What's Working (and what's not) in a Post-iOS14 World
It’s currently mid-February, 2021, and Facebook Ads as we knew them from 2020 and before are now a thing of the past. 2021 has brought us iOS14, mandated domain verification, CAPI … am we missing anything?
With these changes comes changes to strategy, structure, creative, and just about every other way that we think about digital marketing. So what’s working right now? We asked a last-minute question on our Facebook Group, read through (so many) of the industry’s recent tweets, and used the accounts we manage to come up with the seven things that are working (and three things that aren’t) in Facebook ads right now.
So…..What IS working?
When building lookalike audiences, excluding holiday purchaser seed audiences (i.e. using 1-40 day audiences and 90+ day audiences)
TikTok/Reels-esque videos with quick cuts and multiple video shots. It’s what the kids are into now, so capitalize if you can (even if it means hiring a Gen-Zer for their skillz)
Carousels and collection ads – the people are lazy. Give them a taste of what you’re selling before you even make them click
Long copy – it goes against our ‘people are lazy’ mantra, but if the first three lines hook them in, they’re in for the long-haul (and the purchase).
Static image link posts – yep, the most basic ad format is doing great right now. Also, the uglier/more text on it, the better.
Sales – with Valentine’s Day (even President’s Day (in the U.S.) or Mother’s Day (in the UK). The holiday slump is over and people want something to be excited about.
Interest targeting in prospecting. Maybe it’s the iOS14 changes, maybe it’s bad seed audience for lookalikes, but whatever it is, we’re here for it.
What’s NOT working?
For us, complex account structures. Simple(r) is doing well.
For accounts with a higher price point, some are struggling with the new attribution window changes and the loss of 28-day click/1-day view, and even with 7-day click (no view) for value-optimized campaigns
Lookalike expansions (if it’s rolled out to your ad account), and larger lookalikes, like 8, 9, or 10% lookalikes haven’t had the same flair recently that they used to.
Have more you’d like to add to this list? Join the conversation on our Facebook & Instagram Pro Ad Buyers Industry Group.
