5 Meta ads lies too many startups still believe
TL;DR
Meta Ads has gone through two revolutions over the last five years: one with iOS14.5 and the other with AI. Despite how well documented these are, these are the top 5 Meta lies we find startups still believe
1. Clickthrough rates can teach you how well an ad is doing
Meta has published data disproving this. Nielsen has disproven this. And in our annual report, we analysed £15m of ad spend that showed zero correlation between a CTR and CPA. Stop using them.
2. Lookalikes and interest targeting is how you win
Meta has been able to outperform a spouse in a personality test for over a decade: their trillions of data points and AI are smarter than you. Go broad with as few exclusions or targeting settings as possible.
3. Reach & Engagement campaigns are needed
Until you hit a point of diminishing return, your ad spend should be purely focused on conversion. Everything else is wasted money and ineffective. Traffic? Burns cash. Thruplays? Burns cash. Awareness? Burns cash.
4. High engagement = good performance
Meta is incentivised to keep you on platform. That's why Reels with good watch time go viral. But what's engaging and performance-driving are not the same thing. Again, our Annual report found no correlation between watch time and CPA.
5. Viewthrough conversions are robbery
If view-based conversions were a con, then TV would have gone out of business years ago. But for some reason online people assume fraud if you have them turned on. They're incremental, they drive results, and in particular they capture Gen Z.
Which of these lies do you still believe when thinking about your Meta strategy?
Still running some of these today? Forward this to your marketing/performance/media teams now.
🔗 When you’re ready, here’s how Ballpoint can help you
→ Profitably grow paid social spend from £30k/m → £300k/m
→ Create full funnel, jobs to be done-focused creative: Meta, TikTok, YouTube
→ Improve your conversion rate with landing pages and fully managed CRO
→ Maximise LTV through strategic retention and CRM - not just sending out your emails
Email me – or visit Ballpoint to find out more.
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