New Year's Resolutions for Social Advertisers

Are you struggling to stick to your diet? Already regretting signing up for that 12 month membership at the gym? Most new year's resolutions are notoriously difficult to stick to. Who wants to lose weight anyway?

The problem is that the rewards of many resolutions take a long time to bear fruit. We humans are notoriously bad at deferred gratification - especially when it requires an up-front investment of self-denial on our part to get it.

Thankfully we have some new year's resolutions that require no self-inflicted misery on your own part to unlock their rewards. And what's more, those rewards will show themselves very quickly.

Prepare to feel virtuous. Here are our New Year's Resolutions for Social Advertisers:

1. I will test more ad formats

Each of the icons on the image above represents a different ad product from one of the major social platforms.

See how many there are?

Carousels, videos and polls. Sponsored pins, lenses, event promotions, slideshows. Each one is an opportunity to engage with your audience in a new and interesting way.

How many do you use, currently? In 2019, resolve to test new ad formats and measure how they contribute to your desired objectives versus others. You may discover major improvements.

2. I will test more ad channels

We know how tempting it can be to stick to what you know. Like the reliable evening meal you seem to cook at least once a week, there's comfort in what's familiar and proven to work.

But think of all the other opportunities out there. Your audience doesn't limit itself to a single digital property, so you shouldn't advertise on only one.

Try new things. Test new dishes. A varied diet is healthy. Spread your investment around different channels. Tailor your message to suit the platform, and the behaviour of your audience on it. Keep testing and measuring the results.

3. I will change my creative ways

Few factors impact ad performance as significantly as creative execution. And yet:

• Social ads are often repurposed creative built for other platforms

• Social ad creative often fails to connect with the call to action

• Social ads are often overused and left to stagnate

Make 2019 the year of good creative habits. Create original ads for the channel they're going to be deployed in. Ensure the visual elements of the creative resonate clearly with the product, objective and call to action of the ad. And, crucially, regularly review and update ad creative to dramatically reduce ad fatigue, and improve performance.

4. I will invest in the full funnel

Do you suffer from funnel tunnel vision? This common ailment renders the sufferer obsessed with a single stage of the marketing funnel, often to the detriment of the overall marketing strategy.

According to our own research, advertisers tend to invest disproportionately in the purchase or conversion part of the advertising funnel. And that's understandable - after all, the results gathered at that stage of the funnel are the most likely to please the CFO and justify your investment.

However; investment at one funnel stage improves results at all subsequent funnel stages. Therefore, investment in the upper reaches of the advertising funnel (awareness, consideration) will improve results at the conversion end of the funnel.

For more on full-funnel social advertising, check out our free on-demand webinar.

So, there you have it. Four new year's resolutions and not a carrot stick or nicotine patch in sight. What do you think? And what will you be focusing on as your 2019 social advertising plans turn into reality?

Cover photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash