How to Fix Low Click-Through Rates With Your Creatives

[00:00:00] Thinking about competitive advantage is always my first question when talking to new clients. What makes you different? What sets you apart? Because if you fail to really think about it, it won't resonate in your ads and you won't get that conversion versus your competition. Well Emily, I know testing is

[00:00:23] key when it comes to paid social. So how do you maintain brand consistency across different ad formats, campaigns, audiences, and everything else? Yes, that's a great question. I think this is a question many clients ask us account managers, often because they have very strong brand values ​​and identities and want to make sure they're reflected in their creative, whether in feeds or stories. What

[00:00:54] we always tell our clients is that we create direct response creative, making sure that it is not only optimized for conversion, but also follows brand guidelines. Whether it's logo placement, colors, or font sizes, we ensure every piece of creative posted on social media is an accurate representation of your brand. For feed

[00:01:23] and story placements, we want to ensure every element is optimized to take up as much screen real estate as possible. If you use a one-to- one feed format for a story, we often see a lot of empty space above and below, which creates an inconsistent customer experience and a suboptimal journey. If you scroll through stories and

[00:01:52] see creative that isn't the right size for that placement, you won't get much engagement. It doesn't look professional. Already. At all. So, we make sure that all of our creative is optimized for each placement, whether it’s one-to-one, four-to- five in the feed, or for stories. Within these positionings,

[00:02:15] we take into account not only brand guidelines but also industry best practices. Many clients ask us to insert the logo on every single creative element. Although it is very important, we always remind customers that in some placements on Facebook and Instagram the logo is already present by default. So we want to avoid

[00:02:37] overlaps or distractions that could compromise the conversion-optimized goal of the ads. Yes, I think setting it in the previews is really important. I've had clients say there's blank space at the top, and I send them a preview, and there's a lot of space covered that you wouldn't consider just looking at the creative. So, I think best

[00:02:57] practices are really important, but in general, everything you've explained, I think is the best way to maintain consistency. Because I know that what's really important to us, and what we've increasingly delved into as the industry changes, is adapting every creative to the audience we're targeting. But then,

[00:03:14] I'd say it's imperative to make sure your branding is consistent, because if someone falls into different audiences, they can compare them and say, "Maybe I saw this creative for one audience, then another for another, but the connection is there and the brand recognition is there," and that will have an even greater impact on the user. Yes, I think that's a great

[00:03:35] point, especially if users have their first point of contact with one of our paid social ads at the top of the funnel. Just that awareness, that brand education, and then they see our prospecting activity in the middle of the funnel and the remarketing and conversions at the bottom. We just want to make sure

[00:03:55] that every single touchpoint users have with brands is consistent, not too random with creative elements, colors, or fonts. We like to make sure everything is super consistent, like you said, to ensure a seamless customer journey and that every touchpoint with the brand is well aligned with their package and also with the creative. No, I think that's

[00:04:20] a great point, especially when we're talking about click-through rates and how to optimize them. I think talking and thinking specifically about where a customer is in their funnel and purchasing journey will really help keep click-through rates and engagement high. If they've already heard about the brand and

[00:04:41] haven't converted, what can we tell them now, and how can we talk to them at a different point in the funnel to ensure they're consistently engaged and bring them back into the fold? And then, of course, going back to branding, making sure that it's always, always, always present. Yes, I totally

[00:04:59] agree, and I think the audience point you made earlier is a really good point to make, because with many of our campaigns, we tailor creative to specific audience segments. So, even if creatives are designed for each target audience, they should reflect the company culture and brand mission—not just the product features or the stage of the funnel, but the entire brand and its values.

[00:05:32] So I think that was a great point. It's a random thing, but I was thinking about how to create an emotional connection through advertising creativity. I believe this is a fundamental aspect of creative strategy: often, both in e-commerce and lead generation, talking only about the product doesn't have the same impact as talking about the solution. So if

[00:06:02] we have a T-shirt, it's not just saying it's good quality, but that it will make you look great. It will make you feel good about yourself. People respond very well to these emotional triggers. Much more often, I find, than purely scientific communication or communication based only on product specifications. So,

[00:06:25] thinking about this and the user's mindset as they scroll through their feed will definitely help. And that's something I always tell my clients. Imagine scrolling through Instagram: if you saw this ad, what feeling would it convey to you? Putting yourself in the user's shoes is really very important. Yes, that's great advice. I believe

[00:06:49] that an authentic message for creative helps create that emotional connection with the user and the brand that, ultimately, can be the deciding factor in the conversion and final action we desire. Yes. Think outside the box. I mean, there are tons of tools to see what your competitors are doing. But if you do exactly

[00:07:11] what they do, you won't be able to differentiate yourself. So what makes you different? Reflecting on competitive advantage is always my first question when speaking to new clients. What makes you different? What sets you apart from others? Because if you can't identify it, it won't

[00:07:26] resonate in your ads and you won't get the conversion you expect from a competitor. Yes, that's a great point. And even when we want our customers to think outside the box, we can do so while staying within brand guidelines and standards. I think there's a good compromise in pushing the creative theme or idea further, something that's more attention-grabbing, while still keeping the brand alignment intact. So, I think that's

[00:08:01] a topic that both you and I enjoy discussing with our clients: how to push the envelope with original creative ideas, while still making sure that it fits within the brand guidelines. Yes, there is plenty of room for testing within brand guidelines. And it's important not to remain

[00:08:20] stagnant or complacent, because the sector changes a lot and it's essential to keep up. But sure, I think there is room, but I think having consistent colors and consistent messaging is what really keeps you within the branding. Yes. And especially when we do creative testing, I feel like some people don't realize that small changes to colors, buttons, or positioning can have a significant, different impact. So, as you said,

[00:08:55] there are a lot of interesting ways to test creative and improve performance, while still staying within your brand guidelines. So, the idea is more or less this. And you know, you can insert your catalog in different formats. You know, it could be just a single image or a video.