Paid Social Archives - Page 2 of 2

iOS 14.5 and the Effects on Meta Advertising.

27th October 2022

by Anna Simpson Paid Search Paid Social

Over a year has passed since the introduction of IOS14 & 14.5 which changed the landscape of Meta advertising. This blog will talk through the updates and the detrimental effects this ultimately had on paid social advertisers.

iOS 14 & 14.5 Update Changes – What is it?

Perhaps one of the most significant changes arising from the updates was that Apple limited the amount of data Meta could get from their users. Apple launched the App Transparency feature which asked the user for permission every time an app requested their IDFA (Apple’s Identifier for Advertisers).

This prompt allows users to ask the app not to track and, if selected, prevents any user activity being tracked across company apps and websites.

Since Apple’s new privacy feature the rate of opt-in figures has, unsurprisingly, been low. According to Statista as of April 2022, the opt-in rate was at 25%.

What does this mean for Meta advertising?

With the majority of consumers choosing to opt out of data, there has been a significant impact on the amount of data marketers are now able to collect.

As a result of the update, Meta Pixel is now unable to track user’s activity properly, which is a big change to adjust to. Advertisers now report far fewer clicks on their advertisements as people choose to opt out of tracking. As a result, the conversions that are made cannot be reported on as granulary; for example, demographic data is no longer collected, meaning that advertisers can no longer use this information to personalise ads. Consequently, this has made it more difficult when optimising ads and caused a notable decrease in performance for all campaigns.

Another clear impact of the update is the lack of audience data that can be used for remarketing purposes. Meta audiences is one of the reasons that advertising through these platforms was so popular. Targeting users through lookalike, remarketing and custom audiences is now limited in its capabilities. To tackle this, campaigns should target a broader audience using interest marketing, this will allow Meta to use their own data to put your ads in front of people likely to convert.

Aggregated Events Management

In addition to the reduction of user data that Meta can access, there is also no real-time reporting in Meta and results can take up to 3 days to appear. In response to this, Meta developed the aggravated events management system to help advertisers with reporting. This requires brands to limit their conversion events to 8 per domain. Meta Events Manager now only tracks the last single event made by the user, it’s therefore important to prioritise the order of conversion events. It’s also vital to have your domains verified in order to have this working effectively, so keep an eye out for the warning sign that will tell you if it’s not.

How can agencies respond to this new normal for Meta Ads?

Verify your domain: This tells Meta that you are a legitimate business and allows for the 8 conversion events to be assigned to that domain.

Set up Aggregated Event Management: You can set up 8 conversion events. Meta will only track the last conversion event with the highest priority.

Target broad Audiences :Targeting large audiences with similar interests will allow Meta to put your ads in front of the right people.

Summing up the IOS 14 & 14.5 Updates

The IOS 14 and 14.5 updates have had a huge impact on how advertisers utilise Meta for advertising. The updates mean it’s no longer as efficient as it has been before, but there are still things we can do to give our campaigns the best chance of succeeding. After all, advertisers are known for adapting to change and, as such, we must stay vigilant for any more updates in the paid social scene and run with these changes.

Find out how we work with the iOS changes and can help guide your social advertising

Finding The Right Facebook Ad Type For Your Campaign

6th October 2022

by Anna Simpson Paid Search Paid Social

Facebook is continuously evolving and offering more and more new ad formats, but how do you know which one is best for you? This blog will walk you through the various formats, and help you choose which you should adopt to reach the right audience to help you hit your campaign goals.

Image Ads

Image Ads are the most simple of the ad formats. You can use your own photos or create stock images to engage your audience. A picture, after all, is worth a thousand words, so don’t be afraid to get creative to attract your audience. Facebook’s creative hub allows you to test different image and text formats to find the best look for your advert.

These have the benefit of driving awareness of your business, can communicate a simple message to your audience and are quick and easy to create.

Video Ads

Video ads are a powerful way to showcase your products and services by using visuals and audio to capture your audience’s attention. These can be used to highlight a unique feature of your product or tell a story to drive awareness of your brand. Video ads can appear in a variety of placements including feeds, stories, reels, and many more.

The main advantages of this format are improved brand awareness, customer engagement, and increasing lead generation. So your choice is not limited when deciding to use a video ad.

Stories

Stories provide an edge-to-edge experience to steal your audience’s attention with quick-frame videos and interesting ads. Stories can have a very large reach and a higher click-through rate.

Unique ads can be used to increase customer interest and boost awareness of your products.

Messenger

Messenger Ads are a perfect way to encourage customers to interact with your brand. The use of manual and automated features can be used to personalise your message to your existing or potential customers.

Messenger ads are effective in reaching large numbers of people and starting conversations with your customers.

Carousel

Carousel ads let you display as many as 10 images or videos within a single ad. Each image or video has a headline, link and call to action button, making it easy for the customer to navigate when clicking the ad.

