Why Creative Diversity is Important for Ads During Q4
For eCommerce brands leveraging Meta advertising, creative diversity has emerged as a critical strategy to capture attention, improve engagement, and drive profitability. This diversity goes beyond simply using different ad formats, such as images, videos, or carousels, to encompass a wide array of content topics and styles. Creative diversity can have a transformative impact on a brand’s return on ad spend (ROAS) and overall profitability, as it allows marketers to reach audiences in varied ways, keeps their content fresh, and ultimately drives conversions. Here’s why implementing creative diversity in Meta advertising is essential for eCommerce brands looking to stand out in a crowded marketplace.
But WHY does an account need to have images AND videos, UGC (user-generated content) AND professionally-shot content, carousels AND DPAs/DABAs?
The short answer is simple. Different formats appeal to different users. While some people prefer visual images or videos, others may engage more with interactive formats like carousels or collections. By using various ad formats, brands can meet different audience preferences and capture a larger portion of potential customers. Also, different stages of the customer awareness to intent to purchase funnel require different creative to meet and speak to the customer where they are at in their purchase journey. Some products might require a more in-depth customer testimonial or founder explanatory video of how or why they started the company, whereas another product might be a problem-solution fix and it just requires a graphic. There are so many nuances and differences in human actions that having many types of creatives is paramount to advertising success.
Another pro for needing creative diversity in digital advertising is for higher engagement through varied visuals. Static images are great for direct, clear messaging, while videos offer a chance to show products in action. Carousels can create an immersive shopping experience by showcasing multiple products or benefits in a single swipe, while collection ads allow users to browse and buy without leaving the app. Combining these formats keeps audiences interested, encourages more prolonged engagement, and maximizes opportunities for conversion.
But specifically, WHY is creative diversity important during Q4?
Competition is at an all-time high during the holiday shopping season, and so are CPMs. Different people respond to different types of content, and during BFCM, there isn’t enough time to capture everyone in your total addressable audience in that short window if you’re only running one type of creatives. A person normally during the rest of the year might enjoy watching a brand video to learn about the founder and how a product is made, but on Black Friday weekend, they’re in a hurry to find the best deals and the best gifts for those on their gifting list. If a thumbstop is usually 3 seconds from January to September, in November, it’s one second. By diversifying your creative, you can reach different people at different stages in their buying journey AND at different attention spans.
For example, see the below screenshots from Motion for November & December creative breakdown for images vs. videos. The brands that went all-in on video seemingly left a LOT of profit and spend on the table by not reaching people who during BFCM prefer images and quick transactions:
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Some of the most popular types of creative to lean into when you’re trying to diversify your account (this comes directly from Foxwell Digital’s best-selling AAA Course:
Static images:
UGC unpolished image (straight from a smartphone)
Lifestyle unpolished image (higher-quality than straight UGC, but still looks realistic & like everyday life)
Professional image
Product image (usually white background; the image that would be used for Shopify or Amazon)
Image carousel (can be lifestyle images, UGC images, professional images, or product images)
Graphic image with text overlay (can be lifestyle images, UGC images, professional images, or product images)
Videos
GIF/short, looping video (usually ~6 seconds or less)
UGC video (from a UGC creator) - can be edited with text overlay or one shot/raw
UGC video (from an influencer) - usually a bit more polished and fits the influencer’s aesthetic more than the brand’s
Professional video shoot (and professionally edited)
UGC video (from an actual customer - usually very raw quality)
Video mashup (can be a mashup from different UGC creators, professional videos, or any other video available, but jumps between very different shoots multiple times)
Animated graphic (like a GIF, but is primarily a graphic with assets that move/appear)
Catalog
Product image - DPA/DABA
Custom catalog images (through an app like Socioh)
Custom catalog videos (through an app like Socioh)
Collection ad (can be a photo, video, or slideshow as the “main” creative, but via creative enhancements adds in products below the main creative)
Other types of creative
Whitelabeled content
Brand paid partnership/collab post
Reels/TikTok banner ad placement (this is usually via the Multi-Advertiser option toggled ON)
Instant Experience
Audience Network ad placement
Another benefit of creative diversity - keeping content fresh to prevent creative fatigue
Ad fatigue is a common challenge we all face in digital advertising on all platforms and channels. When users see the same ad repeatedly, they tend to ignore it or engage less, which can result in decreased performance, increased frequency - leading to increased CPMs/cost to advertise, and therefore wasted ad spend. By continuously rotating a diverse set of creatives, brands can combat ad fatigue and keep audiences engaged. This also assists Meta’s AI by showing it that the ad creative, brand, and product is relevant and desired by any given targeted user.
Meta’s advertising algorithm plays a pivotal role in determining ad performance and, ultimately, ROAS. The platform’s machine learning algorithm uses data on how users interact with different ad creatives to optimize ad delivery. Having a diverse range of creatives increases the data available for Meta’s algorithm, leading to better ad delivery and improved performance.
When Meta’s algorithm has access to a range of creative assets, it can more effectively match ads to specific user segments based on historical interactions, increasing the chances of ad engagement. For instance, if certain users are more responsive to video content, the algorithm will prioritize serving video ads to them, maximizing the potential for conversion.
Creative diversity allows brands to connect with customers in meaningful, personalized ways, building not only immediate sales but also long-term loyalty, as well as feeds the Meta algorithm so it can continually find and target more relevant potential customers for your brand. For eCommerce brands aiming to stand out and thrive, a varied, adaptable creative strategy on Meta is not just advantageous—it’s essential.
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