to leads.

Facebook Product Sales Case Study

In an effort to boost sales from its Latin American audiences, Samsung promoted the 2015 Argentina launch of the Galaxy S6 smartphone with a one-month Facebook campaign.

The campaign featured three videos that highlighted the phone's design, camera, and long battery life respectively.

One video was released each week and all of them were targeted to men and women in Argentina. In the fourth week of the campaign, Samsung launched more traditional video and photo ads about the product. These ads were specifically targeted to people who'd engaged with the videos and their lookalike audiences.

Results: Samsung received 500% ROI from the month-long campaign and a 7% increase in new customers.

Like Femibion, Samsung tested a multiple ad strategy where the targeting got more specific as the promotions continued. They too saw the benefit of targeting ads to users who already showed interest in the first rounds of advertisements. This strategy definitely seems like one that could be effective when trying to gain more qualified leads.

Facebook Store Visits Case Study:

Church's chicken.

The world's third-largest chicken restaurant, Church's Chicken, wanted to see if they could use Facebook to increase in-restaurant traffic. From February to October of 2017, the chain ran a series of ads with the "Store Traffic" ad objectives. Rather than giving customers a link to a purchasing or order page, these ads offer users a call-to-action that says "Get Directions." The dynamic store-traffic ad also gives users the store information for the restaurant closest to them.

Image from Facebook

The ads ran on desktop and mobile newsfeeds and were targeted at people living near a Church's Chicken who were also interested in "quick-serve restaurants." The study also noted that third-party data was used to target customers who were "big spenders" at these types of restaurants.

To measure the results, the team compared data from Facebook's store-reporting feature with data from all of its locations.

Results: The ads resulted in over 592,000 store visits with an 800% ROI. Each visit cost the company an average of $1.14. The ROI of the campaign was four times the team's return goal.

If you don't have an ecommerce business, Facebook ads can still be helpful for you if they're strategized properly. In this example, Church's ads targeted locals who like quick-serve restaurants and served them a dynamic ad with text that notified them of a restaurant in their direct area. This type of targeting and ad strategy could be helpful to small businesses or hyperlocal businesses that want to gain foot traffic or awareness from the prospective customers closest to them.

Navigating Case Studies

If you're a marketer that wants to execute proven Facebook strategies, case studies will be incredibly helpful for you. If the case studies on the list above didn't answer one of your burning Facebook questions, there are plenty of other resources and success stories online.

As you look for a great case study to model your next campaign strategy, look for stories that seem credible and don't feel too vague. The best case studies will clearly go over a company's mission, challenge or mission, process, and results.

Because many of the case studies you'll find are from big businesses, you might also want to look at strategies that you can implement on a smaller scale. For example, while you may not be able to create a full commercial at the production quality of Pandora, you might still be able to make a lower-budget video that still conveys a strong message to your audience.

If you're interested in starting a paid campaign, check out this helpful how-to post . If you just want to take advantage of free options, we also have some great information on Facebook Live and Facebook for Business .

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The Ultimate List of Facebook Ads Case Studies (+ 38 lessons you can’t ignore)

by: 6 Comments

Without a doubt, Facebook is THE place to be to build audiences and generate revenue.

You know it, I know it… Every single marketer knows it.

But with it’s decreasing organic reach, you’ll need to rely on Facebook Ads more than ever.

That means your money is on the line, which is why you’ll want to know  what REALLY works and what doesn’t work  before you even get started.

So, to bust all the myths and speculations, we’ve been analyzing 13 Facebook Ads case studies from various well-known experts.

From campaigns spending $1/day to millions a year. Campaigns focused on bringing in hundreds of thousands in revenue as well as bringing in low-cost leads.

You’ll get to see it all in the following 13 Facebook Ads case-studies.

Case Study # 1 – What Noah Kagan Learned Spending $2 Million on Facebook Ads

This is the case study and key insights from Noah Kogan who has spent millions on Facebook Ads so far.

The advice and lessons learned from this case study will be far more insightful than people that have to spend some hundred or thousands of dollar on Facebook Ads.

Noah Kagan of AppSumo and SumoMe shared his experience spending $2 million on Facebook Ads across his different products.

Apart from promoting his key products ( AppSumo and SumoMe ), he showed how he earned $267 in profit from each Monthly1k course he sells.

He used Facebook Advertising to bring traffic to his website, increase his email subscription and later sell them the course.

Each email lead would cost him $3, and every 89th email lead went on to buy the course giving him $267 in net profit (after all deductions, cancellations, etc.effectively).

This is a classical example of how to best leverage Facebook Ads. People browse Facebook for casual fun, catching up with friends and family – but not to being sold.

It is best to use Facebook to drive them to opt-in to your lead magnet before pushing them your product.

They will be more inclined to engage with your Facebook Ads if it’s not asking for their credit card but rather giving some value without any cost to them.

Although, he provided a lot of insight from his million dollar spending on Facebook Ads, here are some of the key takeaways and lessons learned.

Lesson Learned # 1 –  Use data at hand effectively to target your Facebook ads strategically. Such as copying the success of your competitors , targeting the fans of your competitors and creating lookalike audience from existing customers and email subscribers.

Lesson Learned # 2 – Start with a small budget and capitalize on the ads targeting which is giving you the best ROI.

Lesson Learned # 3 – Keep your targeting narrow than being broad. Narrower audiences not only is easier to reach on a limited budget but are highly likely to convert. But narrow audience doesn’t mean it has to be small, rather an ideal size ( in between narrow and broad)

Case Study # 2 – $5800 Monthly Recurring Revenue Using Facebook Ads Retargeting

Design Pickle is a design-as-a-service that provides unlimited graphics designing services under a monthly retainer fee. Being a newer concept and a service that requires a direct interaction of humans ( as in passing design briefs and requirements), it is hard to promote the service using standard means.

Following the footsteps of how most SaaS businesses generate leads, they  ran a Facebook Ad Campaign in which they offered a Free Custom Design without the need for any credit card ( an equivalent to Free Trial)

They directed the Facebook Ads traffic to a long-form signup form so they would weed out potential customers from onlookers. This was deliberately done as people that go on to filling the long form were most likely to be interested in the services.

Although they were able to capture some leads, the best part came when they started using retargeting.

Want to get more results from Facebook Ads? Check out our free targeting training here.

Design Pickle identified that they could use retargeting with better effect. So they implemented a retargeting campaign on the sales page visitors which accounted for 17 of the 30 new customers.

More than 50% of their new customers just came from the retargeting marketing campaign, which justifies the fact that converting a retargeted visitor is much easier and efficient than converting a new one.

Lesson Learned # 4 – No matter how complex, unique or new (business model) type of business you have, Facebook Ads can still work for you.

Lesson Learned # 5 – Use the magnetic power of retargeting to bring back customers that already have shown interest in your products.

Lesson Learned # 6 – Build a sales funnel along with your Facebook Ads. Such as in this case, people that initially saw the ad but didn’t go on to fill up the form were retargeted again.

Case Study # 3 – What Will  $5/day on Facebook Get You?

With the tremendous growth of businesses interest in advertising and marketing their product on Facebook,   Buffer did a small experiment to see how a minimal investment of $5 on Facebook Ads can give them.

The $5 ad spend was tested for different objectives such as page likes, clicks to website and effects on boosted post.

And here are the results they achieved for every $5 spend on each of the activity below;

Page Likes – 9 Likes per day

Clicks to the homepage / landing page – 1 per day

Boosted post – 787 new people reached

So there is something for business seen on a small budget.

Here is the audience targeting they set;

As you can see, they’re targeting people who are interested in social media, excluding their fans.

Furthermore, just to give you an example of creating a Killer Facebook Ad, see this the ad buffer created for the Page Likes campaign.

Apparently, this ad comes across as very social/human (since it’s showing the team) – which is why it’s been working well for a “like” campaign.

So to get the best bang out of your Facebook Ads even on a small budget, try zooming in your target audience and create ads copy that reflect or resonate with them.

Lesson Learned # 7 – If you want to test the Facebook Ads waters or generate buzz for your product, a small budget can also do good for you. Not only it creates awareness for your business, but you might also score a handy traffic and some sales too in the process.

Lesson Learned # 8 – You don’t need a large budget to succeed with Facebook Ads. If you target and optimize the ads well, you still can get a good traction regardless of your objective.

Lesson Learned # 9 – When targeting for page likes, always make sure that you Exclude your current page followers.

Lesson Learned # 10 – Make sure the ad image / creative you select, must match with the objective of the ad.

Case Study # 4 – Facebook Ads Success with just $1 per Day

Similar to the Buffer experiment, this case study by Brian Carter , a prominent Facebook Marketing and Advertising Expert and Bestselling author of the book “ The Like Economy”  showed that even investing a minimum of $1/day on Facebook Ads  can give you a significant reach.

By consistently investing $1/day for 30 days, he was able to reach 120,000 people or 4000 people every day.

He in an active user of most advertising platforms and this is what he found as the cost to reach 1000 people using popular advertising channels.

Facebook Ads are far cheaper than the legacy advertising solutions (newspaper, tv, etc.), but also left behind its online competitors (Adwords and LinkedIn).

The objective of this case study or experiment was to show that even if you start with a minimal budget, Facebook Ads can still prove beneficial.

Most businesses can afford to spend $1/day on Facebook, can’t they?

Lesson Learned  # 11 – Budget is or should not be a roadblock for virtually any business. $1/day or $30/month is not a big deal for most businesses.

Lesson Learned # 12 – Even if you are investing more on other channels for traffic or lead generation successfully, it doesn’t hurt to spend a small proportion on Facebook Ads. You might get the same number of traffic, but the overall cost will be much cheaper than all other alternatives.

Check out more details about this case study here.

Case Study # 5 – $14,114 in revenue from $8,240.17 spent in Facebook Ads

This case study is purely about generating leads than anything else.

Brian Moran , the founder of SamCart , used  Facebook As to sell his courses and training products .

He tested three different targeting groups where;

• One group was his existing email list.
• The 2nd group was the lookalike version of his email list.
• And the third was custom audience he created using the native+ advanced targeting features of Facebook.

And after spending $8240 on the ads on these groups, he was able to get;

• $3496 in Sales from $1800 in ad spend from group 1
• $1546 in Sales from $895 in ad spend from group 2
• $9039 in Sales from $5153 in ad spend from group 3

Although all of the ads returned an ROI of 2:1, the 3rd group clearly outperformed the others.

So as seen, changing and testing around with your targeting can give you better results than standard targeting.

Typically existing subscribers are considered a gold mine to be reaped over and over but Brian proved that you can still succeed with Facebook Ads if you just get you targeting right.

Even if you don’t have a big list of subscribers, using native targeting features of Facebook can bring you in front of the right viewers.

Lesson Learned # 13 – Retarget or advertise your offer to existing subscribers as well. This is particularly helpful if you want to convert your blog subscribers into warm leads or paying customers .

Lesson Learned # 14 – Use lookalike audience effectively. Brian created a lookalike audience from his existing email subscribers that brought in $1546 in revenue from $895 in ad spend.

Lesson Learned # 15 – Fine tune your advertising to narrow down to your targeted audience as much as possible. Brian got the best response from the custom targeting he set up.

Lesson Learned # 16 – Just beside A/B testing your Facebook ad copy , split test between your targeting groups too. When seeing results from the third group, Brian invested more in it, and the results were equally rewarding.

Case Study # 6 – How an Advertising “FAIL” Can Actually Turn Into a “WIN”

This case study is rather interesting as it started off from a failure before they got their winning aha-moment.

Angela Ponsford started a Facebook Ad campaign for her client who wanted to sell a high-priced $990 home renovation program to women’s in 30-40 age range across the USA.

The idea was to build an email list via Facebook Ads and later show them ads for Free Webinar that will lead to the program she wants to sell.

When they run the ads, they performed well, but most of the people that were engaging with it were not the actual audience perceived.

She thought women in the 30-40 age group would take more interest in her program, but women above 45+ were engaging most with her ad and content.

The first few days just yielded in 2 sign ups at the cost of nearly $27 each. So she optimized the ad targeting and the ad copy in line with the results they achieved earlier.

The second run significantly improved the cost/lead, dragging it down to 4 leads at $5.43 each.

After several rounds of testing and tuning with targeting and ad copies, she was able to bag in 400 leads at a cost $507 and some happy customers that went on buying the program.

One of their best performing ads was shared 14 times which indicated that the ad copy was talking to the customer and performed well.

It is essential that you keep on monitoring and optimizing your campaign- especially at the start. Angela was able to reduce the cost/lead from $27 to just $1.27 in the end by continually improving the campaign in the line of results she was getting.

Unless you have a large budget to spend, test your campaign in small budget / test runs until you find what’s working or you might end up spending a lot of money with little results.

Lesson Learned # 17 – There is no barrier to the type and cost of the product you are selling – you can even sell a high priced product using Facebook Ads .

Lesson Learned # 18 – Do some preliminary ad test to fine tune on the audience and then invest more budget where you get the most gold.

Lesson Learned # 19 – The ideal audience perceived by you might not always be correct.

Lesson Learned # 20 – Sometimes the simplest of thing are most effective. By changing the word “Webinar” to “Workshop” on the ad copy, the CTR and leads doubled.

Case Study # 7 – 89% cheaper cost / lead with Facebook Ads

Google Adwords in arguably the most used platform when it comes to online advertising. Hundreds of thousands of businesses use its daily traffic and leads.

But, it’s still expensive to reach for some.

Dave Rogenmoser of The Market Results, identified that cost/lead for a high-end app and web development company ranges between $250 – $1000 / lead on Adwords.

Although $250/lead was a good deal for a $80,000 contract, they wanted more.

Fast forward, they leveraged the narrow-down targeting capabilities of Facebook to target startups that might be in need of app development .

Dave mentioned that the hardest part of the campaign for them was to set targeting for their audience. As we saw from earlier case studies, narrowing down on your target audience is much more beneficial than broadening it.

And he did exactly just that- zoomed in on funded startups that might be in need of app development.

With a spend of $993 across a week, they were able to score 34 leads which was far much quicker and cheaper than Google Adwords.

From the first week of the run, they were able to decrease their cost/lead to $28 a piece, 89% cheaper than what it takes from Adwords.

Want similar results? Check out our free targeting training here.

This goes to show you that how cost effective leads from Facebook can turn out to be when compared with other options.

Lesson Learned # 21 – Facebook Ads are cost effective as compared to Google Adwords when it comes to B2B leads generation.

Lesson Learned # 22 – Facebook ads provide narrower targeting which helps you to laser in on your ideal audience. Setting up the correct targeting is one of the essential parts of your campaign.

Case Study # 8 – 7 Mistakes Made While Spending $234.07 on Facebook Ads

At Connectio we often hear customers saying that they have none or very limited success via Facebook Ads. Either it was not giving the desired results or is turning out to be expensive for them.

This case study is especially useful for such Facebook Ad starter business that is struggling to find their way.

Philip Kleudgen, a web development, and marketing specialist for restaurant owners, shares his experience of how he started off with Facebook Ads- with no prior experience .

As like more people starting off with Facebook Ads, he made some classic mistakes such as;

• Targeting was not set correctly.  He was targeting a very little set of individuals.
• Used only one image and didn’t A/B test between different images or ad copies.
• Wasn’t tracking conversions correctly due to missing or improper configuration
• Keep running ads that were unprofitable.

After running the ad for week or so, he spent $234 on Facebook Ads with a meager CTR and earned less than the actual ad spend.

Although, he was at a loss at this campaign some valuable lessons learned.

But at such stage, most businesses give up rather than realizing their mistakes and optimizing their campaign accordingly.

So it’s important to review and analyze performance and mistakes in your Facebook Ads campaign before ruling the platform as a failure.

Lesson Learned # 23 – Take some pre-campaign time to research and identify your targeted audience. Ideally, have a separate ad set for each unique audience you are targeting.

Lesson Learned # 24 – If your objective is lead generation or sales, you need to set your conversion tracking and do it right. If you aren’t tracking your conversions correctly how would you analyze performance?

Lesson Learned # 25 – Have multiple images and copies of your ad in hand before starting a campaign.

Lesson Learned # 26 – Don’t spend that much money on ads or campaigns that are not giving any result.

Case Study # 9 – How Veeroll Sold 122 Subscriptions with $2.5k Spend on Facebook Ads in 2 Weeks

This case study is another classical example that Facebook can be effectively used to generate leads for B2B businesses. B2B businesses. It also shows how businesses can gain better results by using video ads and continually optimizing the campaign to improve performance. Veeroll along with other places started off their campaign on Facebook and sent all traffic to a webinar funnel . They were also tracking website conversions to know how many people referred from Facebook were converting on that landing page.

They set their targeting and created the ads. Initially, they were getting a higher CPC.

Although their primary objective was to show the video ads, they also tested the text ad along with it and they saw a huge difference between both.

This the stats on their text ad;

And compare that to the video ad;

They spent a little more on the video ads, but have 18X more engagement and were 3.5X more than the text ads.

So seeing the video ads were proving better, they went on creating multiple video ads.

This is one of the video ads they were using.

Specifically, implementing retargeting on the website helped them lower their CPC and improve their conversions.

At the end of 2 weeks campaign, they were able to have 122 signups that resulted in $11,000 of monthly revenue that too just from a $2500 in ad spend.