Carousel ads are used best to:

– Showcase multiple products in a single ad
– Highlight different features of a product or service,
– Take the user through a process
– Tell a story of your brand.

The main benefit of carousel is it increases consideration towards your brand and encourages people to actively engage with your product or service.

Slideshow

Slideshow ads contain different images that come together in a single harmonious slideshow. These are comparable to video but can be made on a smaller budget. Additionally, these are quick to create and can be set up easily from your Facebook page or phone. No matter how fast or slow the connection, these advertisements load quickly and play smoothly.

These are most useful if you need to create an immersive ad quickly and inexpensively, and want to reach people with slower connections.

Collection

Collection ads have the unique ability to tailor your catalogue to each individual. The usual format consists of one main image accompanied by 3 smaller images. When the customer clicks on the ad they will receive a full-page instant experience which allows customers to see the storefront, browse for products and make a purchase effortlessly.

These are helpful if your campaign’s goal is to drive product awareness and increase conversions for your business.

Playables

Playable Ads allow customers to interact with your app before they decide to install it. These ads consist of 3 components; a lead-in video, a demo and, finally, a call to action. These are most commonly used for gaming apps.

Playables are effective for engaging customers and driving actions, as the customer gets to have a preview of the app before they decide to download it.

Which ad format is best for me?

With all these different kinds of formats available to select, how do you know which one to choose? It is crucial to define your target audience in order to know who to direct your ads at. Each ad format comes with its advantages so you need to select one that aligns with your campaign objectives.

One more thing

It’s important to remember that Facebook is constantly evolving, so it’s critical to stay on top of the latest changes to ensure your business thrives on the meta platforms.

Get in touch today if you want to start integrating Facebook advertising into your marketing strategy.

LinkedIn Ads – Are They For You?

24th June 2020

by Anna Simpson Paid Search Paid Social

We all know about the effectiveness of Google, Bing and Facebook Ads, but what about LinkedIn Ads? Do they provide an effective ROI?

Who should use LinkedIn Ads?

If your business is B2B, or has a professional or enterprise audience, and the personas you want to reach actively use LinkedIn, then yes, it can be a high-value channel. It is the world’s most up-to-date directory of 500 million professionals worldwide, and in particular, In particular, decision-makers congregate on LinkedIn, with senior managers, corporate functions, and enterprise buyers all using LinkedIn for content, networking, and research. A factor to consider is that ad costs are higher on LinkedIn, which requires an almost surgical approach to who you reach, with account-based marketing and precision targeting mattering significantly. So if your ideal prospects are on LinkedIn, and you can justify a higher cost per acquisition, then it is definitely worth experimenting with this platform.

Algorithm, Ranking, & Ad Infrastructure

In recent years, LinkedIn has invested heavily in deep learning ranking models to better predict ad click-through propensity and engagement. Their content ranking emphasises expertise, relevance, and meaningful engagement, and the platform is pushing video and creator-led content far more aggressively. Additionally, they now offer bid automation, “Max Delivery” for sponsored messaging, and AI-assisted subject line generation. Ultimately, delivery on LinkedIn is more AI-driven than ever before, creative execution matters more, and scaling engagement helps ads perform the best.

Audience targeting

When compared to Google Ads or Meta, LinkedIn offers a very granular and accurate audience targeting. Facets within this include company, seniority, job function, years of experience, skills, and many more, allowing you to target very specific audiences that fit your Ideal Customer Profile. You can even narrow down your audience to as low as 500+ people based on multiple criteria listed in people’s LinkedIn profiles. Additionally, the platform’s forecasting and audience sizing tools have become more robust in recent years, giving better estimates of reach and bidding ranges.

3 Popular LinkedIn Ad Types

If you are a frequent LinkedIn user, you have probably seen them around the site, but here is an overview:

Sponsored Messaging

These ads come in two formats, either as a LinkedIn message direct to audiences or through conversations featuring a choose-your-own-path experience. These allow businesses to reach their audience in a very personal way. Additionally, they have been bolstered recently with AI enhancements and more intelligent delivery.

Carousel Ads

Interactive and immersive formats are gaining significant adoption on LinkedIn, with carousel performance improving significantly year on year.

Video Ads & Short Form Clips

Video and short-form clips are growing rapidly on the platform, driven by LinkedIn’s content and creator push, so make sure to capitalise on this.

Cost

Costs for this platform vary largely by industry, seniority or prospect, and location. All ads work on Pay-Per-Click, Pay-Per-1000-Impressions, or Cost-Per-Send for InMails. So there is always an auction running before the ad is shown or InMail is sent, and it depends on competitive bidding for those actions. As a result, it is more expensive to reach the most important decision-makers in the key industries. CPC tends to be around $5.50-$6.50 as a global average, while the ROI is typically between 2-6x spend. Recently, LinkedIn has become a more expensive platform, especially for premium segments, but if your funnel downstream converts well, then the investment really can pay off.