We look at the ad before we look at the audience
We talk to a lot of marketers and go through a lot of ads to understand where our clients stand. One habit shows up more than any other: targeting gets blamed first. Before you rebuild an audience, check whether the ad is the thing giving people a reason to keep scrolling.
People see it and keep scrolling
Plenty of impressions, barely any clicks. The right people reached the ad and it gave them no reason to stop. That is a message problem wearing an audience costume.
Every audience performs the same way
Broad, lookalike, interests, all of them weak. When everything fails together, the thing they share is the ad.
The video loses people early
If viewers leave before the point shows up, the opening is the problem. Fix that before touching any setting.
The comments are basic questions
“What is this?” “How much?” “Is this a scam?” The ad should have answered those first.
A new creative moves the numbers
Same audience, same budget, only the ad changed. If results jump, you have your answer.
Sometimes it really is the targeting
If one ad works with one audience and dies with another, look there. But we test the creative first, because it is the cheaper test. New creative, same everything else, and you know within a few days.
Pick a number
Which one sounds familiar? Drop a number from 1 to 5.