What is the 322 method of Facebook ads?

The 322 method is a scaling strategy: run 3 audiences, test 2 creatives each (6 ad sets total), allocate budget 2:2:2 (equal). Monitor 3-7 days, identify top performer, scale it. Simple framework for disciplined testing and scaling.

How it works:

Day 1: Create 3 audiences (audience A broad interest, audience B lookalike, audience C retargeting). Create 2 creatives (video vs. image, or headline variations). 3 audiences × 2 creatives = 6 ad sets. Allocate daily budget equally: $30/day total budget = $5 per ad set.

Day 3-7: Let Meta optimize. Review metrics daily: CTR, CPC, conversion rate. Identify top performer (usually highest ROAS, best CPC, or highest conversion rate depending goal).

Day 7: Scale winner. Kill bottom 5. Double winner budget to $10. Keep running.

Week 2: repeat. Create new 3 audiences or new 2 creatives, test against refined understanding. Scale new winner if beats existing.

The method prioritizes testing speed, diversification, and disciplined allocation. Avoids "single ad set winner syndrome" (lucky outlier, not repeatable). Diversification hedges risk.

Real example: e-commerce brand testing $30/day budget.

Audience 1: "Interested in fashion" interest targeting. Audience 2: Lookalike from customers. Audience 3: Site visitors (retargeting).

Creative 1: product shot video. Creative 2: lifestyle image.

Allocate: - Set 1: Audience A, Creative 1 ($5) - Set 2: Audience A, Creative 2 ($5) - Set 3: Audience B, Creative 1 ($5) - Set 4: Audience B, Creative 2 ($5) - Set 5: Audience C, Creative 1 ($5) - Set 6: Audience C, Creative 2 ($5)

Day 7 results: - Set 1: CTR 0.8%, CPC $0.95, conversion 1.2% - Set 2: CTR 1.1%, CPC $0.80, conversion 1.8% ← Winner - Set 3: CTR 0.9%, CPC $1.05, conversion 1.0% - Set 4: CTR 0.7%, CPC $1.20, conversion 0.5% - Set 5: CTR 2.0%, CPC $0.40, conversion 3.5% ← Even better! - Set 6: CTR 1.2%, CPC $0.75, conversion 2.0%

Surprise: retargeting Set 5 best (obvious in hindsight, not beforehand). Scale Set 5 to $10/day. Kill worst (Set 4). Keep others on monitor mode ($3 each).

Week 2: allocate $50 total ($35 Set 5 scaling winner, $10 new tests, $5 holdover sets).

Strengths of 322 method:

Systematic testing. Not random hoping. 3 distinct audiences, 2 variants each, clear hypothesis testing. Removes guessing.

Speed learning. 7 days shows patterns. Traditional single ad set takes weeks.

Budget efficiency. Allocates budget winners early, starves losers. Avoids wasting half budget on duds.

Hedged risk. If creative tanks, audiences still tested. If audience fails, creative still works. Diversification safety net.

Scalability. Once winner identified, scale confidently (proven, tested, data-backed).

Replicability. Framework repeatable every week with fresh angles. Compound testing.

Limitations:

Requires minimum budget. $30/day works. $10? Too lean (each ad set underfunded). $5/day? Starving.

Requires discipline. Many people panic 3 days in ("no sales yet!"), kill campaigns. Need patience 7 days.

Requires clear metric. If measuring wrong KPI, winner misidentified. Know your metric beforehand.

Requires creative capacity. Need 2 creatives minimum, ideally more. Resource constraint for solopreneurs.

Simplified thinking. Reality: best-performer sometimes luck (favorable audience day, algorithm variance). 7 days isn't always enough for signal clarity. 14 days safer.

Modern twist: Advantage+ campaigns auto-test variations, auto-allocate budget to winners. Meta doing 322 methodology automatically. Manual campaigns need discipline, auto campaigns delegate to algorithm. Advantage+ might out-perform manual 322 because daily optimization versus weekly.

Real-world results: agencies using 322 report 20-30% faster profitability discovery versus traditional single ad set. Money learning faster = faster scaling = faster ROI.

When 322 works best: mid-budget testing ($100-500/month). Budget too small (under $100), insufficient per ad set. Budget huge ($5,000+), granular optimization better. Also works best when offer proven (organic sales validate market). Untested offer? Better test organically first before paid 322.

Common mistake: 322 with bad landing page. Ad testing perfect, landing page terrible. Winner drives traffic, but conversion rate tanks on page. Fix page before running ads.

Verdict: 322 method solid framework for systematic testing. Not magic ($100/day 322 method doesn't beat $300 unoptimized if offer bad). But better discipline than "throw money at ads, hope." Reduces wasted budget learning compared unstructured testing. Modern wrinkle: Advantage+ does 322 for you automatically—might out-perform manual. Manual 322 still teaches you the game (valuable for long-term mastery). Use 322 framework first 2-3 months learning, transition Advantage+ auto-campaigns once confident. Both work, different philosophies (hands-on learning versus hands-off delegation).