What's working in January 2022
Ad accounts down month over month? Year over year?
First, take a deep breath.
Second, you’re not alone. With the new year has admittedly brought some question marks to the ad buying table for what’s actually working now and this year, and how can we pivot (like we always do) to make sure the ads we buy are as profitable as possible.
We worked with some of the best ad buyers in our space to see what’s working for them, as well as brought ideas from our own accounts we manage to bring you some ideas you can implement today to get that ROAS back in the positives.
11 things working right now in ad buying that you have to try
Consolidation: For now, we’re leaving intricate account structures and segmented audiences in 2020 and 2021 and sticking with larger audiences, simpler account set-up. Less is more, right?
CBO vs. ABO: Consider defaulting to CBO when you first launch new testing campaigns (as the Facebook algorithm tends to know more than we do about the target audience) then, once data and learnings have had time to settle in, try switching to or implementing ABO and ad set spending limits (both ceilings and floors). From Brad Klein: “I consider this a blend between CBO and ABO as I essentially get the best of both worlds – CBO to allow FB’s algorithm to find the best people and ABO to control FB from spending too much or too little on an audience, based on the down funnel performance data.”
Standalone lookalikes vs. Lookalike stacks: Try testing lookalike audiences independently at first, then when (if) they prove to be successful, move them into a lookalike stack to maximize audience size and minimize ad set overlap
Interest stacks: We know larger audiences are working better, but instead of lumping ALL of your interests together, try segmenting them by persona while still stacking similar interests. For example, a foodie persona interest might include 10-20 different interests of restaurant and cooking interests, but don’t stack them with a sports persona interest, even if your target audience is a sports-loving foodie.
Lookalike seed audiences: Try testing lower intent seed audiences for lookalikes like:
Top 25% of website visitors based on time on site
Viewed 5+ pages on the site
Initiated a checkout
Watched at least 50% of a video ad/post
FB or IG Engagers or Saved Posts
Cost Caps: Don’t rule them out altogether – if you prefer profitability over volume, don’t be afraid to test cost caps (or bid caps) where you want them with higher-than-normal budgets, and if the audience is there, it spends; if it isn’t, it doesn’t.
Oldies but goodies: Try turning back on old campaigns from months ago that performed great then, but have since died out or been turned off. You might be surprised (and pleased) to see it might still have some good life in it.
Broad: Don’t be afraid to go broad with minimal exclusions and see where it goes. While the FB algorithm has been less than helpful the past few months, we do know it likes being in control. We’ve seen broad working better than any other campaign in a handful of accounts this month.
Exclusions: Less is more – try excluding JUST 180 day purchasers and lifetime customers/purchasers. Or try just excluding 180 day purchasers and 180 day website visitors. Yes, we love true prospecting, but we love profitable ads more. In this scenario, we’d suggest also lowering your bottom funnel retargeting spend to as low as 10% or less, as we know we are getting some lower funnel traffic into our prospecting campaigns due to the lack of exclusions.
Creative testing: Still important. Reels and TikTok videos are taking over the world right now, so don’t be afraid to make a quick-cut, low-quality iPhone video of your product with a voiceover (or even the awful robot voice) and run in all placements, not just Reels. Also try static image graphics with text overlay of a bold statement or the 2-5 words that the customer should take away from your ad if that’s all they see. Canva will be your friend for this.
Reels-only placements: For a minute when this placement first launched, we saw insanely low CPMs and insanely low purchasing intent, CTR, and conversion rate. However, you may want to try these again, as we’re seeing lower CPMs than other placements and we’re seeing profitability and higher CTRs and CVRs across the board for Reels-only placements with Reels/TikTok specific video creative. Bonus points if the video is a trending audio/voiceover that is impactful and entertaining to your target customer.
A huge thank you to Brad Klein, Brad Ploch, and Todd Stone from the Foxwell Founders Membership for their input on this blog.
