Reflecting on 2023 So Far
Okay, guys… I hate to be this person but I HAVE to ask:
Can you BELIEVE it’s already the FALL?!
Like, honestly… what has happened this year? It’s like we hit January 1 and life decided to accelerate — and to say it’s been busy, full of lessons, and full of work is an understatement.
But, I digress. ‘Tis life, isn’t it?!
And, during this busy year, I’ve learned a LOT. My team has learned a LOT. My clients have learned — you guessed it — a LOT. We’re in this really interesting space of time where we’re seeing new innovations in tech every day, new ways to reach audiences and customers WITH that tech, and new variations on the things that have worked already.
So, I want to dive into a little reflection of 2023 so far: ads edition.
What we’ve learned about ads (so far) in 2023
After a year of news about privacy changes, allowances, and rebrands, there was a lot to contend with — but, to be honest, we’ve learned and have really decided to dial in on a lot of the strategies we’ve been focused on.
And it’s worked.
#1: Video is still king (queen?!)
It’s really been no secret that video content has been heavily, heavily prioritized across social — and for good reasons. Audiences enjoy it, it’s highly engaging, and it’s immediately eye-catching. This has only increased in 2023 so far — especially in your ads.
Whether it’s running ads on Reels/TikTok or it’s repurposing video content to engage your audience with ads, showing up is SO important. We’ve learned through countless launches this year that video testing is just as important as we assumed, too. Don’t forget this — and focus on testing lifestyle videos, TikTok-style videos, talking videos, and more. It’s important to really dig into the types of content your audience loves so that you can lean into more of it.
However, I do really want to make something clear: images are not dead! Photo ads and creative still work and perform really, really well among audiences — and I don’t see that ever changing. But, paying attention to video content is still highly important, and for a couple reasons: you want to please the algorithm when you can, it’s important to show up in multiple ways, and trying new things is never a bad thing.
#2: The strategies we promote are still working.
Over here, we place the biggest emphasis — always — on testing. We test creative assets, we test timing, we test audiences… you name it. And, guess what? That strategy remains one of theeee best things you can do for a successful ad campaign and launch. Every. Single. Time. Don’t get caught on one practice and refuse to try and test other things, because you will miss out on a huge opportunity there.
You deserve better than that.
#3: Diversification of spend is getting the most return.
While we may have started out as a FB ads agency, we’re a lot more than that now — we’re comfortable running ads on any platform, and I have to urge you to do the same. See, there are constantly new platforms (hello, TikTok is not that old!) and there are also platforms that you may not have been taking advantage of (hello, Pinterest!). By leveraging them, you can truly see a huge return on spend.
Now, a note: for us and for our clients, FB and IG are still seeing the biggest return and engagement levels. However, it very well may not stay like that forever — and, regardless, we are still seeing big return and engagement in places like TikTok and Pinterest, too.
Don’t miss out.
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Stay tuned — the year isn’t over yet! These are just a few of the things we’ve learned so far, and we’re excited for more. And, as always, if there’s anything you want us to dig into… let us know!