How to Experiment with Ad Variations

I just audited an account spending $573k/mo on Meta This one mistake loses them $100k+/mo: Killing ads too early. Let me explain: Being profitable at scale is the goal of most DTC brands. And all brands understand that creative is the biggest lever they can pull to achieve this scale. This means they produce ad creative in high quantities. But are testing them completely wrong. For many DTC brands, simply testing 200 ads per month is the goal. → Creative production is rushed → Corners at cut to meet delivery deadlines → Statistical significance in the creative testing process → $100k+ of testing budget is lit on fire only to find ads that have a 0.9x ROAS at scale This suboptimal creative testing means winning ads are killed early. And bad ads are moved to scaling campaigns based off 'early signals'. Which eventually grinds the ad account to a halt. With no new winning ad being seen in the account for months. However, this is all be solved with a robust creative testing process. So here’s the exact creative testing process we will be implementing for the brand I audited: 1. Pre-Launch: → ABO campaign → Broad targeting → 1 concept per Ad Set, with 4-5 variations of each concept 2. After Launch: → Monitor for 5-7 days, or until ads spend more than 3 times AOV → A wining ad will have a CPA below the target → A losing ad will have a CPA above the target → Kill any losing ads → Increase budget on winning ads by 20-40% every 48 hours 3. Scaling: → When winners are found, duplicate winners to the scaling campaign → DO NOT turn off the winning ads in the testing campaign ↳ These ads are making you money, it would be foolish to turn them off But here's where most stop. And go blindly on to the next round of creatives without diving into the data. You need to take to take the time to understand WHY each ad is a winner or loser. To inform your creative strategy moving forward. Look at every element of the ad: → The creator → The angle → The pacing → The creative format (Video, GIF, Static) → The video length → The hook → The messaging → The delivery medium (brand page, whitelisted page etc.) Come up with a hypothesis as to why each ad won/lost based on the above variables. Test that hypothesis. Extract key learnings. And use these learnings as the North Star in your creative strategy moving forward. Rinse and repeat this iterative process. And profitable scale will be the new reality for your brand.

Creative testing is your secret weapon on Meta. Here's my approach. (1) Crank Out Quality Ads - Produce as many ads as possible while maintaining high quality. Avoid creating low-quality ads just to increase volume. Have a hypothesis you want to test - whether it's a visual hook, trending audio, or a new creator - to gather learnings. (2) Track Every Ad - Use a standard naming convention to keep track of all your ads. This helps in analyzing performance over time. You don't want to look back in the last 90 days to try to see which hooks, scripts, creators, concepts, etc are your best building blocks. (3) Creative Diversity - Test various types of ads – static, video, UGC, 3D motion, AI-generated, and even "ugly" ads. The goal is to have a diverse set of creatives. They look different but also speak to different levels of awareness. Different offers, angles, headlines, scripts, etc. (4) Allocate Budget for Testing - Dedicate 10-25% of your marketing budget to creative testing. Increase this percentage if you're just starting out. Know that this will inflate your CPA but the winning creatives that come out will take your ad account to new levels. (5) Isolate Variables - Conduct 'ad set tests' to isolate variables. Ensure each test gets enough data, around 30 conversions in a week, to be more confident. If possible, you can test in lower cost GEOs, on Android, or Tiktok. (6) Monitor Spend - The ad that gets the most spend is a strong signal of its effectiveness. Keep an eye on where your budget is going. It's a good sign that this ad can scale if you port it over into your evergreen/BAU campaigns. (7) Always-On Testing - Testing should be a continuous process. Don’t stop after finding one winning ad. Keep the momentum going to discover new top performers. You need to build the muscle with constant reps. Creativity can be learned, I promise. It's fun too. (8) Volume Negates Luck - The more you test, the higher your chances of finding successful ads. This is just the reality now advertising on Meta and Tiktok. There is an exponential rise of video content on our screens. Trust me, it's going to get more difficult with AI-generated video. You need a reliable system to stand out and gain mind share. Solving this is the #1 opportunity for brands to grow efficiently heading into 2025. ___________________ P.S. - You can have both quality and quantity with Sovran

How I test Facebook ad creative: Let's start with a quick discussion about "testing" If you remember from your high school days When you want to test something in a lab You always need your "constant" or "control" variables to stay the same And then you have your dependent variable or dynamic variable that your actually testing for. That's what I do, to properly test creative. Below is my step by step guide to finding the triple threat combo Winning creative + copy + thumbnail - Step 1: Creative Variations The first step here is finding a winning variation Start by creating 3 variations of the creative you want to test You can change the 3 second hook, messaging, etc. Run that test in an ABO campaign for 3-4 days Broad ad set / Same primary text copy - "control variables" Your only dynamic variable should be the creative itself Once you find a winner, feel free to post ID that into your scaling campaign Step 2: Copy Variations Run a new test, in a new ad set. 3 ads, each with the same "winning" creative variation from before But each one now has 3 different variations of copy One of them should be a past winner And the others are new, or variations of a past winner Run that the same way you did the creative, and now you've got your winning combo Winning creative + Winning copy Throw it into your scaling as well. But we're not done yet! Step 3: Thumbnail Testing: Triple Threat Your thumbnail choices are extremely important This time your dynamic variable is your thumbnail So create a new test in a new ad set Each ad is the same combo from before (winning copy + winning creative) But each one has a different thumbnail choice (the dynamic variable) Run that for 3-4 days Pick your winner Now you've got your triple threat! Go ahead and throw that into your scaling as well. - Doing this increases your chances of 1. Not passing on a "winner" 2. Getting the best out of your creative - If your team isn't doing this, shoot me a DM and we can chat. I can either 1. Do it for you or 2. Show them how