That is almost 400% is profit against the cost of Facebook Ads, not to mention that the lifetime value of these customers will be way much than this.

Lesson Learned # 27 – Don’t get faltered from initial road bumps. Review the performance and capitalize where most performance is achieved. Such as mobile users were engaging far more than desktop users in this case so apparently it makes sense to pour more budget here.

Lesson Learned # 28 –  Retargeted traffic gave better conversion then the cold traffic. Veeroll has the lowest CPC and conversion from retargeted ads.

Lesson Learned # 29 – Don’t just stick to conventional ad styles. Try video ads too. They have incredible engagement and lets you communicate more message than what it takes from text and image ads.

Case Study # 10 – Reaping $163,969 in revenue from $5989 of ad spend in just 34 days

This is an absorbing Facebook Ad Case Study as it not only achieved a remarkable result but worked on an approach that will work in any niche – yes any niche. It is also very helpful for startup businesses that have none or small following and email list.

Paul Romando’s  Facebook Ad’s campaign for his client returned a staggering $163,969 in revenue from a mere $5989 in ad investment.

That’s an insane 2737.80% of return in just 34 days of the campaign.

Paul’s success formula was simple.

Rather than going for the hard sell, he created a Facebook funnel, where leads first opted in on content ( lead magnet) around a product.

And later, for all those that opted in, Paul would show a different ad set that directly takes them to the sale page.

He calls this is the Elope Approach.

His multi-step Facebook Ad Strategy builds up a connection with your targeted audience before going for the sale. This helps in nurturing leads and segmenting people that are most likely to convert.

Particularly important was the Facebook Ad relevance score. A high Facebook Ad relevance score helped your ad not being flagged by Facebook and delivered to your targeted audience.

So when he showed the sales ads to his existing audience, a high relevance score for imminent as these people already knew him.

For most B2B businesses having a Facebook Sales Funnel is crucial. It might sound a lot of work but gains are immense, and you can use it over and over again.

Lessons Learned # 30 – Rather than going straight for sales, develop a Facebook funnel through a lead magnet. Once you have subscribers in your funnel, nurture them with you offer ads.

Lessons Learned # 31 – Use different ads / ad sets for the retargeted audience / warm leads. Since they already know about your product, take them straight to your money page.

For example, create a different ads / ad set for cold and warm leads and make sure that you exclude each one of them in the targeting set.

Case Study # 11 – How Wahida Generated High-Quality Leads With Just $10/Day

Sending people straight to a sales page might work in commodity niches such as online stores, but for B2B services it’s essential to capture the leads first.

This case study came from Wahida Lakhani, one of the students of Claire Pelletreau from her Ad Consultant Incubator program. She was able to manage a very low cost / lead for a client in health and fitness niche.

The idea was same as Paul Romano – generate leads using a lead magnet and then move on for the sale.

But she tweaked it a bit.

Rather than sending them to a lead magnet straight away, she added another layer. She sent the traffic from Facebook ad to a high-quality article on the blog and added a lead magnet as the content upgrade.

The original article was on creating “Easy Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars” but she added the details of the lead magnet “6 Vegan and Gluten-Free Recipes.”

This is uber awesome, provided you have an ultra high-quality article that drives CTR from Facebook and an equally irresistible lead magnet.To ensure they provided the detail of valuable content in the ad, she also added the lead magnet detailed information in the FB ad.

The results were 10/10 relevance score from Facebook, high CTR ( 5%)  and lead cost at just $0.65.

Want 10/10 relevance scores also? Check out our free targeting training here.

This was far less than the industry standard in health and wellness. So regardless of how competitive your niche is, there is still an opportunity for to score dirt-cheap leads.

Lesson Learned # 32 – Having a high-quality content helps in generating high CTR, better engagement, and lead generation.

Lesson Learned # 33 – Use your Facebook Ad effectively to list all the value you are providing. This will make your case stronger and gives the reader more reason to interact with your ad.

Lesson Learned # 34 – With a well thought out plan / funnel / strategy, you can shatter any industry benchmarks no matter how competitive your niche is.

Case Study # 12 –  How Mary Got 532 Subscribers in 43 days Using Facebook Ads

For startup businesses and bloggers, getting new subscribers for their blog is often challenging. They might end up producing high-quality content but fail to attract the subscribers/ optins they would expect.

This case study will help you understand that how can you use Facebook Ads to generate more subscribers for your blog.

Mary Fernandez shows how she gained new blog subscribers for just $0.43 each using video ads.

One common thing that she experienced in building blog subscribers for her clients was that personalizing the ad gave better results than a stock-photo ad.

Such as these are some examples of a personalized ad.

And this too;

Why these ads?

View the Facebook from the standpoint of a potential subscriber.

They are probably surfing Facebook to see what their friends are doing, following up with family and socializing but not to view ads.

If your ad looks like a traditional ad, there is a high chance that they will ignore it. But if they see something relevant or something which might not be another ad from the laundry, they are more likely to engage.

So where possible try to use a personal looking photo of you or your employees, instead of stock photos.

Lessons Learned # 35 – Facebook Ads can be used for any objective – even if its finding or increasing new subscribers for your blog.

Lesson Learned # 36 – Keep your ads as personal as possible. Your audience will be more likely to interact with your ad if it has a human effect / touch.

Case Study # 13 – How Servando got 500% ROI from a $20 Facebook Ad budget

This case study is especially useful for people and businesses that don’t have a product of their own but are promoting affiliate products.

We have often seen our customers using Facebook Ads for promoting affiliate offers, but they seem to struggle in creating an effective strategy.

One of the biggest mistakes they make is not using the landing page effectively.

It’s not difficult or impossible to send traffic from Facebook. If you set your targeting right, you will still be able to get the required traffic.

However, if you are promoting affiliate products on Facebook , don’t send them straight to a sales page but to a “bridge” page first.

This is what Servando Silva of Stream-Seo did. For the affiliate offer, he was promoting using two landing pages.

1 – One page that had a description of the offer and a Free Trial button that took them straight to the sales page.

2 – One that has an opt-in form ( just for email) and after submitting will lead to the sales page.

He spent overall $20 on ads on both the ads pages and was able to earn $100 in commission and 60 valuable leads.

Though the sales came from the first page, he was able to score valuable leads via the second ad and landing page.

Not only did he earn $80 over his $20 spend, but he also grew his list which he can leverage in the future.

From the 198 people that clicked on from his Facebook Ads , almost 119 clicked on to the affiliate link. So this shows that bringing quality traffic certainly works in your favor.

Lesson Learned # 37 – If you want the best ROI from your campaigns, don’t just focus on the Facebook Ad part – plan ahead where you will send the traffic and how will you capitalize on them.

Lesson Learned # 38 – Create multiple funnels and objectives from different ad sets and landing pages. Such as in this case he tested two ads on two different landing pages giving him multiple segmented audiences.

So there you have it – an in-depth review of the best handpicked Facebook Ads Case studies from nearly all types of businesses with variable objectives.

By reviewing the above case studies, it is evident that the success of Facebook Ads lies in multiple things. But it’s also clear that budget is not a primary factor, and you can succeed with even minimal of the budget.

What’s your favorite case study?

11 Amazing Facebook Marketing Case Studies

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Even though Facebook still seems to be first on the mind of many people thinking about social media marketing – Facebook is not easy to master. But there are multiple Facebook marketing case studies out there that prove that success can still be found with Facebook.

Sure, you can buy visibility fairly cheap, you can shout your offers at a (hopefully) targeted audience. But to get your share of Facebook’s marketing and branding superpowers you have to understand how the social network Facebook works. You need to figure out what your target audience likes – and you have to find the trigger to make them engage with your updates.

Image Source: Sprout Social

Before you read on - we have various resources that show you exactly how to use social networks to gain massive traffic and leads. For instance, check out the following:

If you are not going to spend thousands of dollars on advertising that gets even harder – and the more important, it is to understand how it all works.

A wider reach for a post on a Facebook fanpage may become harder to get, but there are still some formats and types of updates on Facebook that can reach far.

While many Facebook users complain that their reach dropped, most of them do not (yet) utilize the fairly new features that Facebook offers that will not only help to increase engagement but also help to uphold or even grow the reach. And I am not talking all about advertising.

No matter what you do on Facebook, a key goal for your marketing updates should be engagement. And that is for more than one reason:

• Engagement is an important factor that decides how well your posts is received by the Facebook algorithm.
• Engagement also helps to build a relationship and convert more leads and customers.

Brands who are looking for Facebook marketing success need to be aware of what works and what their audience may like. There are some types of posts that on average fare far better than others – and successful brands consider this.

Image Source: BuzzSumo

Video by far outperforms all other types of Facebook post formats. In fact, videos get 59% more engagement than any other types of post. Video even performs better than photos.

But there is another type of post or rather a place to post that can outperform what you have been doing on Facebook in the past: Facebook groups.

Hey, before you read on - we have in various FREE in-depth guides on similar topics that you can download. For this post, check out:

Marketers view private community groups as one of the major trends in social marketing. That should be reason enough for you to take a closer look at Facebook groups if you have not done so in the past. We added some Facebook marketing case studies to this list that feature Facebook groups as the main focus.

But you don’t have to take my word for the possibilities you have with your Facebook marketing. There are more than enough examples of brands that are hitting it big-time on Facebook.

Here are 11 examples of brands that win big with their Facebook marketing. Even if your situation is different, your budget not even worth mentioning and your existing fanbase a fraction of the brands in question – you can still learn from these amazing Facebook marketing case studies how to leverage the Facebook audience!

1. Starbucks – Case Study for Facebook Groups

The first Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte was sold in a test campaign in Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada, and Washington, D.C. in 2003. It was an instant success. In the fall of 2004, the drink was rolled out nationwide. It is said that Starbucks made more than 1.4 billion $ just off this drink .

The pumpkin spice latte remains a seasonal drink to this day – and is eagerly awaited for fall 2020.

But what has Pumpkin Spice Latte to do with Facebook marketing? A lot.

In 2018 Starbucks launched a Facebook group for Pumpkin Spice Latte. The group is called “Leaf Rakers Society.” It is a group to celebrate fall – remember, the Pumpkin Spice Latte is a seasonal drink that can only be bought at Starbucks in fall…

The number one reason for Starbucks’ social media team for starting this group may have been the shift in the algorithm on Facebook. That shift meant that brands needed to focus on engagement and meaningful interaction instead of just posting. And for many brands that meant a new strategy that focused more on the Facebook group than on Facebook fanpages.

For Starbucks this group had more benefits:

• for their seasonal drink, this group kept the love and excitement alive all-year-long.
• They do not post, they do not have to be active. The group members keep the group alive.
• They do not have to spend a dime in advertising – the popular topic allows them to do brand building based on member activity.

• Listening to their customers who keep talking about beveryge recepies and Starbucks products they get valuable insights into what their audience loves or hates, how they can improve – and maybe even get new ideas for the nest super product to sell
• All considered, the Facebook group for pumpkin spice latte lovers seems to do the trick for Starbucks.

2. Tomcat – Facebook Video Case Study

Facebook video and Facebook live video may sound a little intimidating and scary. So much may go wrong. And if it goes wrong everybody can see it.

But with a little creativity and some additional boost, there are awesome marketing results on the line.

So how about Halloween, mice, and a horror movie that develops as the audience comments on the video? This is an extraordinary example of creative content marketing utilizing one of the major trends in social media.

Tomcat is a company that focuses on rodent extermination. For Halloween 2016 they created a live video event featuring some mice in a haunted cabin. At some points in the story, the audience was asked how the story should develop: Which of the mice should die next and how should it be killed.

The video got 2.3 million unique views and an insane amount of 21% of viewers actively participated. the fanbase of the Tomcat Facebook page grew by 58%.

Tomcat – Facebook Not Live from Jesse Brown on Vimeo .

3. BuzzFeed -Facebook Live dance battle

This is another example of how brands can use Facebook live to engage with their audience and build brand awareness.

You probably all know BuzzFeed.

BuzzFeed used Facebook live to host an interactive dance battle called “Dance Craze Battle: Live” that asked the audience to vote on the performance of the dancers via the comments.

But they asked for even more engagement.

Instead of following a predefined schedule and guideline for the moves to be performed, they asked the audience to suggest dance moves that the dancers had to perform. And the audience complied, making the dancers perform things like “the crying college student.”

Between rounds, Buzzfeed took the opportunity to talk to the contestants and make their team more human.

In the second round of the battle, the viewers could see how the dancers performed their suggestions.

The engagement on the live videos helped keep the audience interested.

4. Hubspot – Facebook group example

In March 2020 the inbound marketing company Hubspot created a Facebook group for Marketers called Marketer to Marketer.

As with the Starbucks Facebook group for fall lovers, the Hubspot group is NOT a group to market Hubspot products. It is also not a Hubspot support group.

In fact, the group description explicitly states that the group is not monitored by the Hubspot support team.

Hubspot answers the why to the Facebook Group themselves : To build a community around their target group (=marketers.) Plus, since the reach for Facebook posts steadily declines they needed a new way of increasing engagement around their brand and product.

The impact of the group? Hubspot has close to 2 Mio followers on their Facebook fanpage. The group has just over 3200 members. The difference is too large to measure the impact of the group on Facebook engagement, reach or traffic.

However, they get direct access to members from their target group. They can interact and engage and earn valuable insights into the questions and topics on the mind of their marketing audience.

The Hubspot Facebook group is still very young but it already turned into a self-sustaining community. But it still needs ongoing promotion to keep it growing and prospering.

5. Real Estate – a Local Facebook Marketing Case Study

Looking at the other case studies, you may get the impression that you have to be a global player with a huge budget to utilize Facebook marketing. That is why I added this case study about a real estate company that wanted to increase local leads.

For this they used lead generation ads – this type of ad on Facebook already includes a contact form for which you can choose the questions to add.

The agency case study tells that the campaign generated 370 local leads in 90 days . Each lead cost 6,77$ on average.

Before you jump on the Facebook advertising train, please note that the case study does not disclose any ROI or value for the lead. I have no proof whatsoever that any dollar was ever earned with these leads.

And that is a major problem with lead generation on Facebook and you need to measure your results carefully: Leads need to make you money otherwise you will be on a straight path to bankruptcy as you pay for each lead in hard money.

Sure, Nike has a corporate page on Facebook . But Nike has so much more. They have specialized Fanpages for various sports like basketball, football, running, tennis, etc. Also, Nike has some pages for activity like the Nike+ Run Club. They have Nike Women. Plus they have several accounts for various products.

Why are they splitting up their marketing power this way?

Because it lets them target their audience much better. They can provide more value to the people. The sports channels give you news from your favorite sports without annoying half the audience with news from sports they are not interested in.

I have been part of the running initiative a while back when Nike had Women’s runs in various cities including my home town Berlin. These runs were perfectly organized inbound marketing campaigns that encouraged the participants to share photos and videos from the event all over social media. Nike even provided several on-location photo booths to make sure there where thousands of branded photos being passed around social media. And sure I was a fan of the related Fanpage eager awaiting updates on the next run.

With all these accounts – what is Nike talking about all day? What is their content strategy? Not their products – or not only their products. Nike products have a minor role in all this branding effort. No need to be overly promotional. A large number of updates is about news from sports or athletes that still builds brand awareness.

Image Source NikeCourt on Facebook

Note: Nike can be viewed as a case study from the past. Most of their Facebook pages are not updated anymore. They have gone on another marketing path.

7. TOMS One-For-One Strategy

Image Source: TOMS on Facebook

This strategy gives a lot of possibilities for stories to tell – each product in itself is a call-to-action to do something good. And this type of marketing campaign works on Facebook. They can announce new partnerships and products – people will like them and allow leveraging the good deed that is always included.

8. State Bicycle

Maybe it is because I am into sports myself – I love how State Bicycle work their Facebook page: Sure they have product updates. They also have announcements for races and news from the biking world.

What really gets their engagement going is their content strategy of photo contests, photo shoots and photos they share.

Image source: State Bicycle on Facebook

9. Tough Mudder

I am not so sure whether I first heard about Tough Mudder from friends – or if I first saw an ad from them on Facebook. Maybe it is because I know people who participated, or because Jonathan may take part one day. But they surely caught my attention on Facebook.

Tough Mudder is an obstacle course challenge that takes place all over the world. And they rock Facebook.

They are using several country accounts besides the main Facebook Fanpage .

They post a mixture of videos, images, and articles around the tough mudder races. Of course, they have the huge advantage of video footage directly from the challenges. And these videos surely get a ton of engagement – who does not admire those tough mudders?

Image Source: Tough Mudder on Facebook

Also, they use Facebook advertising – as said before, I saw those ads multiple times. And maybe one day I will dare to go for one of the challenges… Let me first finish the Berlin Marathon in September 🙂

Image Source: Tough Mudder Marketing Case Study

ToughMudder also uses Facebook video and Facebook live to cover its events. Since the Corona pandemic, there have not been any ToughMudder events but you can find some of the past videos.

They not only cover events but also live stream bootcamps.

10. FitBit – Facebook marketing case study

This is more an example of a content marketing strategy with the aid of Facebook. FitBit mainly shares their own blog posts on their Facebook fanpage. And they manage to get high engagement. Nothing going viral but solid likes and shares.

