It’s critical that you consider the platform on which you are displaying an ad before you design it. When it comes to social ads, you’re not just competing with other paid content, you’re competing with the users’ entire social network.
Brett McHale, says that social ads should “blend in AND stand out” on the page. Sounds pretty contradictory, huh? He goes on to explain that social content should be contextually relevant (meaning that it doesn’t look like an advertisement) and still grab readers’ attention with entertaining images and design elements like contrasting colors and negative space.
Want to create designer-quality display ads in minutes? Try our free Smart Ads Creator.
Using stock photos in social media ads will kill your performance. Instead, we recommend following Krista Neher’s “three R” strategy to drive your social content. Use real pictures of real things taken by real people. You can even solicit photos from your audience to use in these ads.
Michael Kors, the first brand invited to display ads on Instagram, has this practice down pat. Their ads feel native to the platform, yet still showcase their products. Their very first post, the first image above, resulted in a 370% increase in new followers.
Creative Display Ad Tip #2: Speak to Your Target Demographic
With display advertising, you have the opportunity to segment your audience based on their demographic details. Take advantage of this level of granularity and build ads that will resonate with each segment of your target audience.
Taking a “one size fits all” approach rarely yields great results for advertisers. For example, imagine a jeweler who specializes in women’s jewelry. He may be inclined to create ads geared toward a female audience, thinking this is target persona. However, upon examining his audience segments on a deeper level, he may find that a good portion of his audience is male and these men order more expensive items, likely as gifts. The jeweler should absolutely create another set of ads that resonate with a male audience.
https://www.selfgrowth.com/user/2931257
One of our account managers, Allen Finn, shared a real-life example of this in a post on how small businesses can compete with the big guys. His team, who was working with a weight-loss client, recognized that, while men were less likely to click on their ads than women, they were significantly more likely to follow through with a conversion. In an effort to boost click-through rates for these ideal male prospects, they created this ad below.
The new ad yielded a significant uptick in click-through rates and astounding CPAs (3x less than the account average). As you can see, simply adjusting the ad content can pay dividends.
Brett McHale, says that social ads should “blend in AND stand out” on the page. Sounds pretty contradictory, huh? He goes on to explain that social content should be contextually relevant (meaning that it doesn’t look like an advertisement) and still grab readers’ attention with entertaining images and design elements like contrasting colors and negative space.
Want to create designer-quality display ads in minutes? Try our free Smart Ads Creator.
Using stock photos in social media ads will kill your performance. Instead, we recommend following Krista Neher’s “three R” strategy to drive your social content. Use real pictures of real things taken by real people. You can even solicit photos from your audience to use in these ads.
Michael Kors, the first brand invited to display ads on Instagram, has this practice down pat. Their ads feel native to the platform, yet still showcase their products. Their very first post, the first image above, resulted in a 370% increase in new followers.
Creative Display Ad Tip #2: Speak to Your Target Demographic
With display advertising, you have the opportunity to segment your audience based on their demographic details. Take advantage of this level of granularity and build ads that will resonate with each segment of your target audience.
Taking a “one size fits all” approach rarely yields great results for advertisers. For example, imagine a jeweler who specializes in women’s jewelry. He may be inclined to create ads geared toward a female audience, thinking this is target persona. However, upon examining his audience segments on a deeper level, he may find that a good portion of his audience is male and these men order more expensive items, likely as gifts. The jeweler should absolutely create another set of ads that resonate with a male audience.
https://www.selfgrowth.com/user/2931257
One of our account managers, Allen Finn, shared a real-life example of this in a post on how small businesses can compete with the big guys. His team, who was working with a weight-loss client, recognized that, while men were less likely to click on their ads than women, they were significantly more likely to follow through with a conversion. In an effort to boost click-through rates for these ideal male prospects, they created this ad below.
The new ad yielded a significant uptick in click-through rates and astounding CPAs (3x less than the account average). As you can see, simply adjusting the ad content can pay dividends.
https://www.intensedebate.com/people/kieraduffy13
Want more tips? Here are 7 Steps to Master the Google Display Network.
Creative Display Ad Tip #3: Get Your Mind IN the Gutter
We’ve all heard it—sex sells. In fact, invoking sexual innuendo is one of the strongest and most effective marketing tactics. Of course, this tactic is nothing new. We can track it all the way back to 1871, when Pearl Tobacco began printing naked maidens on their packaging, leading to an abrupt uptick in sales. Fellow marketers took note and the strategy spread like…wildfire.
https://addons.wpforo.com/community/profile/jenniferdodd13/
But before you start swapping all of the models in your image ads for scantily clad replacements, remember that most online advertising platforms have strict policies prohibiting erotic images in ads. To make it through the approval process, marketers must be stealthy and use images or messages that simply imply sex. I love this example, from Volkswagen. The image and copy are completely PG, but the innuendo is clear.
https://www.freewebs.com/looking-for-mabel/apps/blog/show/43740927-jan-16-2016-mack-sennett-documentary-
We stumbled upon success with this tactic completely by accident. We created a guide titled “69 Creative Marketing Ideas to Boost Your Business” and began promoting it through our social channels. Engagement rates for these shares soared, so we dove into the data and recognized that people were commenting and sharing the posts due to the (unintentionally racy) numerical reference in the title. Because it was gaining such visibility, we also saw an impressive number of people clicking on the URL to view the guide. Based on its success organically, we began using paid ads to promote this guide.
Want more tips? Here are 7 Steps to Master the Google Display Network.
Creative Display Ad Tip #3: Get Your Mind IN the Gutter
We’ve all heard it—sex sells. In fact, invoking sexual innuendo is one of the strongest and most effective marketing tactics. Of course, this tactic is nothing new. We can track it all the way back to 1871, when Pearl Tobacco began printing naked maidens on their packaging, leading to an abrupt uptick in sales. Fellow marketers took note and the strategy spread like…wildfire.
https://addons.wpforo.com/community/profile/jenniferdodd13/
But before you start swapping all of the models in your image ads for scantily clad replacements, remember that most online advertising platforms have strict policies prohibiting erotic images in ads. To make it through the approval process, marketers must be stealthy and use images or messages that simply imply sex. I love this example, from Volkswagen. The image and copy are completely PG, but the innuendo is clear.
https://www.freewebs.com/looking-for-mabel/apps/blog/show/43740927-jan-16-2016-mack-sennett-documentary-
We stumbled upon success with this tactic completely by accident. We created a guide titled “69 Creative Marketing Ideas to Boost Your Business” and began promoting it through our social channels. Engagement rates for these shares soared, so we dove into the data and recognized that people were commenting and sharing the posts due to the (unintentionally racy) numerical reference in the title. Because it was gaining such visibility, we also saw an impressive number of people clicking on the URL to view the guide. Based on its success organically, we began using paid ads to promote this guide.
Comments
Post a Comment