In the “Metasphere” era, advertising has faced significant challenges, primarily due to Apple’s introduction of a cookie-less world through the iOS 14 update. This allowed users to opt out of cross-platform tracking, making it harder than ever to track user behaviour and habits.
While it is understandable from a user’s perspective, it has made the job of advertisers increasingly difficult, particularly when it comes to converting users.
However, Meta advertising is far from dead; it remains crucial for building and nurturing audiences and is still an essential component of a comprehensive digital marketing strategy.
Questions have arisen, such as whether social media can still convert users and how to navigate tracking issues. Despite these challenges, the answer to whether Meta remains a viable platform for advertising expenditure is a resounding “yes". The key is to embrace and adapt to the changes.
One major discussion point in Meta Advertising is the removal and expansion of detailed targeting options, emphasising the shift to broad audience testing.
Although many feel this has led to a lack of control over audience testing, by removing some of the detailed targeting and allowing Meta to find your ideal customers in a wider pool of users, you can leverage this change to your advantage by letting your messaging and creative do the targeting work for you.
Improving the messaging of your ads is the key to overcoming tracking challenges and maximising the effectiveness of your paid advertising in the current climate.
Social media (particularly TikTok) and review platforms have made it easier than ever to gather raw, authentic customer feedback. Users will often express their unfiltered thoughts in TikTok comments or product reviews.
By identifying common themes and topics in customer reviews, you can understand why people buy from your brand and what information they seek before making a purchase. And utilise this feedback to create impactful, customer-focused messaging that drives conversions.
It is important when you are selling your product online to somebody who has never heard from you, to craft a compelling story as to why they should buy from YOU.
For example, let's consider you sell a face cream.
While customers can purchase their usual face creams from local stores.
Yours is specifically designed for acne-prone skin, contains healing properties, and consists of the highest quality, 100% natural ingredients that have garnered praise from thousands of customers.
Compared to competitors, you may know that your products are inherently better. However, the average person who has never heard of your brand does not.
Crafting a value-oriented story based on your current customers' experiences, highlighting their struggles before discovering your brand and the positive emotions they feel after purchasing, can cut through the noise, resonate with your ideal audience, and build trust. Something that is hard to earn online nowadays.
With the changes in targeting, creatives have become a major focus in paid advertising.
Applying the customer-focused strategy, you can create compelling, attention-grabbing creatives that resonate specifically with prospective customers.
Analyse your reviews and social media comments to find inspiration for your next ad creative that can both objection handle and use authentic social proof.
Here’s how:
Sift through your social media comments and DMs. Are people asking a common question? If so, it's likely many others have the same question. Reply to these comments (positive or negative) and address common questions and objections in your videos to remove any confusion or hesitations that may prevent someone from buying from you.
Even if you receive a negative comment, use this to address any misunderstanding or misconceptions about your products, layering in reviews or testimonials to strengthen your point.
Additionally, you can leverage authentic social proof by replying to positive comments left on your posts with a video and turning this into an ad.
Social media ads, particularly videos, want to look native and less salesy. This is a great way to achieve this.
You can incorporate further reviews, opinions, or transformations from other users into your creatives to strengthen the message.
This approach has been tested across multiple beauty brand Meta and TikTok accounts and has shown positive results when implemented correctly.
While Meta advertising remains popular, it's important to remember that Facebook and Instagram are just one part of your overall digital marketing strategy.
With its vast user base and high search intent, Google complements Meta advertising by targeting users actively searching for your products.
Social media platforms typically serve as a way to increase brand awareness and for people to discover your brand. Once someone has seen your brand pop up enough times, they may Google you to complete their purchase. This is where branded search campaigns come in to the strategy.
However, if a consumer has never heard of your brand but is searching for a product that you sell, you can tailor your Google Search Campaign’s keywords and ad content to target every stage of the funnel.
Here’s how to do this:
You want to analyse your customer journey and replicate this within Google Ads; it’s fundamental to study your keywords to separate these out into ‘branded’, ‘non-branded’, and ‘competitor’. This means when you’re bidding on your brand name, you can use completely different terminology than getting in front of your competitor’s audience who may never have heard of your brand before. This is also applicable to shopping ads as you can harness the power of your product's name to be optimised for the Google experience.
Beyond studying just how we can leverage search and shopping ads can be game-changers for e-commerce brands, Google’s introduction of the Performance Max campaign means we can craft a number of campaigns focused on different stages of the funnel. For example, focusing on your bestsellers in one campaign & then your upsells & cross-sells in another will mean that you will have a healthy balance within your account.
Of course, Meta and Google aren’t the only two platforms you can adopt. TikTok is quickly rising as a great platform to discover new brands and convert consumers quickly with their Shop feature. And email remains a powerful platform to convert warm audiences quicker, reduce your CPA (cost per acquisition), and improve lifetime value. Applying a multi-channel marketing strategy to your paid acquisition is key to optimising customer acquisition costs, dominating competition, and shortening the sales cycle.
Performance marketing goes way beyond just your paid advertising. The success of your ads can be influenced by several factors beyond just your ad account. And in the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing, it's essential for beauty brands to adopt a holistic approach that goes beyond relying solely on Meta advertising. If you're struggling to keep customer acquisition costs at bay while scaling your ad spend, diversifying your marketing efforts and optimising your back-end can significantly impact the success of your paid advertising.
You never want to be in a position of relying solely on your existing customer base, and by improving your LTV (lifetime value), you can free up margin to spend on acquiring the next new customer.
Here's 2 ways you can do this:
By offering complementary or upgraded products to existing customers, you can increase their lifetime value. However, it's important to ensure these offers enhance the customer experience and provide genuine value. Showcasing relevant products based on their initial purchase helps address their needs effectively.
If your beauty products are consumable and have a high repurchase rate, implementing a subscription option on your website can drive automated repurchases. This not only strengthens customer loyalty but also provides a predictable revenue stream.
Ultimately, the answer is clear: Advertising on Facebook and Instagram remains a viable and effective strategy for beauty brands. However, to truly thrive in the current climate, it's crucial to work smarter and leverage multiple touchpoints by adopting a comprehensive digital marketing strategy that extends beyond just Meta advertising. By optimising your back-end, improving LTV, and embracing channels like email marketing, Google advertising, and TikTok advertising, you create a strategy that optimises your ad spend and reaches your target audience effectively.