Image source: FitBit on Facebook

They do not concentrate on their products. They share posts from the FitBit blog that cover everything fitness and healthy living related. And that topic simply rocks on Facebook.

Whenever a fan shares a story or personal experience in the comments, FitBit is there to comment and appreciate the openness.

That kind of interaction scores high with fans.

Fitbit also added videos to their Facebook strategy. They now post Facebook videos on a regular basis.

11. Always #LikeAGirl

Always offers sanitary products for women, and in 2014 they decided to change the meaning of #likeagirl. At the center of their campaign was this powerful video.

Final Words about Facebook marketing case studies

While Facebook isn’t up front on the list of hottest marketing trends, there are still thousands of brands successful on Facebook. And not all of them base their success solely on the size of their advertising budget. They succeed because they understand how Facebook works – and what their audience on Facebook wants and likes.

The biggest trend – and probably your biggest chance for marketing success without breaking the bank – currently are Facebook groups and Facebook video or rather Facebook live. That is why we added some Facebook marketing case studies that focus on Facebook groups and Facebook videos.

Before you jump into Facebook marketing and spend thousands on advertising because you read somewhere that Facebook marketing can only be successful if you pay for it – take a close look at some of these case studies and figure out what really makes them successful. It is the content they use, the engagement they drive, and fit between their updates and their target audience. Once, you understood what works for others figure out which marketing tactics resonate with your audience!

That is what Facebook marketing success is based on!

Are you dreaming of online success? You need traffic to your blog or website!

Getting free traffic from social media is absolutely possible. You just need to know what you have to do.

Here is the process that works for (almost) any niche and has the power to bring you huge amounts of traffic. We used these exact tactics to grow our first business to over 500k pageviews (wow – that was a ride!). We also used these tactics to get 50k visitors just 6 months after starting a totally new blog.

Do you want to get the foolproof process in easy to follow action plans? Check out “ The Social Traffic Code !”

If you struggle with your traffic this is the answer: It was for us!

Susanna Gebauer

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Facebook case study

The development of Facebook's strategy including business and revenue model

You use Facebook, but have you ever wondered about its business model and how it has evolved?  In my  E-business and E-commerce Management book we have reviewed the development of Facebook for over six years now. I think it's still a great case study for both students and professionals to learn from, since it shows many of the success factors needed for a new start-up, including the risks of alienating users when their privacy needs are not listened to.

It’s incredible that Facebook now has more than a billion monthly active users worldwide , yet has fewer than 5,000 employees.

In this case study which we aim to keep up-to-date between the new editions of my books, I have structured the review of Facebook strategy using some of the customer-related aspects of the Business Model Canvas .

Facebook's value proposition

In 2013, the Facebook mission is simply to ' make the world more open and connected '.

Previously, it described itself as:

'a social utility that helps people communicate more efficiently with their friends, family and coworkers. The company develops technologies that facilitate the sharing of information through the social graph, the digital mapping of people’s real-world social connections. Anyone can sign up for Facebook and interact with the people they know in a trusted environment '.

You almost certainly know the story behind how the Facebook value proposition developed from watching the 2010 film The Social Network ? It describes how Facebook was founded while Mark Zuckerberg was a student at Harvard University - initially for limited Harvard student membership. The initial viral effect of the software was indicated since more than half of the undergraduate population at Harvard registered on the service within the first month!

Zuckerberg used open-source software PHP and the MySQL database to create the original 'TheFacebook.com' site and these technologies are still in use today.

The film also describes the long-running dispute on the ownership of Facebook since another Harvard-originated social networking site ‘HarvardConnection’, which later changed its name to ConnectU, alleged in September 2004 that Zuckerberg had used their source code to develop Facebook when they originally contracted him to help in building their site.

When Facebook first launched in February 2004, there were just three things that users could do on the site which are still core to the functionality of the site.

• 1. Users could create a profile with their picture and information.
• 2. View other people’s profiles.
• 3. Add people as friends.

Core Consumer Benefits

The latest Facebook SEC update explains these core consumer benefits defined by the company:

• Connect and Share with your friends. Staying connected is the core feature as we would expect, but note the more emotional underpinnings of the other elements of the value proposition.
• Discover and Learn. Facebook references public figures and organisations that interest them – available through Facebook company pages.
• Express yourself. A fundamental need and Facebook does this through it’s key features which it describes as the Timeline, News Feed, Photos and Videos and messaging through Email, Chat and Text.
• Stay connected everywhere . Referencing the importance of mobile use and use on other sites to Facebook’s users and business model. People can access Facebook through the website, mobile sites, smartphone apps, and featured phone products.

Value proposition for marketers and businesses

Facebook works hard to monetise its audience particularly since it held its initial public offering (IPO) on May 18, 2012. This was the biggest IPO for an Internet company, with a peak market capitalization of over $104 billion. Facebook describes its offer to businesses as...

' Marketers can engage with more than one billion monthly active users on Facebook or subsets of our users based on information people have chosen to share with us such as their age, location, gender, or interests. We offer marketers a unique combination of reach, relevance, social context, and engagement to enhance the value of their ads '.

Commercial companies or  Not-For-Profit organizations  can also create their own Facebook Pages for their company (currently free). Facebook users can then express their support by adding themselves as a fan, writing on the company Wall, uploading photos, and joining other fans in discussion groups. When users become fans, they can optionally agree to be kept up to date about developments which then appear in their news feeds.

To encourage companies to advertise, Facebook uses an algorithm known as EdgeRank which determines the percentage of company status updates appear in a user’s newsfeed. Marketers need to work hard to maintain relevance of their posts using the techniques described by Marie Page in her explanation of EdgeRank .

Facebook's revenue model

Facebook has an ad-based revenue model. Some of the features of Facebook Ads   include:

• Targeting by age, gender, location, interests, and more.
• Alternative payment models: cost per click (CPC) or impression-based (CPM).
• ‘ Trusted Referrals’ or ‘Social Ads ’ – ads can also be shown to users whose friends have recently engaged with a company’s Facebook page or engaged with the company website.

Promises from Facebook at launch

At the time of the launch of ads, the Facebook blog made these comments, which indicates the delicate balance between advertising revenue and user experience. They said, first of all, What’s not changing?:

• Facebook will always stay clutter-free and clean.
• Facebook will never sell any of your information.
• You will always have control over your information and your Facebook experience.
• You will not see any more ads than you did before this'.

And what is changing?:

• ‘You now have a way to connect with products, businesses, bands, celebrities and more on Facebook.
• Ads should be getting more relevant and more meaningful to you'.

Facebook’s Strategy -  framework of key elements of SEC filing

• 1. Expand global community . Facebook names specific 'relatively less-penetrated, large markets' such as Brazil, India, Mexico and Japan.

As with many SEC filings of successful Internet businesses there is a clear commitment to user experience.

Facebook’s approach?   based on Insight: 'To provide the most compelling user experience, we continue to develop products and technologies focused on optimizing our social distribution channels to deliver the most useful content to each user by analyzing and organizing vast amounts of information in real time'.

Smart Insights (2012) quotes Andrew (Boz) Bosworth who is the Director of Engineering at Facebook as saying, 'Every day, we run hundreds of tests on Facebook, most of which are rolled out to a random sample of people to test their impact. For example, you may have seen a small test for saving news feed stories last week. Other products might require network effects to be properly tested, so in those cases we launch to everyone in a specific market, like a whole country'.

• 3. Mobile Products. Facebook is seeking to make these more engaging and more easily available. By the end of 2012 Facebook ad more than 680 million average monthly users of mobile services. The acquisition of photo sharing app Instagram in August 2012 was part of this strategy.

More than 95% of Facebook members have used at least one application built on Facebook Platform. Facebook Platform for mobile applications was launched in October 2007, although many Facebook users already interacted with their friends through mobile phones.

Facebook states: 'Our advertising strategy centres on the belief that ad products that are social, relevant, and well-integrated with other content on Facebook can enhance the user experience while providing an attractive return'.

Facebook explains its technology investments as focusing on analytics and development in areas including content optimization and delivery, graph query, media storage and serving, large-scale data management, and software performance.

6. Facebook’s competitors

Curious to think of a company as large as Facebook having competitors, it has new global rivals and local rivals!.  Facebook mentions Google+, which Google has integrated with some of its products, including search and Android, as well as other, largely regional, social networks that have strong positions in particular countries, such as Mixi in Japan and vKontakte and Odnoklassniki in Russia.

It also describes companies that offer microblogging (Twitter) , Developers of platforms such as Apple iOS and Google Android and Games Developers as key competitors.

It has taken the decision not to create a competing mobile platforms, instead in 2013 launching 'Facebook Home on Android' to increase usage of Facebook on these devices .

Risk factors

Today Facebook states that ' Trust is a cornerstone of our business' and they now dedicate significant resources to the goal of building user trust through developing and implementing programs designed to protect user privacy, promote a safe environment, and assure the security of user data.

Facebook has to some extent learned this lesson from early mistakes, with incidents including:

• Initial concerns about privacy of member data – 14 December 2005. Two MIT students downloaded over 70,000 Facebook profiles from four schools (MIT, NYU, the University of Oklahoma, and Harvard) using an automated script, as part of a research project on Facebook privacy.
• New feed functionality launched – September 2006. New information feeds were launched in mid-2006 which show the challenges of balancing the benefit of new functionality against disrupting existing user habits.Writing in the Facebook blog in September 2006, Mark Zuckerberg said, ' We’ve been getting a lot of feedback about Mini-Feed and News Feed. We think they are great products, but we know that many of you are not immediate fans, and have found them overwhelming and cluttered. Other people are concerned that non-friends can see too much about them. We are listening to all your suggestions about how to improve the product; it’s brand new and still evolving'.   Later, in an open letter on the blog dated 8 September 2006, Zuckerberg said, ' We really messed this one up. When we launched News Feed and Mini-Feed, we were trying to provide you with a stream of information about your social world. Instead, we did a bad job of explaining what the new features were and an even worse job of giving you control of them. I’d like to try to correct those errors now'.

Privacy Concerns sparked by Beacon Technology (November 2007)

Facebook received a lot of negative publicity on it's new advertising format related to the ‘Beacon’ tracking system.

How did Mark Zuckerberg respond in his blog?(5 December 2007) 'About a month ago, we released a new feature called Beacon to try to help people share information with their friends about things they do on the web. We’ve made a lot of mistakes building this feature, but we’ve made even more with how we’ve handled them. We simply did a bad job with this release, and I apologize for it. While I am disappointed with our mistakes, we appreciate all the feedback we have received from our users. I’d like to discuss what we have learned and how we have improved Beacon'.

'We were excited about Beacon because we believe a lot of information people want to share isn’t on Facebook, and if we found the right balance, Beacon would give people an easy and controlled way to share more of that information with their friends'.

What did they admit to missing?  - the right balance. It was supposed to be lightweight - touch it to work. The problem  was following an opt-out system instead of opt-in - as someone would forget to decline to share something; Beacon still went ahead and shared it with their friends. It took them too long after people started contacting them to change the product so that users had to explicitly approve what they wanted to share.

Instead of acting quickly, Facebook took too long to decide on the right solution!.

Privacy setting concerns – Autumn to 2009 to Spring 2010

In December 2009, Facebook implemented new privacy settings. This mean't some information, including ‘lists of friends’, was ‘publicly available’, when it was previously possible to restricted.

Photos and some personal information were also public unless users were sufficiently knowledgeable and active to limit access. Privacy campaigners including the Electronic Frontier Foundation and American Civil Liberties Union criticized the changes. In May 201, further changes were made to give users greater control and simplify the settings.

Facebook lists some of it's other key risk factors as:

• users increasingly engage with other products or activities; failure to introduce new and improved products.
• introduce new products or services not liked; users feel that their Facebook experience is diminished as a result of the decisions made with respect to the frequency, prominence, and size of ads that are displayed.
• unable to continue to develop engaging products for mobile devices, that work with a variety of mobile operating systems and networks, and that achieve a high level of market acceptance.
• unable to manage and prioritise information to ensure users are presented with content that is interesting, useful, and relevant to them.
• users adopt new technologies where Facebook may not be featured or otherwise available.

Key sources for the latest information on Facebook

• All Facebook  and Inside Facebook  are sites specializing in reporting all developments at Facebook.
• Key Facts  -  updated quarterly at close of year.
• SEC updates – Security and Exchange Commission annual report filings give great insights into how Facebook positions itself and what it sees as its risk factors.
• Smart Insights Facebook marketing update hub page  - updates and advice covering the major developments that marketers need to be aware of.
• Social Bakers - Facebook statistics by country and brand popularity
• Wikipedia (2013)  - Wikipedia Pages for Facebook.

Do let us know of any other resources useful for studying Facebook's strategy and business model.

By Dave Chaffey

Digital strategist Dr Dave Chaffey is co-founder and Content Director of online marketing training platform and publisher Smart Insights. 'Dr Dave' is known for his strategic, but practical, data-driven advice. He has trained and consulted with many business of all sizes in most sectors. These include large international B2B and B2C brands including 3M, BP, Barclaycard, Dell, Confused.com, HSBC, Mercedes-Benz, Microsoft, M&G Investment, Rentokil Initial, O2, Royal Canin (Mars Group) plus many smaller businesses. Dave is editor of the templates, guides and courses in our digital marketing resource library used by our Business members to plan, manage and optimize their marketing. Free members can access our free sample templates here . Dave is also keynote speaker, trainer and consultant who is author of 5 bestselling books on digital marketing including Digital Marketing Excellence and Digital Marketing: Strategy, Implementation and Practice . In 2004 he was recognised by the Chartered Institute of Marketing as one of 50 marketing ‘gurus’ worldwide who have helped shape the future of marketing. My personal site, DaveChaffey.com, lists my latest Digital marketing and E-commerce books and support materials including a digital marketing glossary . Please connect on LinkedIn to receive updates or ask me a question .

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Case Study: Facebook

In this series of case studies i am looking at widely known companies in the tech industry. in two posts i already explored slack and airbnb , to understand the values that underlie each company, as well as the dynamics that they enforce. take a look at the intro to the first case study if you want more insight into my approach..

Keks Ackerman

Future Sensor

Social Networks

Social networks are not a new idea. They have existed as long as humans have lived together. It is through our social networks that we grow and mature, testing out what kind of behaviour works and what doesn’t. The small dramas that unravel within these webs teach us about judgement, boundaries and self-expression. However, with the birth of digitisation these networks have changed. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, WeChat (among others) didn’t introduce a totally new concept into human life, but they did drastically expand the ground on which our dramas unfold. Our thoughts, opinions, gossip, pictures, and videos are no longer seen by those who are close to us, but can be accessed globally. The sphere in which we used to “test” our growth is so large that we are often removed from the consequences of our words and actions. We don’t necessarily learn from our mistakes because we aren’t aware of them as mistakes in the first place.

However, these companies have done something more than simply expand the network, they have also changed some of the fundamental rules of how it works — and that is what I want to understand in this post. Mainly, I want to talk about how a social network changes when it becomes a social software .

But before I go into this, let’s talk about the company that started it all: Facebook.

The Impulse

Facebook was developed in 2003 by a college kid named Mark Zuckerberg, and the story of its creation is pretty wild. Unlike most companies, the original Facebook, FaceMash, wasn’t conceived as a business idea. It was a sort of game to compare photos of girls and comment on which one was hotter. This story, made famous by the movie The Social Network , has been discussed in great length in every corner of the internet, and though it is fascinating, I don’t think there is much I need to add here.

What I will say is that the nuances of this beginning have an interesting reflection on the product itself, that is, on the idea of a social network. Though a social network connects us, and many would say that this is its primary function, it can accomplish this connection through many different means. Connection can be formed through love, sharing, friendship, but also through jealousy, complaining, antagonism, and shame. So though many would say the original FaceMash was a misogynistic disgrace, it was also a very effective way to connect a specific group of people.

Manifestation

After it’s controversial introduction, Facebook launched as an internal social network for Harvard in 2004. Two years later, after multiple large investments and lawsuits, the platform opened to everyone.

By 2012, Facebook was the first social network to surpass 1 billion people, and today (2019), the platform has about 2.38 billion monthly users. On top of that, Facebook has estimated that at least 2.1 billion people use FB or one of its affiliated apps, like messenger, WhatsApp, or Instagram every day . There are 7.7 billion people on the planet, which means that almost a ⅓ of the world is on Facebook.

This means that Facebook’s user base is larger than any nation. I highlight this point to impress the power that Facebook has over what we see, how our opinions are formed, and what we buy. Facebook is not run by elected officials, and its board is not a representative body. So though it’s users constitute a group larger than any nation, there is no democratic network governing it. It is able to function with very little accountability.

Time Well Spent?

Facebook (or one of its affiliates) is one of the primary places where we connect with family and friends. However, just like in many previous versions of social networks, it is also where we get our news, our political ideologies, advice about how to live, conspiracy theories, humour, and anything else you can think of.

Rather than making us feel more aware and connected however, our FB and IG feeds often leave us feeling unfulfilled and vague, as if our values are not really being met. Mark Zuckerberg said he wanted Facebook to be ‘time well spent’, a phrase coined by Tristan Harris and Joe Edelman in relation to the growing dissatisfaction people experience on-line. But in reality, Facebook has done little to align itself with the values and intentions of its users. The company has released statements about its mission, and updated privacy requirements, but it hasn’t fundamentally changed the software or the business model which profits not from time well spent, but from the quantity of time spent.

