It’s no secret that scaling in performance marketing, especially for native advertising, can feel like a constant science experiment of headlines, images, placements, bid ranges, etc.
However, it’s fairly agreed-upon that one of the absolute most important elements is the creative - meaning the image and headline that users see in order to click on your ad.
In fact, at Revcontent, we see the importance of a creative when it comes to the cycles of a campaign. On day 7 of a campaign, the CTR of a creative is already down by 50%. By day 14, that same creative is down another 50%.
After looking at 1.1 million+ ads currently on our network, we found 7 DAYS is the average time to exhaust your creative, meaning users have seen your ad so frequently that your CTR decreases. That means it’s time to switch up the image!
Maintaining an ideal CTR is incredibly important for keeping down CPCs.
Sharon Lyon, Revcontent’s Vice President of Sales and Operations shared, “During times when maintaining margin is more important than ever, it's critical advertisers stay focused on creating content that drives maximum CTRs. By increasing their CTR, advertisers are able to bid less while still driving the same amount of traffic.”
Constant creative refresh is the name of the game, and the best advertisers on Revcontent are systematically testing and scaling new creatives.
In this post, we’re going to break down some of the most important factors in creating strong performing creatives on native ad campaigns.
1. If your CTR has fallen off, try switching up your headlines.
Headlines do at least half of the work of your creative, so when you nail the perfect headline, alongside your winning image, you should have no problem hitting and exceeding your ideal CTR.
A few simple headline tweaks could make all the difference. If they apply to your campaigns, try incorporating the angles below in different variations to help boost performance.
With that strategy in mind, make sure you develop creatives within each campaign that are ENTIRELY different from each other, and represent the full spectrum we’ve outlined. With those in place, you will end up winning far more volume than your competition, at lower CPC’s.
Mystery:
- What if?
- Did you know?
- Are you sure?
- Have you experienced it?
Intrigue: I’ve got to read a little more.
- New data shows
- There’s information here you will find useful
- This will help you with current and future decisions (pertaining to product or service)
Fear: What happens if I don’t read more?
- You don’t want to miss out on this information
- If you didn’t know this, you could be next
Excitement: This could change my life!
- Newly discovered
- Previously unknown but packs major results
Humor: I have to share this product or serve.
- Funny
Detail: This is shedding light on something I never even considered.
- Data
- Facts
- Direct language
If applicable to your campaigns, follow the launching points above.
2. Use images that reflect a specific angle of your product or campaign that speaks to your target audience.
Numerous studies show that, across the board, the image will capture your users attention first.
- Lifestyle imagery works better than clip art style photos
- Avoid logos or images with text overlay
- Close up, colorful images work better than zoomed out photos
When analyzing the different angles or pain points of your product or offering, try to build images around those specific situations.
For example, if you’re building out images for a food delivery service, your creatives may address the following pain points that your food delivery service solves:
- No time to cook, busy schedule
- Higher costs of competitors services
- A desire to eat healthier, home-cooked meals vs. take out
- Less menu options from competitors
- Varying food tastes of family members
No time to cook, busy schedule:
Higher costs of competitors services:
A desire to eat healthier, home-cooked meals vs. take out:
More eating style options than competitors :
Varying food tastes of family members:
All five of these unique images address a specific reason users might want to sign up for your food delivery service, and different audience segments will relate to different imagery.
3. Don’t be afraid to experiment with video ad types.
Just like on social media, video can perform extremely well in native advertising. In fact, Revcontent is the only native network that allows advertisers to upload their own video creatives.
This new creative type allows you to leverage the success and engagement you’ve seen using video on social media, and replicate it in native. Previously, advertisers were limited to using high-performing videos on social platforms like Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat.
Videos will autoplay on screen and be muted until a user unmutes, and they typically see a 20-30% increase in engagement.
Static creatives will always be popular, but dynamic video will always catch a user’s eye in a sea of still images.
4. Poor creatives will never make a winning combination.
You can mix poor placements in native with a great creative and still see success. But the best placements and targeting options won’t fix a poor image.
Understanding that constant creative refresh and analysis is the key to maintaining scaled, profitable campaigns that will keep your costs low and your returns high.
Sign up at Revcontent.com today, and get a $50 credit match once you fund your account. Email support@revcontent.com - be sure to mention you came from Everflow!
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