Recently, we had the opportunity to attend an in-person event at Meta HQ, where industry leaders shared invaluable insights on the evolving roles of AI, creative strategies, and measurement in digital marketing. As we gear up for Q4, these takeaways will be crucial in shaping successful campaigns.
As most know, the algorithm has changed in recent times, no longer focusing on recommended content based on your interests, but evolving to discovery. Due to this shift, they described todays paid social Meta landscape as ‘Day 0’ whereby from now on, consistent and relentless testing is required for tangible learnings and growth. The importance of testing was highlighted, but the key takeaway was that testing should be vigorous throughout September, to implement findings in the lead up to the seasonal period.
With this, comes the ever-changing aspect of AI and how to incorporate this into campaigns for automation and efficiency. Their advice was to lean into Advantage+ features, whether it be (Advantage+ Shopping Campaign) ASC or simply audiences. Adopting automated features will be crucial in the holiday season, whilst paid social specialists build, manage and optimise campaigns, Advantage+ is the key to finding users at the right time. Their findings showed implementing Advantage+ where possible lead to a 4.5 ROAS increase.
With Christmas and Black Friday around the Q4 corner, you should be thinking about planning now. Meta findings show that the first two weeks of November sees a 2.5x higher page view, which is the period to focus on prospecting campaigns. Alongside this, the Friday before Black Friday (as they coined Forgotten Friday) has the highest conversion rate amongst users. Thus, it is no surprise that CPMs are below average in October and highest in November, coinciding with a rise in CVR. Notably, Meta factors in a ‘Q5’ which should go unmissed. This is the post-Christmas period, where CPMs are low but CVRs are high, due to people having more time in the quiet period, money to spend that has been gifted or have finally set-up new gadgets they have received, all of which can result in purchases. Ultimately, what may appear to be a quiet period for business after Christmas, is a busy period for audiences to be reached.
So, we now know when to reach audiences, but how do we ensure our creative is working hard?
Meta emphasises just how important the creatives we use are. Using the right creatives helps the algorithm find new audiences, as well as build the right ads for the right people.
Using a diverse set of creative across a variety of ad formats can unlock Meta’s potential of your business. Using different ad formats and creatives has a 32% increased efficiency and 9% incremental reach as stated by Meta. Diverse creatives likewise enable AI to deliver the right message to the relevant person.
Diversifying your messaging is the lowest way to diversify your creative. If you don’t have the ability to change your visuals, change your messaging to make it relevant to different audiences. It’s at low costs but has a very high impact.
Listed below is an exercise for opportunities to consider when diversifying your messaging:
As important as it is at diversifying messaging strategies, we need to also think about diverse visual styles. We need to consider how each messaging strategy can be implemented with different visual elements and how we can incorporate lifestyle, product and high/lo-fi videos into our creatives to target our audience. For instance, using high-fi video with product focus and deals available. As well as lo-fi creator-led videos showcasing how the product can be used, giving the audience the reason to buy.
If we are building our messaging across these different visual styles with consistency, we are going to start attracting different audiences.
Lastly, touching on Reels. Reels are massively influencing how consumers are behaving, and increasingly more people are getting served on that placement. When we think about what defines reels, it’s ungarnished, lo-fi, relatable and entertaining. So, it’s essential to follow the basic best practices on the platform for your videos to succeed. Making the video 9:16, sound on and staying in the safe zone. Meta has a safe zone template which can be used when designing reel creatives, in addition to building out a sound library which offers a range of free music and sounds that are broken out into seasonal moments. This can be added to ads for free to prevent the headache of worrying about licensing fees and therefore making creatives as effective as possible. Following these guidelines can be a stepping stone to making a successful reel.
We’ll now look into conducting experiments to ensure we’re leading with the best outcomes for our campaigns.
Meta emphasised on the importance of experimenting within the account and how it is beneficial to measure and analyse results that can be a guide for future campaigns.
The leading organisations that invest in improved measurement capabilities are 44% more likely to exceed their revenue goals compared to low maturity companies is something that Meta strongly believes in. Giant companies like Netflix, Amazon & booking.com run over a thousand experiments/tests every year which gives these businesses a competitive advantage over the others. If you don’t experiment, you can fall behind relatively in the advertising world.
Here’s 3 ways experiments can help business to grow
Meta also listed the 6 steps to experimental success which are:
As we move into Q4, it’s essential to stay ahead by applying these insights from Meta. The strategies discussed here—from AI and automation to creative diversification and rigorous testing—are not just recommendations; they are necessities.
If you’re ready to take your campaigns to the next level reach out to our team of experts to discuss how we can help you implement these strategies and achieve your business goals. Let’s test, learn, and grow together.