The Social Software

In his essay on the limitations of software, Edelman asks if a platform such as Facebook, which is inherently limited by its structure and design, can ever allow users to express their values. Does it enable people to learn in a social context, reflect on mistakes, test unusual modes of behaviour, or in other words, do all of the things that make a thoughtful adult?

Compared to past social systems — governed by social conventions or laws — software gives less space for personal reinterpretation or disobedience. It tends to code up exactly how we are intended to interact.

Edelman suggests that social software, and Facebook in particular, struggles with the challenge of being unalterable. Though there are examples of users taking a digital service and bending it to their needs and desires (the #Twitter being a good example ), the very nature of software makes experimentation much more difficult. In an offline, real-world environment people can easily disobey and re-structure norms to express an inner change, or a need to try something weird and different. On Facebook, you are locked into the particular aesthetic and structure of the software. You can’t graffiti your profile, or get drunk in the parking lot of Walmarts homepage.

Further, the design decisions dictate in what manner you interact with people, which Edelman argues is where values come in. He talks about values as being the manner in which you choose to live, in distinction from the goals you might have. For example, you might have the goal to take on more responsibility at work, and hope that this gives you more recognition, compensation, or meaningful projects. But you also want to make this change in a certain way . These ways of being can express a person’s values much more clearly than the goals themselves.

On social media, the structure of the software often deprives us from determining our manner or way of being for ourselves. Thus, it can take away a very good opportunity for growth and personal reflection. Rather than consider and prioritise our own values, we are left to notice things which are put in front of us by an attention obsessed algorithm.

The coded structure of push notifications makes it harder to prioritise a value of personal focus; the coded structure of likes makes it harder to prioritise not relying on others’ opinions; and similar structures interfere with other values, like being honest or kind to people, being thoughtful, etc.

Edelman suggests that if social media platforms enabled users to express their values more fully we would have less trouble regulating fake news, bots, hate speech, and all of the other negative qualities we see perpetuated on FB. When structures are pre-determined for us, it is much easier to fall into ideological lenses because we are not aware of other options. This is not to say that the offline world avoids the problem of siloed information or heavily structured norms, but it is never absolutely fixed.

Digital Dynamics

Though I have been speaking about the structure of Facebook’s software, and how this limits self-expression and experimentation, Facebook is also a place where information is shared and re-configured constantly. And though the FB’s feed does not always positively impact our wellbeing (anthropologist Daniel Miller provides an example where it has hugely positive effects ), it has profoundly shaped our experience of social interactions.

The meme-drift, for example, shows how irony and humour work their way through the internet, often using FB or IG as a medium . This phenomenon helps express the many different ways that Facebook has contributed to the digital dynamics which now characterise the internet. As one of the earliest, and certainly the most successful social media platforms, it has significantly shaped the way in which we interact and move through digital environments. It has formed our expectations of what social media is and can do. It has opened up a huge global community, while at the same time, due to its very ubiquitousness, it has confined our imagination of what a better design might look like. For example, it is hard for many people to imagine what a software designed to promote values and wisdom would look like because we are so accustomed to the ‘like-based’ structure of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

At the very core of Facebook’s proclaimed mission is the goal to create more connection and understanding. However, due to strategies of deep surveillance, which at this point are inseparable from Facebook’s ad based model, the company tends to succeed at something much different.

Instead of appealing to our higher brain functions, says Zeynep Tufeci , they (FB’s algorithms) speak to our lower brains. Many consequences follow: the proliferation of filter bubbles and a tendency to present us with more and more extremist content…which algorithms have learned leads to more viewing time .

Though the idea of a modern social network is to create connections across the world, and if done well is one of the best effects of digitisation, social networks can also create nests of extreme and increasingly crude behaviour. This behaviour is unchecked by the obvious humanity of another person sitting beside you. This critique of Facebook is not to suggest that digitised social spaces inherently tend toward extremism (racism, hate speech, sexism, etc) but that a social network whose shadow goal is advertisement will never succeed at a different effect.

If we spend time imagining alternate futures, even futures that are fictional or absurd, we might find that our understanding of a social space is much deeper and broader than what Facebook currently offers. We might look into social gatherings hosted through video games, or decide that we don’t want a page listing all the events happening in our city, but rather a spinning wheel that picks events based on our mood. Maybe a virtual space designed to share values and wisdom wouldn’t have comment threads but rather bubbles of sound with real people’s voices.

I don’t know what you want, or how it can be realised, but it is precisely this reflection and speculation which can help us thrive in the future. As we move into a world dominated by augmented reality and AI, we must wonder about how these technologies sit with our values. Do they disturb our values, or perhaps force them to evolve? We must also remember that though the future might be bright and shiny, with lots of cool technology that enhances our senses and allows us to forgo boring tasks, we are not there yet. We have to create the path to this future, and hopefully do so in a way that is inclusive, fair, and thoughtful.

Questions for the Future:

• What does privacy mean to different people?
• How can you design a software to enable value-based sharing, and provoke value-based discussion?
• What particular features on Facebook (or other social networks) inspire feelings of anxiety, overwhelm, obsession, self-deprecation etc.? Can we re-think these features, such as excessive comment threads or likes to promote a more healthy experience?
• How can information silos be broken?
• Can there be more transparency between the algorithm and the user, so that the user understands why certain information is being shown? We would suggest there be more flexibility in these algorithms so that people can decide for themselves how their information is filtered.
• How can one create a social space without imposing personal or corporate values?

Facebook on the AQAL

As far as necessary, all rights to the images used here have been clarified with the artists or producers. For some images I have paid a small amount of money. For others I made a donation to non-profit projects in agreement with the artists. However, most of the creators agreed that their works are used here free of charge. I’d like to express my gratitude to all of them.

Written by Keks Ackerman

Keks Ackerman is a metamodern writer, and entrepreneur, building a systemically healthy society and economy.

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Case study definition

Case study, a term which some of you may know from the "Case Study of Vanitas" anime and manga, is a thorough examination of a particular subject, such as a person, group, location, occasion, establishment, phenomena, etc. They are most frequently utilized in research of business, medicine, education and social behaviour. There are a different types of case studies that researchers might use:

• Collective case studies

• Descriptive case studies

• Explanatory case studies

• Exploratory case studies

• Instrumental case studies

• Intrinsic case studies

Case studies are usually much more sophisticated and professional than regular essays and courseworks, as they require a lot of verified data, are research-oriented and not necessarily designed to be read by the general public.

How to write a case study?

It very much depends on the topic of your case study, as a medical case study and a coffee business case study have completely different sources, outlines, target demographics, etc. But just for this example, let's outline a coffee roaster case study. Firstly, it's likely going to be a problem-solving case study, like most in the business and economics field are. Here are some tips for these types of case studies:

• Your case scenario should be precisely defined in terms of your unique assessment criteria.

• Determine the primary issues by analyzing the scenario. Think about how they connect to the main ideas and theories in your piece.

• Find and investigate any theories or methods that might be relevant to your case.

• Keep your audience in mind. Exactly who are your stakeholder(s)? If writing a case study on coffee roasters, it's probably gonna be suppliers, landlords, investors, customers, etc.

• Indicate the best solution(s) and how they should be implemented. Make sure your suggestions are grounded in pertinent theories and useful resources, as well as being realistic, practical, and attainable.

• Carefully proofread your case study. Keep in mind these four principles when editing: clarity, honesty, reality and relevance.

Are there any online services that could write a case study for me?

Luckily, there are!

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Top 5 Successful Facebook Marketing Case Studies

Damini Bhandary

Social media marketing has become a necessity for the survival of every business. Without marketing a company can never take off its business and now in the age of social media, connecting with the customers and potential customers online have become the prime factor.

Facebook has always been about connecting people from all around the world with each other. Now the biggest social media platform is not only used for connecting with people but it is also used by some biggest brands to market their products as well.

Ad campaigns are used for acquiring new customers, aware them of new products, and basically the entire existence of the brands. Facebook is said to be one of the best social media for marketing your business, with over 2.91 billion monthly users, it is far from a wrong statement.

To be specific if you are willing to advertise, Facebook can lead your business to a greater market. If arranged and executed properly Facebook ad campaigns are definitely worth it. This article will talk about the best Facebook ad campaigns that have become examples of successful campaigns for other businesses. So, let’s get started.

“Nobody reads ads. People read what interests them, and sometimes it’s an ad.”

-Howard Luck Gossage

Jabong Be You Ad Campaign Vodafone 4G SuperNet Campaign Raymond 72 Hrs. Express Tailoring Campaign Tata Housing Goa Campaign Domino’s Pizza Think Oven Campaign L'Oréal Paris FAQ

Jabong Be You Campaign

At one point, Jabong.com was an Indian e-commerce platform that dealt with fashion and lifestyle. Although in 2020, Jabong was shut down after Flipkart acquired Myntra . Even after this, the business is remembered for its popular and successful Facebook ad campaign that generated huge online traffic to its website and app.

Jabong with this brilliant campaign decided to target its audience by launching a month-long campaign in 2017. Whatever product was showcased on Facebook, the same thing was shown on the website as well thus, providing them with a personalized experience and increasing their customer involvement in the website.

Vodafone 4G SuperNet Campaign

One of the most popular telecommunication service providers in India, Vodafone and is the third-largest one in India. Vodafone's style of marketing has always been interesting and unique and its advertisements were able to capture the attention of consumers.

In 2016, when Vodafone launched 4G SuperNet, they ran an ad campaign and had a collaboration with Facebook. Here, they used the lookalike audience feature of the social media to find a new audience, who are interested in your products and are quite similar to the existing consumers of the product. This ad campaign consists of a pug, the Vodafone mascot, and a little Indian boy in some different short videos.

Raymond 72 Hrs. Express Tailoring Campaign

Raymond, the Indian-based fashion brand is famous for dealing with tailoring suits. Raymond's Facebook ad campaign is stated as one of the most popular and successful ones. Such is the effect of that campaign that it boosts up the sales of four outlets of Raymond. It was a three-week Facebook ad campaign in 2016, where Raymond uses Facebook to target customers who can increase the sale of specific selected stores.

Through Facebook, Raymond targeted men who got married, engaged, or just got a new job and pursue them to invest in tailoring suits by stating in the ad that they are launching 72 hrs. express tailoring service, the ad was a call to action statement. Those who showed interest they had to register to book their appointment and get the service.

Tata Housing Goa Campaign

Tata Housing is a subsidiary of the Tata group that deals with housing development. It is famous for building houses that have top-class designs and finishing. Tata housing was the first property developer that used Facebook for selling houses. It sold houses with the help of social media without using any other media.

Some short videos were created and were used as ads on Facebook and life in Goa was shown. This online house buying campaign was started on Facebook by Tata housing and thus was a huge success. Those videos guided viewers to property pages to get more details about it. Almost 250 houses were sold because of that campaign.

Domino’s Pizza Think Oven Campaign

There would be very few people who don’t like Pizza, and Domino’s pizza is the hot favorite amongst people. The ‘Think Oven’ campaign was a very successful campaign of Domino’s Pizza.

Here, the campaign was set in such a way that they are able to interact with customers very well and customers were able to give out their suggestions as well to Domino’s ongoing projects and also submit some new ideas. The new ideas include new items in the menu and all. This resulted in a good interaction of the company with its customers and somehow increased their website traffic .

L'Oréal Paris

It is one of the most popular Makeups, Hair, and skincare products brand and its advertisements have always been striking. The beauty brands try their level best to introduce new types of campaigns to catch the attention of people to build their brands.

L'Oréal Paris used Facebook for its ad campaign to create a sensation amongst the users. It launched a #lorealparislive in 2014, in here they asked beauty experts and models to create some great red carpet level looks and use them as gifs on Facebook to give tips to users get the same looks for themselves.

In a world where digital marketing is an inevitable technique for the survival of the business, marketing with the help of Facebook is probably one of the best methods for making people aware of your brand.

Although, the ads have to be striking enough, to touch the audience's heart and for that proper planning is needed, these above campaigns are some of the best ones and have become an example in the business world for others to follow.

Which Facebook Ads are most Effective?

The carousel ad is the most effective ad format in Facebook.

Are Facebook Ads worth it in 2021?

Facebook ads are still worth it in 2021, in fact, they have become one of a most used methods for digital marketing.

Which campaign objective is best for Facebook ads?

Conversions is one of the most effective Facebook objective as it is optimized to deliver you new leads or purchases.

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Inflow: eCommerce Marketing Agency

Home > Social Media Advertising > Facebook/Instagram (Meta)

Facebook Advertising Case Study: How 2 Facebook Ads Increased B2C Sales by 785% in 30 Days

Editor’s note: This Facebook case study was originally published in June 2020. It has been updated for accuracy and to reflect modern practices.

In digital marketing, you never make promises you can’t keep or set goals you can’t reach. 

But, in some cases, ad copy, the right messaging, and the perfect opportunity all line up to produce results that blow away any conventional expectations. 

In this blog, we’re sharing an incredible Facebook Ads eCommerce case study featuring a former client of ours, Seltzer Goods . They’re a B2C brand that sells uniquely inspired home goods for modern living. 

Like most businesses at the start of the COVID-19 crisis, they saw a sharp drop in orders. But, instead of pulling back, they decided to double down and increase ad spend during this time — leading to substantial results, including:

• 9.68x return on ad spend (ROAS)
• 785% increase in monthly revenue
• $4.87 cost per customer acquisition (CPA)

But the success didn’t stop there. In addition to the improvements on the paid social channels, sitewide organic metrics increased significantly, too, with:

• 6.6% organic conversion rate
• 183% increase in monthly organic traffic
• 931% increase in brand query and product searches 
• 200% increase in non-branded search query impressions 

Today, we’ll tell you exactly how we made it all happen — so you can replicate these results in your social ad campaigns, too.

You can also schedule a free consultation with our digital marketing team to get started anytime.

Defining the Scope of the Project

Like many eCommerce businesses, Seltzer Goods was initially hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic . Their challenge to our team: Create more sales from their B2C products to offset the negative effects on their wholesale business. 

Fortunately, Seltzer Goods’ products lent well to the stay-at-home orders during early 2020, especially their artistically unique jigsaw puzzles . 

The brand had the right products and plenty of inventory to make a splash; it just didn’t have enough awareness of these products among consumers to create the desired sales.

So, we came up with a solution to drive the interest Seltzer needed.

The ingredients:

• 1 Facebook Ad
• 1 Instagram Ad
• Strong creative and ad copy for both
• A receptive (cold) audience
• Carefully scaled ad budget

Setting Up the Ads

Although Seltzer Goods had never run campaigns before on their Facebook Ad account, we knew social media advertising would eventually be a key to their success. So, before we even began our engagement, our team added a Facebook pixel to the eCommerce site.

This gave us a major advantage: Because Facebook had been collecting data on purchasers and site visitors for months, we were able to hit the ground running when creating well-informed ads.

The Campaign

Here at Inflow, we believe in the power of the “See, Think, Do” Facebook Ads strategy . It’s served us extremely well when working with other eCommerce stores , so we used this framework for Seltzer Goods, too. 

Because we wanted to reach new customers and see how they responded to our ad creative, we started with a single campaign that only targeted cold audiences (with no retargeting ads). By choosing a conversion-based approach optimized toward purchases, Facebook and Instagram would serve the ads to users who were most likely to take action — weeding out the window shoppers.

With this setup, we’d send more qualified shoppers into Seltzer Goods’ sales funnel from the very start.

When creating an ad set on Facebook, it’s easy to get lost in all the options you can select. 

For Seltzer Goods, we kept it simple and opted into all devices and automatic placements. This would give Facebook and Instagram’s machine learning more options to display the ads, leading to better results for our client.

Given the lower price point of the product and the likelihood that consumers would impulse buy, we used a one-day click delivery optimization, instead of the default seven-day click optimization. (We recommend using the latter only if your product costs more than $100 or if your potential customers have a longer buying cycle.)

The Ad Set Targeting

For our custom audience targeting, we started with an interest-based audience ad set that was closely related to the puzzles we were selling. 

Then, we quickly added in lookalike audiences for three segments of visitors that took action on the site:

• Key page visitors 
• AddToCart users
• Purchasers (once the seed audiences were sufficient)

Having the Facebook pixel properly implemented and firing on key events such as ViewContent, AddToCart, and Purchase expedited the data collection on the seed audiences and built better lookalike audiences faster. 

Pro Tip: Take note of the age of your lookalike audience. For example, a 14-day lookalike audience could look and behave dramatically differently from a 180-day lookalike audience, particularly during abnormal time periods such as pandemics, holidays, or Black Friday and Cyber Monday. 

When implementing the lookalike audiences, we used the existing post ID from the interest-based ad sets. This allowed us to retain social proof (likes, shares, and comments) from the original ads, which would act as a positive signal to Facebook’s algorithm and potential buyers.

Next, we applied a clean and consistent naming convention structure from the campaign to the ad sets, the ads, and the UTM tagging on the back end of the URL. This streamlined our optimizations within the campaign and made reporting much easier. 

Additionally, it allowed us to leverage the power of Google Analytics alongside the native reporting from Facebook Business Manager /Ad Manager, which is crucial in understanding your attribution models and entire audience journey.  

