3 ways your Facebook ads campaign is like trying to stick to a diet

It's year-end fundraising time, which means ramping up that social ad spend as the year comes to a close. But we're also about a week out from those new-year's resolution weight-loss commercials.
So, in the spirit of the new year, here are 3 ways launching a Facebook ads campaign is like staring a diet - and how to get yourself through those first stressful days.

1. You think about it all the time

Just like your head begins to hurt after tallying up all of those points, carbs and calories eighty times a day, you just can't seem to get your Facebook ads campaign out of your head. Has their been any progress in the last hour? Did I set my bids too high or too low? Am I testing too many variations? Too few?
Relax. If you went into this prepared, you'll be fine. Did you set your daily budget before the campaign started? Did you have a second set of eyes look at your ads and in-newsfeed posts? Did you isolate one or two variables (photo, copy or audience) to test for the launch? If you answered yes to all of these questions, give yourself a break and check back in 6 to 12 hours. Like your diet, your ads are dynamic, not static. You can go in and change them at any time, so allow yourself some time to de-stress and check back in when you have a clear head.

2. Your numbers will fluctuate throughout the day

Ever woken up five pounds heavier than when you went to sleep? Stepping on that morning scale can be as terrifying as scaling the side of a building. But it shouldn't be - one number doesn't determine the whole, and Facebook ads are no exception.

Click-through-rates will inevitably vary throughout the day. You might wake up to an ad you thought was going to bomb showing off a very high CTR, or vice versa. That doesn't mean it's going to look the same in six hours. A number of factors can impact that CTR including when your audience is most active on Facebook, how often your ad is being delivered and how its relating to other ads in that campaign. Don't make any conclusive judgments on the success or failure of an ad based on one number. Give it 24 hours to run before you decide to keep it going or pause (note: cut 24 hours to 12 on Dec. 30 and 31).

3. It's ok to give in to your cravings sometimes.

If you eat a giant piece of chocolate cake every day, that's a lifestyle choice. But if you make healthy choices most of the time, a big piece of cake here or there isn't going to hurt anything. In fact, I'd argue it's good to indulge your cravings so you're not feeling deprived all of the time.

The same is true for Facebook ads. Have a really cool idea you want to test - but it's just a little bit more out-of-the-box than usual? Or maybe you want to promote an article that varies quite a bit from the types of content usually found on your site, just to see what people will say.

While having a scattered, schizophrenic social media approach shouldn't be a "lifestyle" choice, breaking out of your shell every once in awhile is really positive for your community. It proves there are living, breathing beings behind your Facebook feed that care what you actually think about things rather than just getting eyeballs on their site.

Tell me in the comments below how your year-end Facebook campaign is going (you can also tell me about your diet but I can't promise I'll be much help there).