For the best Facebook marketing results, we recommend incrementally scaling your budget over time. In the case of Seltzer Goods, we scaled up budgets by 10–15% every couple of days, as long as the ROAS was at least 5x.

A more significant increase can wreak havoc on well-performing campaigns and hurt ROAS or cost per acquisition (CPA) metrics when Facebook has to quickly adjust to new information and determine the best way to serve it. 

Breaking Down Our Ads

While targeting and budget are important for Facebook Ad success, you won’t get anywhere without first having an attractive, engaging ad. 

Facebook A/B testing is key to creating a top-performing ad that your target audience wants to see. By testing a few options, you can combine the best creative and copy to increase sales, rather than waste money running one ineffective ad at a time.

For Seltzer Goods, we started by running two different ad creatives against the same in-ad copy.

The Creative

When creating our Facebook ads, we selected single-image ads in a 1:1 ratio. 

Because the majority of social media consumption happens on mobile devices, the 1:1 ratio gives advertisers the best chance of showing the ads in an optimal format to a wider audience. 

This particular creative captures the fun, bright, and artistic essence of Seltzer Goods’ puzzles and makes it an ideal choice for Facebook and Instagram advertising. By capturing the user’s attention, it stops the proverbial scroll and lends itself to a closer look.

Ad Creative #1:

Ad Creative #2:

Remember, your ad creative (image, video, or carousel) is the most important factor in a successful ad. It’s the one thing that is exclusively yours and the best way for your brand to stand out in the crowded social feeds.

For this campaign, we chose to retain the same copy across both ad options for a few important reasons:

• It’s relevant. Seltzer Goods recognized the value of people staying indoors during the time period in which we ran the ad. 
• It’s positive. Exercising the mind is something that everyone — from doctors and nurses to grandmas, aunties, and your seven-year-old nephew — can agree is good for you. 
• It uses a natural call to action. The statement “Strengthen your puzzle game” is subtly woven into the text field and invokes a challenge to shoppers.
• It invokes a message of togetherness. Seltzer Goods’ Better Together series featured puzzles with modern designs from artists who meant something to the brand. It’s unique to Seltzer Goods, and, by highlighting this information in the ad, users had one more way to connect with the company. 
• It uses positivity and hope instead of hard sales. The copy’s headline, “Brighten Your Day One Piece at a Time” is certainly not your standard ad headline (“Get Your Puzzle Today!” or “Hurry, Supplies Are Limited!”) — but it sparked more joy for purchasers in a time of stress and uncertainty.
• It emphasizes a quick turnaround. During a time when out-of-stock issues abounded, using the phrase “In Stock & Ready To Ship” reassured consumers upfront that Seltzer Goods’ products were stocked and ready to go. 

Results & Takeaways

When it comes to paid social advertising, effective creative and copy are your not-so-secret weapons. Stay true to your brand, delight your customers with an ad creative, and you’ll win every time. 

At the same time, scaling vertically and horizontally can also reap huge benefits. But you need good audience data to do it right. 

The more recent your seed audiences, and the larger they are, the better lookalikes you can create — and the more sales you can drive through your campaigns.

Using these strategies, we saw great success with Seltzer Goods’ campaigns, including a 4.5x ROAS ( 9.68x ROAS with Facebook attribution) and less than $10 CPA ( $4.87 with Facebook attribution).

In total, this campaign accounted for 25% of Seltzer Goods’ monthly revenue . Sitewide sales during this period, however, were equal to the total from the last seven months of sales — a 785% monthly increase .

So, what did it mean?

Our Facebook Ads campaigns didn’t just affect social revenue. It also affected other channels, too. 

How Paid Ads Affect Other Channels’ Performance

After everything was calculated, Seltzer Goods’ paid social ads only accounted for 25% of the total revenue generated in this 30-day campaign. 

That leaves another 75% of the generated revenue unaccounted for, which we can attribute to other channels — organic, direct, and referral traffic  — that also experienced significant increases in performance.

In other words, Facebook and Instagram ads can (and often do) have a quantitative and qualitative positive effect on other channels, too . 

Below, you’ll see Seltzer Goods’ top-level source data for organic, direct, and referral traffic, comparing the first month we launched our initial Facebook campaigns to the month before.

In addition to the new cost-per-click (CPC) traffic, direct and organic channels skyrocketed in both traffic volume and conversion rate (185% to 533% and 351% to 903%, respectively), suggesting both an increase in demand and intent.

While we acknowledge that this particular time frame was opportune for puzzle vendors, we also know that no marketing effort exists in a silo. While other eCommerce clients have also seen increased demand, traffic volume, and transactions as a result of COVID-19, Seltzer Goods is a unique case — because the only marketing change we implemented was focused solely on Facebook and Instagram ads. 

Increased Referral Traffic

Our paid social campaigns increased the exposure of not just Seltzer Goods’ puzzle products, but also the brand as a whole. With that increased awareness came backlinks and referral traffic from BuzzFeed and Architectural Digest, as well as a better-established social media presence for the brand.

Using Google Analytics, we also saw that some of the referral traffic (such as that from BuzzFeed) found Seltzer Goods through Facebook and Instagram ads. It was quality traffic, too; for referrals from BuzzFeed, users, conversions, and conversion rates increased by 1,206%, 1,001%, and 18%, respectively.

The trend continued when we examined the organic side of these social platforms. For example, the organic Instagram referral source saw an almost 1,700% increase in traffic and transactions — which speaks to an increased level of engagement and intent from the users consuming Seltzer Goods content. 

Increased Organic Traffic

Google organic also showed strong improvement across the board. With a conversion rate of more than 6.6%, we wanted to dig a little deeper. 

Below, you’ll see a comparison between organic traffic during the time period the ads were running and the previous period — an 183% increase in users .

At the same time, we saw:

• 105% increase in total brand impressions
• 319% increase in clicks
• 105% increase in click-through rate (CTR)

Naturally, we wanted to know what types of queries were surging in organic traffic. What we found was highly encouraging for anyone struggling to convey the value of Facebook beyond the platform’s attribution model. 

For analysis, we split the site’s organic search queries into two primary categories and subcategories:

• Brand traffic + puzzle product-specific mention (“Seltzer Goods Ramen puzzle”)
• Non-brand traffic with a puzzle product-specific mention (“Ramen Noodle Bowl puzzle”)

Upon slicing the data further, we saw impressions for “Brand Queries + Puzzle” jump 931%, with an 831% increase in clicks. 

Even more exciting: The non-brand segment of puzzles showed nearly a 200% increase in impressions, accompanied by a 1,134% increase in clicks — the segment with the largest increase in CTR (315%).

So, not only did the paid social ads have an impact on the volume of branded search queries in the search engines, but they also had a remarkable impact on the intent of those queries (further reflected by the increased conversion rate). 

While this is a smaller portion of traffic, it reflects the target market we were engaging and lends credence to paid social’s impact as a branding effort. Remember: There were no active SEO adjustments made during this time that would have had an impact on organic traffic. 

This data is particularly encouraging for two reasons: 

• It shows the correlation between strong social media ad campaigns and organic traffic from a brand-awareness, upper-funnel perspective.
• It demonstrates the correlation between a strong social media ad campaign and its impact on the bottom of the funnel.

Invest in Paid Social & Reap the Rewards

Let’s be honest: It’s very likely that Seltzer Goods would have seen an increase in puzzle sales, given the demand brought on by COVID-19. 

However, without these strong Facebook and Instagram ads campaigns, the results would not have been as explosive across all digital channels.  

This new brand awareness that led to links and brand searches probably wouldn’t have increased to such a degree, nor would we have expected the lifts in organic social, either. 

It’s hard to parse the exact impact, but we strongly believe that we took a wave of potential performance and turned it into a tidal wave of sales.

Ultimately, Facebook and Instagram ads accelerated the incredible increase in traffic, expansion in traffic portfolios, and improvement in purchase intent. By combining relevant targeting and strong creative that embraces both the brand voice and the advertising platform’s capabilities, we were able to deliver the right message to the right audience at the right time. 

All of these elements are critical in running a successful digital marketing campaign that has wide-reaching impacts across the entire digital ecosystem. 

“Inflow helped us quickly increase eCommerce sales in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. A multi-year strategy for growing sales and conversions was suddenly kicked into high gear. We really love their responsiveness, effort to understand our business, and determination to deliver the highest ROI possible.” — Gay Lam, Seltzer Goods

That said, this success wouldn’t have been possible without something worthwhile to advertise. With several products that radiate fun, brightness, and positivity, Seltzer Goods kept its advertising messaging and creative true to its brand. It delighted its customers by offering great experiences and first-class customer service, including handwritten notes with the purchases — all of which led to a COVID success story.

Follow this formula with your own brand, and you’ll win every time. 

Want an expert to do it for you? Whether you’re looking for more online sales or better lead generation , our team can create paid social media advertising strategies that impact your digital ecosystem, measure your results, and put you on a path for continuous improvement.

Request a free proposal from us anytime to get started.

In the meantime, read more of our Meta case studies below:

• Clothing Facebook Ads Case Study: 219% Increase in Social Ad Revenue
• How a Dual Paid Social & Search Strategy Earned Tactipup Record-Breaking Sales
• Furniture Facebook Ads Case Study: ROAS 0 to 29.5 in 3 Months
• How We Used Facebook Ads to Help Vitrazza Reach $1 Million/Month in Sales

Puzzle sales is a very innovative concept in this Covid-19 situation. This time very effective through social media.

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About The Author

Andrew Halfman (Alumni)

Andrew was a Senior Paid Strategist at Inflow, where he specialized in driving business results through the power of paid social media. He has more than six years of experience in digital strategy, spanning paid search, paid social, email marketing, and programmatic media.

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Facebook Advertising » [Case Study] Facebook and Instagram Ads: How to go from $0 to $43,000/day Ad Spend on Facebook in 60 Days

[Case Study] Facebook and Instagram Ads: How to go from $0 to $43,000/day Ad Spend on Facebook in 60 Days

Table of Contents

Crunch time. An App partner (iOS & Android) needed to get a massive volume of installs ASAP to support a critical holiday important for their annual revenue and new customer acquisition. 

Over 60 days we went from $0 to $43,000 per day ad spend on Facebook & Instagram . Along the way we helped the app achieve its best revenue day ever, tripled their Instagram following (a positive side effect of the massive spend, and engaging ad creative), and brought in millions in lifetime value (LTV), all while keeping cost per install (CPI) on target. 

We’ll be using “CPI” a lot in this article, so take a moment to sear its meaning into your brain before you read on. Say it with me: “CPI = Cost per Install” 

Here’s what’s included:

• Campaign Setup and Results Summary
• Creative that Scale 
• Audiences that Scale
• Ads Settings that Scale
• Tracking Troubleshooting
• More testing; audiences, creative, and settings 
• Push Budgets to Winners  
• Event Specific Creative Push 
• Emergency! Account Spend Limit Hit & Workaround 
• Emergency! App Stability 

Final Push and Rising CPI

• Performance 
• Final Assessment and Key Takeaways

Campaign Setup and Results Summary: 

• The Client:   iOS and Android App with in-App Purchases 
• Primary Channel:  Facebook and Instagram App Install Ads
• iOS App Store Ads 
• Google App Install Ads 
• Pinterest App Install Ads 
• Email (To drive in-app purchases and user-adoption post install) 
• The Geo: 🇺🇸
• $263,000 Spend 
• 97,975 Installs 
• $2.68 Cost per Install (CPI) 
• 9.2m Facebook Reach 
• 26.8m Facebook Impressions 
• 2.1m video views 
• 54,000 post reactions 
• 11,000 post shares 
• 6,000 New Instagram followers
• Multiple ad variations went viral 
• Featured in the App Store

Days 1-30: Identify Facebook Audiences, Creative, and Settings that Will Scale 

After an initial planning, strategy, and goal alignment phase we jumped in. In order to protect costs and efficiency, we spent the first 30 days testing creative concepts including layout variations, and ad copy; we tested 68 audiences, and different bid optimization strategies. This section will get into what and how we tested in the first 30 days. 

Finding Creative the Scales

We went through years of creative in the Facebook Ads Manager and identified ad variations and their attributes of top past performers. We looked at metrics like click through rate (CTR), cost per install (CPI), ad quality metrics and more to identify top ads. We looked at the ads copy, creative, CTAs, and ad formats (single image, carousel, and video). 

This research revealed: 

• Top formats: Carousel, Single Image, Video 
• Top creative: was explanatory or had humor 
• Top Audiences were list and event based lookalikes 

The research resulted in 12 ad concepts to be paired with the different ad formats and creative. We used existing client creative, and worked with their design team on new creative options. 

Creative testing leaned on Facebook’s algorithm to serve the ad variation that would work best. Ad sets typically had 2-6 creative variations, and the Facebook algorithm would move budget to top performers, but the Facebook Algorithm didn’t work alone. 

The Tuff team would monitor ads daily, and turn off any ad variations or ad sets that had high CPI. This would force Facebook to spend more on the other variations, which sometimes would go on to become winners.  

Audience Research

The audience investigation was similar. What audiences had the best performance metrics? Were they segmented by age, gender, or geography? Were there exclusions (users specified not to receive an ad, e.g., existing app users?) 

Though we had initial ideas on what audiences would perform well, seeing historical audience performance, gave us a running start on audience development. 

For early learnings we looked at Facebook Demographic reporting in the Ad Account Overview. By Looking at Mobile App Installs compared to Amount Spent , we were able to identify which demographics were likely to have the best performance. In this instance we’re looking at the ratio of mobile app installs to amount spent by age group. To note, this trend didn’t hold through the 60 day push, so it is important to continue to target all ages so opportunities for installs aren’t missed. 

Note: Audiences are selected at the Ad Set level in the Facebook Ads Manager. At times in this Facebook case study, you may hear audiences and ad sets used interchangeably. 

Generally, the Facebook campaign structure is as follows: 

In the first 30 days we tested 63 audiences, paired with a mix of creative. For our tests, we’d typically have 4-8 ad sets per campaign, and 2-6 ad variations per ad set. Over the course of the test period we would turn off underperforming ads and ad sets to push more spend to winning mixes of audiences and creative variations. 

As Facebook Ads performance data came in ads and ad sets we’re turned off, signified in the chart above by “🙅‍♀️”. Only about ¼ of our ad sets survived month 1 testing, and 3 creative variations (of 12) rose as top performers. 

Days 1-30 Summary

• 21 Campaigns 
• 12 Ad Variations 
• $9,821 Spend
• 7044 Installs 
• Three top creative variations identified 
• 15 core audiences identified 
• Cost-cap bid strategy identified as effective at this scale… …but would it last? 

Days 31-60 The Ramp Up

With top audiences, creative, and bid-strategies identified we were prepared to ramp up spend. On day 31 we had 3 campaigns live, 5 audiences, and the top three ad variations running. We spent $950 that day. From there we inched up budget at the ad set level daily, and by day 45 we hit the $2,000/day mark. 

More testing; audiences, creative, and settings

Although some audiences didn’t succeed in the 30 days, there was a chance it was due to the creative and ad settings mix. We ensured these previously tested audiences were given a chance to be paired with top creative and ad settings. 

During this period the client continued to develop new creative, and that was tested as well using the assistance of the Facebook algorithm. We also isolated some creative to guarantee Facebook spend. 

A big driving force behind this rapid Facebook Ads ad spend ramp up was a holiday important to our client’s business, and we wanted to ensure that creative specific to the holiday was served. We tested 10 holiday ad variations, and only one version took off. It would become one of our best ads for the entire 60 period, though it underperformed two non-holiday specific top ads. 

An interesting take away from the top three ads is that the event specific creative didn’t perform as well as more general app functionality ads. This may be due the holiday not being applicable to everyone who sees it. 

Here is the top event-specific ad. It was a carousel and showcased the product offering. More on how they ad variation performed in the results and summary section. 

With top audiences and creative identified we were ready push spend way up leading up to the holiday, however, the the path to spend ramp up we encountered two speed bumps.

$5,000 Ad Account Spend Cap Hit & Workaround

Did you know Facebook has a default $5,000 ad spend cap per ad account, even on established ad accounts? That’s right! This spend cap is different from the ‘spend limit’, and can only be increased by Facebook Support. Unfortunately, support can have a several day turn around, which would be after our peak push. 

In this instance, we were able to find an immediate workaround that allowed us to keep advertising. We created new ad accounts . With each ad account having a $5,000 cap, we created 6 additional ad accounts that would take us up to the $35,000 per day in spend. We did finally hear back from Facebook Support and get the spend limit increased, but this was a good stop gap measure to keep ads rolling. 

App Stability Issues

With this massive ramp up underway the app encountered some stability issues due to the influx of new users. This led to a temporary pause on campaigns while app capacity was addressed. 

The takeaway from this experience is that if you are undertaking a massive app install or web traffic push, have the app and website stability on your radar. How many users can your app support? Who and how will stability be addressed if there’s a crash?  

Thanks to the app’s solid team of developers, app stability issues were resolved quickly and the ramp up would continue. 

The final push up to $43,000 was made possible by attention to detail and willingness to sacrifice CPI for more spend around the important holiday.

As we spent more in the final days of the campaign, CPI rose as well. We followed our earlier approach of pushing budget to top ad sets and creative variations, and some of these groupings had literally hit their limit (See $5,000 account cap section above). 

The cost cap bid optimized campaigns also weren’t spending their full daily amount as Facebook struggled to find users at the cost and volume we had set forth, so most campaigns were switched to a lowest cost bid strategy, which contributed to rising CPI. Low cost bid optimization, however, increased volume and ensured campaigns would spend their set amount daily. 

Fortunately the increased CPI in this final push was acceptable because the volume of installs, and subsequent LTV supported the costs. 

Top Three Ads:

Our top ad was a carousel. Carousels are known to do well on mobile devices, because they can be used to convey information without the bandwidth of video. This particular ad was also highly engaging and received thousands of reactions and 100s of shares over the course of the campaign. 

Our second best ad was an informal video shot on an iPhone, that shows the end product of the app (a physical card and gift). This video was paired with concise text and a headline on what the app does. The informal nature of the video may have been what made it resonate with people. 

The third best ad was event-specific, and also in the carousel format. It showcased end-products of the app, and also had the clear concise message about what the app does. Because it was event-specific, costs may have been higher, as it wasn’t relevant to everyone who saw it. All this said it was our third best ad of dozens of ad variations run over the 60 day campaign period. 

Getting to $45,000/day didn’t happen right away. There was little visible activity in the first 30 days while the hard work of research, audience, and creative testing was executed. Increasing spend was only possible because of this critical foundation established early on. 

Spend peaked several days before the event this campaign was based around, after which we settled in at $1,000 – $2,000 / day spend. 

Installs tracked closely with spend. This consistency was the key to our confidence as we pushed budgets up. 

CPI was initially very high. To note the budgets on these learning days was very small. And CPI dropped considerably and stayed low once initial learning was complete. 

Key Takeaways to Ramp Up Spend Quickly on Facebook 

• Test to identify top audiences, creative and settings 
• When an audience fails, try new creative 
• Is your site or app capable of the increased traffic from this kind of ramp up? 
• Have you requested that the default $5,000/day ad spend cost cap be lifted on your Facebook ad account? 

Finally, with these principles in place, don’t be scared to push up ad spend.

Facebook has a propensity to spend what you give it especially with low cost bidding, but this spend isn’t always paired with the desired results. In this case, however, through the approach of finding audiences, creative, and ad settings that would scale, we were able to achieve a massive spend and results ramp up in a 60 day period. 

Ellen is the founder at Tuff and one of the team’s core growth marketers. She is a versatile marketer with expertise in multiple channels – from ppc to seo to email to others – responsible for the experiments and testing.  She is happiest when she’s on the ski hill or outside pointing her mountain bike downhill.

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Competition Law Enforcement: Key Case Studies

Competition law enforcement has been instrumental in promoting fair market practices, with landmark cases serving as pivotal precedents for shaping the legal and regulatory landscape. Notable examples include Microsoft's antitrust saga, in which the company was accused of abusing its monopoly power by bundling its Internet Explorer web browser with its Windows operating system. The Google Shopping case is another prominent example, where the European Commission fined Google €2.42 billion for breaching EU antitrust rules by favoring its own shopping service over rivals. These cases, along with cartel conduct, abuse of dominance, and merger reviews in various regions, have contributed substantially to the development of competition law enforcement. Further examination of these cases and others reveals the complexities and nuances of competition law enforcement in action.

Table of Contents

Microsoft's Antitrust Saga

As the digital landscape was rapidly evolving in the 1990s, Microsoft's dominance in the software industry began to raise eyebrows among regulators and competitors alike. The company's market share and aggressive business practices sparked concerns about potential abuse of its monopoly leverage. Regulatory oversight bodies, such as the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), initiated investigations into Microsoft's conduct, focusing on its bundling of software products and alleged exclusionary behavior.

The DOJ filed an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft in 1998, accusing the company of violating Section 2 of the Sherman Act. The case centered on Microsoft's practice of bundling its Internet Explorer web browser with its Windows operating system, thereby stifling competition from rival browser providers. The court ultimately ruled that Microsoft had engaged in anticompetitive behavior, ordering the company to split into two separate entities. While the breakup was later overturned on appeal, the case marked a significant milestone in the enforcement of competition law, highlighting the need for robust regulatory oversight to prevent the misuse of monopoly leverage.

The Google Shopping Case

The Google Shopping Case is a landmark competition law enforcement action that highlights the European Commission's scrutiny of digital platforms. In 2017, the Commission levied a record-breaking fine of €2.42 billion against Google for breaching EU antitrust rules, specifically for illegally promoting its own shopping service over those of competitors. This case centers on allegations of self-preferencing practices that distorted the online shopping market, ultimately hindering consumer choice and innovation.

Antitrust Allegations Raised

Regulatory scrutiny has been a recurring theme in Google's operational landscape, and the Google Shopping case is a seminal example of this phenomenon. The European Commission's antitrust allegations against Google underscore the importance of regulatory oversight in ensuring a level playing field in the digital marketplace. The Commission's investigation, launched in 2010, centered on allegations that Google had abused its dominant position in the search engine market by favoring its own comparison shopping service, Google Shopping, over rival services.

Industry scrutiny has been intense, with competitors and consumer groups arguing that Google's practices stifled innovation and hindered competition. The Commission's probe revealed that Google had systematically demoted rival comparison shopping services in its search results, while promoting its own service. This alleged conduct, the Commission argued, had a significant impact on the market, reducing traffic to rival services and depriving them of the opportunity to compete on equal terms. The Google Shopping case highlights the need for effective regulatory oversight to prevent dominant firms from abusing their market power and undermining competition.

Illegal Self-Promotion Practices

Google's self-promotion practices in the Google Shopping case have been a focal point of the European Commission's antitrust allegations. The Commission accused Google of favoring its own comparison shopping service, Google Shopping, over those of its competitors. This self-preferencing led to the demotion of rival services in search results, ultimately stifling competition. In addition, Google's practices were found to be misleading, as they included fake reviews and ratings that artificially boosted its own shopping service. Additionally, Google's advertising practices were deemed misleading, as they failed to clearly distinguish between organic search results and paid advertisements. These practices not only harmed competitors but also misled consumers, who were unable to make informed purchasing decisions. The Commission's investigation revealed that Google's self-promotion tactics had a significant impact on the market, leading to a substantial reduction in traffic to rival services. This case highlights the importance of ensuring that dominant companies do not abuse their market position through illegal self-promotion practices.

Record-Breaking Fine Imposed

In a landmark decision, the European Commission imposed a record-breaking fine of €2.42 billion on Google for breaching EU antitrust rules, marking one of the largest penalties ever levied on a single company. This decision followed a lengthy investigation into Google's alleged abuse of dominance in the online shopping market, where it was found to have unfairly promoted its own comparison shopping service, Google Shopping, over rival services.

The fine calculation was based on the gravity and duration of the infringement, as well as Google's revenue from its comparison shopping service. The European Commission considered the fine necessary to deter future anti-competitive behavior and restore fair competition in the online shopping market. This decision demonstrates the European Commission's commitment to regulatory scrutiny, ensuring that dominant companies do not abuse their market position to stifle competition. The Google Shopping case serves as a precedent for future antitrust enforcement, emphasizing the importance of fair competition in the digital economy.

Cartel Conduct in Europe

In the European competition law enforcement landscape, cartel conduct remains a significant concern, with the European Commission imposing substantial fines on companies found to have engaged in anti-competitive behavior. Notable price fixing cases have led to hefty penalties, highlighting the importance of effective leniency programs in detecting and deterring such conduct. The European Commission's approach to cartel enforcement has been shaped by its experience with high-profile cases, informing its strategies for identifying and punishing cartel activities.

European Cartel Fines

How effectively have European antitrust authorities been fining cartel participants, and what trends can be discerned from the sanctions imposed? The European Commission has been instrumental in cracking down on cartel conduct, imposing significant fines on companies found to be engaging in anti-competitive behavior. In recent years, the Commission has levied record-breaking fines, with some exceeding €1 billion.

In terms of fine calculation methods, the Commission typically considers factors such as the gravity and duration of the infringement, as well as the company's turnover. Additionally, the Commission may also take into account any mitigating or aggravating circumstances, such as cooperation with the investigation or obstruction of justice. Cartel investigations have revealed that companies often engage in sophisticated schemes to conceal their anti-competitive activities, underscoring the need for robust enforcement measures.

The Commission's approach to fining cartel participants has been shaped by its desire to deter similar conduct in the future. By imposing significant financial penalties, the Commission aims to create a strong incentive for companies to comply with competition law. In this respect, the trend towards increasingly severe fines is likely to continue, serving as a powerful deterrent to would-be cartel participants.

Price Fixing Cases

The European Commission's vigorous enforcement of competition law has led to the uncovering of numerous price fixing cases, underscoring the prevalence of cartel conduct in various industries across Europe. These cases involve anti-competitive agreements among competitors to fix prices, rig bids, or allocate markets, ultimately harming consumers and distorting competition.

These cases demonstrate the Commission's commitment to detecting and prosecuting cartel conduct, including bid rigging and market allocation schemes. By cracking down on such anti-competitive practices, the Commission aims to promote fair competition and protect consumers' interests. The Commission's enforcement actions serve as a deterrent to companies considering engaging in cartel conduct, promoting a level playing field across European markets.

Leniency Programs

A cornerstone of the European Commission's efforts to combat cartel conduct is its leniency program, which offers incentives to companies that self-report and cooperate with investigations. This program has been instrumental in detecting and prosecuting cartel cases, as it encourages companies to come forward and disclose their involvement in anti-competitive activities.

The leniency program provides significant benefits to companies that cooperate, including full immunity from fines for the first company to report a cartel and reduced fines for subsequent cooperators. The program's amnesty effectiveness is evident in the high number of cartel cases uncovered through self-reporting. In fact, the majority of cartel cases pursued by the European Commission have been initiated through leniency applications.

The leniency benefits are conditional upon the company's continuous cooperation throughout the investigation. Companies must provide detailed information about the cartel, including its scope, duration, and participants, as well as any evidence in their possession. The program's success can be attributed to its ability to create a strong incentive for companies to self-report and cooperate, thereby facilitating the detection and prosecution of cartel conduct.

Abuse of Dominance in Asia

Across Asia, competition authorities have been grappling with the complex issue of abuse of dominance, wherein a single entity or a group of entities exploit their market power to stifle competition and harm consumers. This phenomenon is particularly prevalent in markets with high concentration levels, where a single firm or a few firms wield significant market power.

In recent years, regulatory frameworks in Asia have evolved to address this issue. For instance, the Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) has been actively enforcing Section 47 of the Competition Act, which prohibits abuse of dominance. Similarly, the Japanese Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) has been cracking down on abuse of superior bargaining position, which is a variant of abuse of dominance. In China, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) has been enforcing the Anti-Monopoly Law, which prohibits abuse of dominance. These regulatory frameworks have been instrumental in curbing abuses of market power and promoting competition in Asian markets.

Anti-Competitive Mergers Blocked

Scores of proposed mergers and acquisitions in Asia have been thwarted by competition authorities in recent years, citing concerns that these deals would substantially lessen competition in the relevant markets. These deal vetoes demonstrate the importance of merger reviews in maintaining a competitive landscape.

In several instances, the mergers were blocked due to concerns about the creation of dominant players, which would have led to reduced competition and innovation. For example, in the telecommunications sector, a proposed merger between two major players was vetoed due to fears that it would result in a dominant entity controlling a significant market share. Similarly, in the e-commerce space, a deal was rejected as it would have led to the creation of a dominant player with significant market power.

These decisions highlight the role of competition authorities in ensuring that mergers and acquisitions do not harm competition. By conducting thorough merger reviews, these authorities can identify potential competitive concerns and take steps to address them, ultimately promoting a competitive and innovative business environment.

Landmark Cases in Emerging Markets

In the domain of competition law enforcement, emerging markets have witnessed several landmark cases that have shaped the regulatory landscape and sent a strong message to businesses operating in these jurisdictions. These cases have addressed complex issues, such as market dynamics and regulatory hurdles, and have had a significant impact on the business environment.

One notable example is the case of Brazil's Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) vs. Petrobras, which addressed allegations of anticompetitive practices in the fuel market. The case led to significant changes in the market dynamics of the Brazilian fuel sector, with CADE imposing substantial fines and requiring Petrobras to divest assets.

Another example is the case of India's Competition Commission of India (CCI) vs. Google, which involved allegations of abuse of dominance in the search engine market. The CCI's decision sent a strong message to digital platforms operating in India, emphasizing the significance of compliance with competition regulations.

These landmark cases demonstrate the commitment of emerging market regulators to enforcing competition laws and promoting fair market practices. They also serve as crucial precedents, shaping the regulatory landscape and influencing market dynamics in these jurisdictions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the consequences of non-compliance with competition law.

Non-compliance with competition law can result in severe consequences, including substantial fines imposed by regulatory authorities, as well as reputation damage that can lead to long-term financial losses and erosion of stakeholder trust.

How Do Authorities Detect Cartel Conduct in Various Industries?

Authorities detect cartel conduct through a combination of cartel markers, such as unusual pricing patterns, and industry profiling, which involves analyzing market structures and firm behaviors to identify potential collusive activities.

Can Individuals Be Held Liable for Antitrust Violations?

In antitrust law, individuals can be held liable for violations, emphasizing personal accountability. Criminal prosecutions are employed to deter and punish culpable individuals, as seen in cases where executives are fined or imprisoned for cartel participation or other anticompetitive conduct.

What Role Do Economics Play in Competition Law Enforcement?

In competition law enforcement, economics plays a crucial role through economic analysis, which informs merger reviews and antitrust investigations, providing a framework to assess market dynamics, competitive effects, and potential harm to consumers.

Are Competition Authorities Effective in Promoting Consumer Welfare?

Competition authorities' effectiveness in promoting consumer welfare is contingent upon their ability to mitigate market power abuse and resist regulatory capture, ensuring that enforcement decisions prioritize consumer interests over corporate influence.

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Live Case Study: How to Quickly Scale Email Lists Using Existing Facebook and Search Assets

Michelle Toole

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This is a continuation of our Live Case Study series showcasing  Michelle’s journey , following along how she is building a series of publications generating millions of unique visitors monthly.

In our  previous case study , we discussed how one of the best ways to recover from Google’s [Unhelpful] Helpful Content Update was to pivot to diversifying your traffic and income to come from multiple platforms. Before you break your phone from imagining having to devote more time to yet another platform, please remember that you’re able to build your audience and traffic on these platforms, namely email and Facebook, with content you've already spent years creating for Google!

In fact, when we had a massive setback a few months ago when one of our main traffic sources died on us, we immediately pivoted to replacing that income with traffic from multiple Facebook pages and email lists. Not only did we double down on Facebook, which every single publisher needs to prioritize as the foundation for their publications, but we also ramped up our monetization efforts from email. 

You can monetize your email list in one of several ways – below is a list of how quickly you can start earning revenue from zero dollars to real dollars: 

Drive traffic from your list to your website and make money from Ezoic ads (note:  email traffic has one of the highest EPMV’s relative to any other traffic source! )

Drive email traffic to affiliate offers

Sell sponsorships on your email list

We recommend a mix of all three, but first thing’s first, you must actually grow your email list first!

How to grow your email list by 1,000 to 10,000 new subscribers per month using Facebook

“ Email newsletter. We’re steadily growing HHL’s email list by 5,000 to 9,000 subscribers per month by using Infinity Engager and the website to convert traffic into newsletter subscribers. The goal is to get to 20,000 new subscribers per month and to earn a baseline of $1,000 per month for every 10,000 subscribers from the newsletter ” (quote from our 1st case study ).

Update since then:

Despite a turbulent last few months, especially one of the slowest summers on industry record, we’ve been able to keep the email list growth steady and actually marginally growing by spreading the growth across multiple lists - we expect to really ramp these numbers up in Q4 as the traffic and engagement velocity picks up. Our smaller lists are on track or beyond earning $1,000 for every 10,000 subscribers while the really large lists (100k+) we are very slowly building up to this point as they require a lot of re-engagement. We detail all of this below. 

Growing a new Facebook page is easier, cheaper and more effective than ever before and, interestingly enough, is one of the fastest ways to grow your email list too. Unlike building a website and generating content for it that you must painstakingly optimize for search engines, which often takes months for you to understand if you’re heading in the right direction or not, you can start a new Facebook page today and start driving traffic to an email signup landing page tomorrow. 

We covered the  basics of starting a new Facebook page or growing an existing one quickly from scratch in our last case study , as well as the type of viral content to produce to make the page really hum along with high engagement, so make sure to read that first. 

Maximize post engagement and automatically respond to all commenters with email newsletter signup prompts using Infinity Engager

Once you’re sharing viral memes on Facebook, they will quickly start to get tens of thousands in reach, likes, comments, and shares. Not only can you earn money from the Facebook Performance Bonus program for these, but you should also be leaving newsletter signup prompts underneath each image and for each commenter! 

Here's how:

• Sign up for and  connect your Page to Infinity Engager , the AI-powered automated comment responder
• Make sure you have an email signup landing page - preferably with great freebies to encourage them to sign up 
• Set up your prompt to respond to commenters with a unique response to each comment followed by a link to your email newsletter sign up
• Boost your engagement on Facebook as much as possible by running tons of super viral memes that generate as much engagement as possible! Remember to leave comments on your own posts and ask your friends to do so as well - this will create an upward spiral in engagement as the engager will automatically respond to each comment, others will see how many comments the post has and will then interact with it out of curiosity. 

Here are some examples of varied types of posts with Infinity Engager responding to commenters prompting them to sign up for the newsletter: 

Example from a brand new page:

Example from a more established page:

So, what are the results from this kind of approach when one leaves newsletter signup prompts for thousands of viral comments a day? 

If one is earning $1,000 for every 10,000 subscribers, this new list growth will result in $1,000 additional revenue per month. Do this for one year and that’s an additional $12,000 per month in revenue on top of your existing base. Keep it up for a few years and soon you’re earning an extra $100,000 per year just from email revenue once all of the growth compounds. 

Here’s a video we created showcasing all of the above and how to grow your email list organically and supplementing that growth with engagement tools like Infinity Engager:

How to monetize your email list and how to keep growing it

We mentioned above how to monetize your list in one of three ways, with you ideally stacking all three monetization options. We run many different email lists across many different niches at  Publisher in a Box with our turn-key email monetization team and our rule of thumb is that one generates $1,000 for every 10,000 email subscribers (yes, really!). Here’s how you can stack monetization methods like we do:

How to drive traffic from your list to your website and make money from Ezoic ads 

• Take your most popular articles and re-share them on Facebook with the most engaging title and image possible. Then move on to your less popular articles- test them all out!  We outlined exactly how to do this in the last case study . 
• Once you see what is performing well, produce more content like this and make sure to distribute that content on Facebook, email, Pinterest AND optimize it for search. Get those multiple income streams going! 
• Make sure to A/B/C test newsletter subject lines, this is essential. 

How to drive email traffic to affiliate offers (or to your own products)

• Make a list of top affiliate companies offering products in your niche and register for them. The more traffic or sales you can produce, the higher affiliate payout rates you’ll be able to negotiate. Try a mix of drop shipping products and digital products, or your own products! 
• Commission from 1 email send: $625
• Commission from 1 email send: $279.88
• Commission from 1 email send: $250
• Commission from 1 email send: $305.77
• Commission from 1 email send: $500

How to sell sponsorships on your email list

• First focus on growing your list as much as possible and getting as much traffic and audience as possible. Once you have this, you’ll be able to charge much higher sponsorship rates. 
• Make sure to have sponsorship and advertising pages on your website, and just drive as much traffic to your website, the offers will come as businesses check out your website and assets!

Each one of these points is of course its own world which our team painstakingly obsesses over and you will need to as well as the opportunities come in, but one step at a time! 

As an aside, make sure that you’re using tools to boost subscriber engagement if your open rates are low or your list needs to be revived (let us know if you need some recommendations for this). 

Here’s a video we created showcasing how we manage the email list, how we use Ezoic’s Big Data Analytics to guide our email marketing efforts and how we create the emails themselves:

Looking ahead, what’s next heading into Q4?

Everyone knows the summer is brutal for traffic and revenue, so this is the best time to optimize everything and get ready when things start to pick up come September. We especially want to be prepared for Q4 which comes with the highest EPMVs and payouts! How?

• Grow and prepare the Facebook assets for maximum engagement
• Optimize the email lists for maximum deliverability and top up the content schedule with great offers and traffic drivers to the website
• Optimize your website for higher EPMV’s with your friendly neighborhood Ezoic account manager 
• Be ready for algorithm updates and stay ahead of them
• Exercise more and drink less to keep up with the workload and reduce stress ;) 

We wish you the best of luck ahead in your efforts to grow your own publications, as we do for our own - that new swimming pool won’t upgrade itself after all! 

Written By: Michelle Toole

Michelle Toole is a co-founder of Publisher in a Box and Infinity Engager; companies developed to rapidly grow and monetize online publications. Her strategies, systems, and technology have generated hundreds of millions of unique visitors and millions of dollars in revenue. Contact her to learn how you can grow your publication's traffic by 1,000% to 10,000% in a matter of months just like in this case study.

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Case Study: Patient with Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma Has No Remaining Evidence of Disease

Treatment involved checkpoint inhibitor, surgery and intravesical therapy

Historically, metastatic upper track urothelial cancer had a poor prognosis, with survival often less than a month. After undergoing standard chemotherapy for the disease with only a marginal response, a man in his 60s came to Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center for treatment. The disease had already spread to his lymph nodes, liver and lungs.

Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy

A team of clinicians met to discuss the patient. Medical oncologist Timothy Gilligan, MD , started the patient on the antibody drug conjugate enfortumab vedotin. The patient became an early participant in a trial of the medication, which is now FDA approved for treating advanced urothelial cancer.

The treatment has a different mechanism than standard chemotherapy. With this treatment, a monoclonal antibody to nectin protein, which is prevalent in urothelial cancer, and then releases the chemotherapy to kill those cells. In this way, the drug is delivered closer to the source of cancer cells, providing somewhat less toxicity than standard chemotherapy. The patient had a considerable response to this treatment.

"Clinical trials were just starting at the time the patient began treatment with enfortumab vedotin," says Cleveland Clinic Director of Urologic Oncology Christopher Weight, MD .

"Now that the trials have matured, they've shown that on average, patients have longer survival. It seems there is a subset of patients with a combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy that have longer term survival and response rates."

Although this patient had a robust response to the treatment, the tumor in his left kidney remained. The team then consulted together, met with the patient and decided on consolidation surgery. Dr. Weight performed the nephroureterectomy laparoscopically.

This robot-assisted procedure involved removal of the kidney, most of the ureter as well as lymph nodes. Due to the antibody drug conjugate treatment the patient had, the lymph nodes that were removed no longer showed signs of cancer.

Roughly five years later, the patient had a recurrence, with several tumors in his bladder.

"This type of cancer is notorious for growing where it lands," explains Dr. Weight. "It started in his kidneys but over time, microscopic cells were washing down into the bladder."

Drs. Gilligan and Weight consulted with a wider team in their Tumor Board about the appropriate approach and the patient's needs. "We've discussed his case several times because he kept breaking traditional paradigms," says Dr. Weight. "We found it crucial to have clear communication boundaries, multi-departmental understanding of the tools needed at each point in the disease state as well as a determination of which clinician had the right tools to best serve the patient.”

The team felt that bladder management would be the next appropriate step, and the patient underwent surgery to ablate the cancer cells. Several weeks after the procedure, the team administered intravesical therapy for the subsequent six weeks. This therapy stimulates the immune system as a preventative measure to stave off additional tumor cells.

The patient fared well. However, several months later, he experienced a recurrence in the bladder, and received additional surgery and intravesical therapy. In the latest CT scan and cystoscopy performed afterwards, there was no evidence of disease. "It was a joyous and a solemn moment when I met with him and his wife," says Dr. Weight. "This is the first time in a long time that he's not having any sort of cancer treatment."

The patient will continue to receive maintenance intravesical therapy every six months as a protective measure, with regular scans and cystoscopies performed every three months. "It's incredible that this man who was given months to live is actually disease free," says Dr. Weight.

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Hopak Machinery Implements Smart Solutions to Develop Intelligent Packaging Machine

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Founded in 1992, Hopak Machinery has been engaging in design, R&D, production, and sales of "High Speed Horizontal Flow Wrapper". Recently, Hopak broadened its product portfolio, adding complete packaging lines and the whole-plant automatic packaging designing. Hopak supplies equipment to pack in the food, chemical, pharmaceutical, hardware, publisher, and household products all over the world.

• Significant space requirements – traditional packing machines are limited by hardware
• Increased costs
• Lack of data collection and integration platforms, failing to provide data for equipment operation and production
• iTRAK® intelligent track systems
• FactoryTalk ®  Optix™
• One automated packaging production line to package three different arrangements of products
• Estimated 80% reduction of downtime and 30% of floor space
• Market leader of smart and intelligent horizontal packing machine
• Enhanced competitiveness and market share of Taiwanese machinery equipment factories in international market

The comprehensive smart mechanical solution helps Hopak Machinery overcome space, cost and data collection challenges.

Three major pain points in traditional packaging machines

Based on the current usage of packaging machines, there are three major pain points:

1. Significant space needs

In terms of space requirements, traditional packaging machines are limited by the hardware they use. A single device can only package one type of product. If there is a need to switch packaging specifications, such as packaging other products or the same product in different styles, the machine can only be stopped to change mechanical parts, adjust gear ratios, and be reprogramed. This may take at least four hours to complete.

Consequently, factories usually set up two to three packaging production lines to ensure production efficiency.

This not only increases costs, but also requires a larger factory space, especially for automated feeding packaging lines, which require even more space, significantly impacting factory space layout and workflow planning.

2. High costs

The mechanical structure of traditional packaging machines is relatively complex, leading to high maintenance costs.

Additionally, production lines heavily rely on manual adjustments and operations, resulting in high labor demands and costs. With experienced workers retiring and less young talent joining the workforce, the skills shortage further exacerbates costs.

3. Difficulties in data collection

Traditional packaging machines typically lack data collection and integration platforms, failing to provide data on equipment operation and production. This limitation hinders the development of applications such as production history tracking, equipment optimization, and process enhancement.

Comprehensive smart machinery solutions driving upgrade of packaging machines Hopak Machinery introduced a comprehensive smart mechanical solution integrating the following solutions from Rockwell Automation: iTRAK ® intelligent track systems , Emulate3D™ digital twin software, and FactoryTalk® Optix™ software platform.

The iTRAK system enables the team to adopt a modular design, allowing integration into existing packaging machine mechanisms used by Hopak Machinery, thereby avoiding significant changes in mechanism design. They can also integrate lug chain push rods and smart belt conveyor belts to expedite and streamline equipment assembly, reducing the need for staff.

Emulate3D can simulate the operation status of the production line digitally, meaning that the packaging machine automatically adjusts and operates after switching to different work orders. It also calculates the benefits of enhancing production efficiency by replacing the original mechanism with iTRAK .

Finally, the FactoryTalk Optix software platform supports the storage and transmission of equipment operation and production information, providing the necessary data for the team to transform and improve operations in their factories.

The Rockwell Automation Global OEM Technical Consultant (GOTC) team provided comprehensive technical support to help Hopak Machinery tackle various challenges throughout the equipment development process.

“The GOTC team not only understands the operating principles and mechanisms of packaging machines, but also the usage requirements of manufacturing plants, and can assist in integrating iTRAK with peripheral components and existing systems to help Hopak Machinery improve its product transformation journey,” shared Rockwell Automation OEM customer manager Chun-Chieh Ou.

The main distinction between the smart and intelligent horizontal packaging machine and the traditional packaging machine lies in the capability of iTRAK to automatically detect products and control the mover on the packaging machine independently. This allows for a reduction in the length of the automatic feeding conveyor belt, while simultaneously enhancing packaging speed and flexibility, leading to an estimated 80% reduction of downtime and 30% of floor space.

Moreover, when changing packaging specifications, there is no need to replace too many parts. An automated packaging production line can package three different arrangements of products, allowing a manufacturing facility to meet all packaging needs with just one packaging production line, which helps in optimizing factory space and increasing the operating rate.

He believes that through the product upgrades, it opens new horizons for Hopak Machinery. The smart and intelligent horizontal packaging machines are not common in Taiwan. Hopak Machinery can be said to be a leader in the Taiwanese market. With increasing smart manufacturing demands to come, more manufacturers will inevitably require such smart machines.

Therefore, Hopak Machinery will be expanding the application scope of smart and intelligent horizontal packaging machines across fields such as medical, semiconductor, and electronic products, hoping to break away from the price competition of traditional packaging machines and retain its hold as a leader in the smart packaging machine market.

Published August 26, 2024

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TIMELINE: Here’s where things stand in the Madeline Soto case 6 months later

Anthony Talcott , Digital Journalist

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – Around six months after the body of missing Florida 13-year-old Madeline Soto was officially recovered, there are still plenty of questions regarding her death.

However, investigators have still managed to uncover plenty of details about the case over these past few months, shedding light on what happened.

As the investigation continues, below is a timeline of events stemming back to her initial disappearance.

FEBRUARY 26 — DAY ONE

Madeline Soto was reported missing around 8 p.m. after Stephan Sterns — her mother’s boyfriend — reportedly dropped her off near Hunter’s Creek Middle School.

Earlier that morning, Soto’s mother was woken up when Sterns took the dog out for a walk, but she went back to sleep. She never saw Soto that morning.

At some point during the day, Sterns told Soto’s mother that he had factory reset his phone while trying to update it.

Soto’s mother went to the school around 4:30 p.m. to pick her daughter up, but she was told that Soto had never come to school that day, according to investigators.

In addition, Soto’s phone was left at home. While Soto had a tendency to run away, this was unusual for her.

FEBRUARY 27 — DAY TWO

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office issued a release to the public about Soto’s disappearance, asking for information about her whereabouts.

In an interview with investigators, Sterns was asked about where exactly he dropped Soto off and where he went afterward. Throughout the conversation, detectives questioned some of Sterns’ answers, which seemingly prompted Sterns to change his story.

FEBRUARY 28 — DAY THREE

A massive search was conducted by the sheriff’s office.

Orange County Sheriff John Mina said that deputies accessed Soto’s phone, finding information that indicated she wanted to live in the woods when she turned 13 years old on Feb. 22.

He also said that deputies searched the area where she was last seen, areas where they’d received tips, and any areas where their investigative leads took them. Ultimately, the search came up empty.

However, detectives did receive consent from Sterns to search his cell phone.

Deputies also searched the family’s Kissimmee home for more clues. During this time, deputies found out that Sterns had never dropped Soto off at school.

Meanwhile, Sterns and Soto’s mother drove to a hotel in Orange County, where they stayed with Sterns’ parents as the home was investigated.

According to Soto’s mother, Sterns was “very panicky” because he wanted his cell phone back, and while she and Sterns both agreed that investigators were targeting Sterns, she believed he was “the wrong guy.”

But at some point in the night, Sterns drove to North Port for “unknown reasons,” an investigative report reveals. Deputies said Sterns’ parents lived in that area.

FEBRUARY 29 — STERNS ARRESTED

The sheriff’s office announced that Sterns was arrested as the prime suspect in Soto’s disappearance.

In a release , investigators said that detectives discovered hundreds of “disturbing” images and videos of child pornography when they searched Sterns’ phone and Google Drive account, and a review of the device’s data showed that someone had tried to delete the evidence ahead of time.

Detectives were able to pinpoint some of these images and videos to the family’s home in Kissimmee, court records show.

As a result, Sterns was arrested and held on no bond. He was charged with sexual battery and possession of child sexual abuse materials.

During another interview with detectives, Sterns discussed his relationship with Soto’s mother and their sleeping arrangements at home.

According to investigative reports, Sterns said he typically shared a bed with Soto and her mother, claiming Soto always needed human contact when going to sleep.

It was also normal for Sterns to share a bed with Soto alone, Soto’s mother later told detectives. This was so Soto’s mother “could get some sleep,” deputies said.

According to the affidavit for Sterns’ arrest, Sterns told detectives he had dropped Soto off in front of Peace United Methodist Preschool at 8:40 a.m. on Feb. 26, despite the middle school being farther down the street and starting classes at 9:30 a.m.

Detectives said this appeared unusual, and while a license plate reader captured Sterns’ vehicle at some point, the details about where and when this happened were redacted from the original report.

In addition, the affidavit shows that Sterns told detectives he had “accidentally” performed a factory reset on his phone on Feb. 26, though investigators were still able to discover images on the device and a Google Drive that depicted child pornography.

Investigators added that they found a photo on Sterns’ phone showing a roommate of Soto’s mother nude in the bathroom. The roommate said she hadn’t permitted Sterns to take that photo.

FEBRUARY 29 — STERNS’ EX-GIRLFRIEND

Detectives said they interviewed an ex-girlfriend of Sterns, who described their short relationship together.

The two had a brief relationship in 2022, but even during that time, Sterns would refuse to spend the night with her, instead insisting that he had to stay at the home of Soto’s mother because Soto and her mother couldn’t sleep without him there, police explained.

Shortly after finding out about the trio’s sleeping arrangements, she broke up with Sterns, investigative reports show.

MARCH 1 — EVIDENCE RELEASED

During a news conference, Mina said investigators were “confident” that Soto was already dead , having been killed at her Kissimmee home before Sterns moved her body.

According to Mina, there was video evidence showing Sterns throwing items into a dumpster at the Kissimmee apartment complex around 7:35 a.m. on Feb. 26 — the day she was reported as missing.

The sheriff’s office later said that it found Soto’s backpack and her school-issued laptop in a dumpster.

While Sterns had reportedly dropped Soto off near school that day, Mina explained that wasn’t the case, and Sterns was instead spotted driving a vehicle with Soto’s body inside.

“We have evidence that shows Stephan Sterns returning to the complex and Madeline was visible in that vehicle. We believe she was already dead at that time,” Mina said.

In fact, investigative reports show Soto was most likely killed at her home in Kissimmee.

After another long search, Orange County deputies finally recovered Soto’s body from a wooded area off Hickory Tree Road in Osceola County.

That night, a vigil was held in Soto’s memory near her middle school.

MARCH 1 — SOTO’S MOTHER

Investigators spoke with Soto’s mother to update her on the homicide investigation and further interview her about her relationship with Sterns.

During that interview, she reportedly called Sterns a “master liar” and “master manipulator” — something she’d also discussed with Sterns’ father.

She initially wanted to believe Sterns was innocent, but after being shown the sexual offense images by police, she changed her mind.

“I asked her what she thought Stephan was guilty of, and she replied, ‘He’s been grooming and abusing my child,’” an investigative report reads.

However, during a few moments of an interview with Orange County deputies, investigators said she appeared to defend Sterns.

“During portions of the interview, (she) continuously protected Stephan Sterns, was questioned about why she prioritizes Stephan Sterns over (REDACTED) and even at one point referred to the ‘sex stuff’ as not evil but the murder of (REDACTED) as ‘evil.’ The interview eventually ended, but (Soto’s mother) did not show the same level of emotion or care in regards to (REDACTED) ongoing victimization by Stephan Sterns than she did her disappearance. It appeared to me that she has already accepted that the victimization was happening, and her emotion appeared fictitious.” Incident Report by the Orange County Sheriff's Office

MARCH 2 — PHOTO SCANDAL

Sterns waived his first appearance in the Osceola County court, instead being represented solely by his attorney. The judge granted Sterns no bond.

Aside from that, the Instagram account for Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez posted a confidential crime scene photo, which the agency later told News 6 had been “accidentally” shared with the public.

The clothes seen in the photo are consistent with the outfit Soto was believed to be wearing when she was reported missing on Feb. 26.

A caption below the picture read, “Great day with our seniors,” followed by an emoji of a smiley face with a halo.

“Earlier today a post was made on social media about a community event for seniors,” an unnamed Osceola County spokesperson said in an email to News 6. “In the post, an investigative photo was accidentally included. The photo was immediately removed. We deeply apologize for any confusion or disturbance this may have caused. As with any investigation, the information obtained is confidential and any mistaken disclosures will be immediately rectified.”

Former Osceola County Sheriff Russ Gibson, who is running against Lopez in the 2024 election, said the photograph indeed showed Soto’s body.

Osceola County sheriff’s officials did not dispute that the photo stemmed from the girl’s investigation.

On the same day, Nirva Rodriguez — the executive director of the sheriff’s office — shared another photograph on her personal Facebook account that showed her posing with Sterns as he was walking out of a door at the county jail on Friday morning.

“If God’s love has been poured out over your life, don’t allow evil to keep you away from what He has prepared for you,” a caption above the photo of Sterns and Rodriguez stated.

MARCH 6 — STERNS’ ACQUAINTANCE

Released court records show that Sterns is accused of sexually abusing Soto for years. Despite Sterns’ attempts to wipe his phone, investigators were able to recover files showing the sexual abuse, which stemmed back as far as 2022, an arrest warrant affidavit says.

“Upon reviewing the contents of Stephan’s phone, several images and videos were located, which depicted the missing juvenile,” the affidavit reads.

Police also spoke with a former acquaintance of Sterns who had met him three years beforehand while playing a game called “Warhammer.”

According to the friend, he was under the impression that Sterns and Soto’s mother weren’t in a relationship anymore, so he thought it was “odd” when he heard them calling themselves “boyfriend and girlfriend” after Soto’s disappearance.

The acquaintance added that during a previous conversation about the couple’s supposed breakup, Sterns seemed more upset about the “bond he created with Madeline than having a relationship with (her mother),” investigators said.

MARCH 6 — STERNS’ PARENTS

Detectives spoke with Sterns’ parents, learning they disapproved of his relationship with Soto’s mother.

“(Sterns’ mother) stated they didn’t approve of them being together because of drug use. (Stephans’ father) state it was drug use as well as (Soto’s mother) was taking medication for depression and anxiety, and he didn’t think (Soto’s mother) was going to be a good influence for Stephan. They explained that both Stephan and Jennifer would sleep all the time, and it wasn’t a positive thing for the relationship. When both Stephan and (Soto’s mother) would suffer a mental illness episode, they would bring the other person down with them, and it wasn’t a good dynamic.” Investigative Report by the Kissimmee Police Department

In addition, Sterns had reportedly called his father on the day of Soto’s disappearance, though the way he was speaking was odd.

“During the conversation, (his father) said Stephan was upset as if he was holding himself responsible for Madeline’s disappearance,” a case report reads. “(Sterns’ father) said he felt that Stephan was rehearsing his story on him because it was the same routine that he used during a media interview.”

MARCH 7 — ROOMMATES

Detectives spoke with the two roommates of Soto’s mother, learning more about what happened the night before the girl’s disappearance.

According to one of the roommates, she had heard “noises” coming from the upstairs bedroom, where Sterns and Soto had reportedly been sleeping alone as Soto’s mother slept in a separate room.

“In order for her to hear noises, it would have to be significant based upon the noise would have to travel through two closed doors and across a hallway,” an investigative report reads.

While both Sterns and Soto had been alone in that room in the past, Soto’s mother had told the roommate that Stephan wouldn’t harm Soto, so it was OK, the roommate explained.

MARCH 12 — STERNS CHARGED

The Orange-Osceola State Attorney’s Office announced that it filed 60 counts against Sterns , including the following:

• 8 counts of Sexual Battery on a Child Under 12
• 5 counts of Sexual Battery with a Child 12-18 (Familial/Custodial Authority)
• 7 counts of Lewd or Lascivious Molestation
• 40 counts of Unlawful Possession of Materials Depicting Sexual Performance by a Child Ten or More Images

MARCH 13 — BEST FRIEND

Detectives spoke with Soto’s best friend, who explained that Soto had a habit of texting her every morning. But she hadn’t received any messages from Soto on the day she was reported missing.

MARCH 21 — MORE UPDATES

Kissimmee Police Chief Betty Holland held a news conference to discuss the progress of the investigation.

She described the investigation as “very intricate” and that detectives want to make sure they “uncover every single fact and the evidence.”

“We don’t want to put a timeline on it, basically, you know, because the detectives are very meticulous in what they do and we want to be sure that everything is uncovered that possibly can,” she said.

During the conference, Holland was asked whether Soto’s mother was considered a suspect or a person of interest.

In response, Holland said, “Everyone (who) was close to Madeline is considered a suspect until we have proven otherwise.”

APRIL 1 — STERNS’ COMPUTER

Sterns’ father called North Port police to hand over one of Sterns’ old computer towers he’d found while cleaning out Sterns’ old bedroom.

According to investigators, Sterns’ father was afraid there could be more images and videos of child pornography on the device. However, upon examining the computer tower, detectives found it was missing a hard drive.

APRIL 4 — NO AUTOPSY REPORT

The District 9 Medical Examiner’s Office announced that the autopsy report in Soto’s death couldn’t be released due to state statutes deeming it confidential.

However, audio from the 911 calls involved in the case was released by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

In the 911 calls, two different voices can be heard speaking with dispatchers. The sheriff’s office explained that the callers’ identities are confidential under state law.

The 911 calls have been combined and can be listened to in the audio player below.

APRIL 10 — PHONE CALL

Deputies said Sterns called his father from jail, telling him, “You know that I would have never wanted that for (Madeline).”

Sterns then added, “I am not sure, really, that any one person is specifically responsible. It’s probably a combination of factors that led to it... I have never felt anything like that before. It was horrible.”

His father responded by saying he hopes the truth will come out, and Sterns replies, “Well, yeah.”

APRIL 11 — STORAGE UNIT

Sterns’ father called detectives while he was cleaning out his storage unit.

According to investigators, Sterns’ father had found a hard drive for a desktop computer in one of the storage bins, along with Sterns’ watch, which Sterns had previously told his father was in his bedroom at their North Port home.

As a result, Sterns’ father told detectives that Sterns must have gotten into the storage unit during his trip to North Port on Feb. 28.

APRIL 12 — RETRIEVAL

Police retrieved the items from Sterns’ father, including the hard drive and two other USB drives.

APRIL 18 — SOTO’S MOTHER

Kissimmee police said they had Soto’s mother and her attorney come in for another interview.

During the interview, the mother said she had returned home from work around 11:30 p.m. to find Sterns and Soto alone downstairs in their home. However, Soto was reportedly not wearing the same clothes that were on her body when it was found after her death.

A detective also asked Soto’s mother why she let Sterns stay at their home even after the two broke up.

“(Soto’s mother) stated Madeline would sleep with her a majority of the time, and when Stephan began staying there, the three of them would sleep in the same bed. (She) stated Madeline never wanted to sleep alone in her bedroom. (Soto’s mother) couldn’t remember how many times she let Madeline sleep with Stephan alone in his bedroom. (She) stated she allowed it because she trusted Stephan, and he treated (Soto) as his daughter. When (Soto’s mother) stated she and Stephan ended their relationship, Madeline had an idea but never spoke about it. (Soto’s mother) said she spoke with Stephan about possibly moving back to help him get on his feet, but she didn’t know if it was going to be permanent or temporary.” Investigative Report by the Kissimmee Police Department

APRIL 22 — HARD DRIVE

Kissimmee police said that the hard drive found in the storage unit hadn’t been used since 2020 and didn’t contain any evidence.

However, one of the retrieved USB drives contained over 35,000 images of child pornography, police added.

APRIL 24 — MURDER INDICTMENT

Orange-Osceola State Attorney Andrew Bain and Kissimmee police held a news conference and announced that Stephan Sterns was indicted on a first-degree murder charge by a grand jury in the death of Madeline Soto.

“The evidence shows an individual who was entrusted to keep Madeline safe made calculated moves to dispose Madeline’s belongings and place her body in a wooded area before she was ever reported missing,” said Kissimmee Police Chief Betty Holland.

Bain said his office had not yet decided whether it would seek the death penalty against Sterns in this case.

MAY 14 — PHONE CALL

Sterns called his father, who asked why Sterns drove to North Port on Feb. 28.

“I had wanted to grab a few things. And get my ducks in a row,” Sterns reportedly said. “Kinda prepare myself for whatever was coming, but I couldn’t find what I was looking for.”

Sterns’ father then stated he wished he could understand how the whole situation came about, and Sterns replied, “Well, I didn’t start it.”

After his father pointed out that Sterns did participate in it, Sterns just said, “Yeah.” At no point during the conversation did Sterns deny killing Soto, police said.

According to detectives, they believe that Sterns had gone to his parents’ home in North Port on Feb. 28 and used their Wi-Fi to log into his Google account in an attempt to delete the images and videos of the sexual abuse he perpetrated.

MAY 16 — MORE UPDATES

The State Attorney’s Office released several investigative reports and interview audio between Sterns and investigators that dated back to Feb. 27.

According to one of the reports, detectives interviewed a witness (whose name was redacted) about the relationship between Sterns, Soto and Soto’s mother. After showing the witness one of the pictures from Sterns’ Google Drive, the witness became “visibly upset.”

The newly released reports also show that the Google Drive had files going back to at least 2019.

JUNE 3 — BODYCAM VIDEOS

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office released body-camera videos from the investigation on the night when Soto was originally reported missing.

JUNE 10 — DEATH PENALTY

The State Attorney’s Office announced that prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Sterns.

JULY 23 — SHERIFF LOPEZ CITED

State prosecutors issued a civil summons to Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez after the confidential crime-scene photograph was released back in March.

Under Florida law, images that depict the killing of a minor are confidential and cannot be released by a government agency.

As such, Lopez was cited with violating Florida’s public record laws, a non-criminal infraction that carries a fine up to $500, court records show.

However, prosecutors did not accuse Lopez of intentionally releasing the photograph, which is a more serious misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail. Public officials who willfully disclose such images can potentially face suspension and removal from office.

AUGUST 21 — 911 CALLS

Officials released 911 calls showing that loved ones of Madeline Soto called authorities three times to report her missing, informing them that she never showed up to school.

Three hours passed before Orange County sheriff’s deputies started an investigation into the calls.

AUGUST 26 — INVESTIGATIVE REPORTS

Investigative reports were released, revealing even more details about the case.

For starters, the reports showed Soto’s official cause of death was homicide via strangulation.

During the investigation, detectives discovered that Sterns and Soto had been alone in his room on the night prior to her death on Feb. 26.

In addition, the new reports say that Sterns had searched the terms “Sevoflurane” and “show up in drug test” on his phone in the weeks leading up to Soto’s disappearance. Sevoflurane is an anesthetic that can cause hypnosis, amnesia and analgesia, though it’s typically used during medical treatments.

Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily :

Copyright 2024 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.

About the Author

Anthony talcott.

Anthony, a graduate of the University of Florida, joined ClickOrlando.com in April 2022.

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Australian court rules in landmark case that asked 'what is a woman?'

A transgender woman from Australia has won a discrimination case against a women-only social media app, after she was denied access on the basis of being male.

The Federal Court found that although Roxanne Tickle had not been directly discriminated against, she was a victim of indirect discrimination - which refers to when a decision disadvantages a person with a particular attribute - and ordered the app to pay her A$10,000 ($6,700; £5,100) plus costs.

It’s a landmark ruling when it comes to gender identity, and at the very heart of the case was the ever more contentious question: what is a woman?

In 2021, Tickle downloaded “Giggle for Girls”, an app marketed as an online refuge where women could share their experiences in a safe space, and where men were not allowed.

In order to gain access, she had to upload a selfie to prove she was a woman, which was assessed by gender recognition software designed to screen out men.

However, seven months later - after successfully joining the platform - her membership was revoked.

As someone who identifies as a woman, Tickle claimed she was legally entitled to use services meant for women, and that she was discriminated against based on her gender identity.

She sued the social media platform, as well as its CEO Sall Grover, and sought damages amounting to A$200,000, claiming that “persistent misgendering” by Grover had prompted “constant anxiety and occasional suicidal thoughts”.

“Grover’s public statements about me and this case have been distressing, demoralising, embarrassing, draining and hurtful. This has led to individuals posting hateful comments towards me online and indirectly inciting others to do the same,” Tickle said in an affidavit.

Giggle’s legal team argued throughout the case that sex is a biological concept.

They freely concede that Tickle was discriminated against - but on the grounds of sex, rather than gender identity. Refusing to allow Tickle to use the app constituted lawful sex discrimination, they say. The app is designed to exclude men, and because its founder perceives Tickle to be male - she argues that denying her access to the app was lawful.

But Justice Robert Bromwich said in his decision on Friday that case law has consistently found sex is “changeable and not necessarily binary”, ultimately dismissing Giggle’s argument.

Tickle said the ruling "shows that all women are protected from discrimination" and that she hoped the case would be "healing for trans and gender diverse people".

“Unfortunately, we got the judgement we anticipated. The fight for women’s rights continues,” Grover wrote on X, responding to the decision.

Known as “Tickle vs Giggle”, the case is the first time alleged gender identity discrimination has been heard by the federal court in Australia.

It encapsulates how one of the most acrimonious ideological debates - trans inclusion versus sex-based rights - can play out in court.

‘Everybody has treated me as a woman’

Tickle was born male, but changed her gender and has been living as a woman since 2017.

When giving evidence to the court, she said: “Up until this instance, everybody has treated me as a woman.”

“I do from time to time get frowns and stares and questioning looks which is quite disconcerting…but they’ll let me go about my business.”

But Grover believes no human being has or can change sex - which is the pillar of gender-critical ideology.

When Tickle’s lawyer Georgina Costello KC cross examined Grover, she said:

“Even where a person who was assigned male at birth transitions to a woman by having surgery, hormones, gets rid of facial hair, undergoes facial reconstruction, grows their hair long, wears make up, wears female clothes, describes themselves as a woman, introduces themselves as a woman, uses female changing rooms, changes their birth certificate – you don’t accept that is a woman?”

“No”, Grover replied.

She also said she would refuse to address Tickle as “Ms,” and that “Tickle is a biological male.”

Grover is a self-declared Terf, which stands for "trans-exclusionary radical feminist". Typically used as a derogatory term for those considered hostile to transgender people, it has also been claimed by some to describe their own gender-critical beliefs.

“I’m being taken to federal court by a man who claims to be a woman because he wants to use a woman-only space I created,” she posted on X.

“There isn’t a woman in the world who’d have to take me to court to use this woman only space. It takes a man for this case to exist.”

She says she created her app “Giggle for Girls” in 2020 after receiving a lot of social media abuse by men while she worked in Hollywood as a screenwriter.

“I wanted to create a safe, women-only space in the palm of your hand,” she said.

“It is a legal fiction that Tickle is a woman. His birth certificate has been altered from male to female, but he is a biological man, and always will be.”

“We are taking a stand for the safety of all women’s only spaces, but also for basic reality and truth, which the law should reflect.”

Grover has previously said that she would appeal against the court’s decision and will fight the case all the way to the High Court of Australia.

A legal precedent

The outcome of this case could set a legal precedent for the resolution of conflicts between gender identity rights and sex-based rights in other countries.

Crucial to understanding this is the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). This is an international treaty adopted in 1979 by the UN - effectively an international bill of rights for women.

Giggle’s defence argued that Australia’s ratification of CEDAW obliges the State to protect women’s rights, including single-sex spaces.

So today’s ruling in favour of Tickle will be significant for all the 189 countries where CEDAW has been ratified - from Brazil to India to South Africa.

When it comes to interpreting international treaties, national courts often look at how other countries have done it.

Australia’s interpretation of the law in a case that got this level of media attention is likely to have global repercussions.

If over time a growing number of courts rule in favour of gender identity claims - it is more likely that other countries will follow suit.