10 Iterations to Scale Meta Ads Creative

Summary

In this video, the speaker discusses effective strategies for iterating on ad creatives to improve performance, emphasizing the importance of testing new creatives (90%) over iterating on existing ones (10%). Key iteration types include adjusting messaging, editing visuals, changing formats, experimenting with different creators, and leveraging high-quality stock media. The speaker also highlights advanced strategies such as targeting specific human desires and improving the emotional appeal of founder ads. While it's tempting to iterate on losing creatives, the speaker advises against it unless there's a clear opportunity to improve. The focus is on avoiding creative fatigue and scaling ad performance effectively.

Takeaways

• 😀 Focus 90% of your efforts on creating new creatives and only 10% on iterating existing ones to avoid creative fatigue.
• 😀 Messaging iterations are the easiest and most common form of iteration—swapping key messaging points can lead to improved performance.
• 😀 When testing messaging, draw inspiration from other top-performing creatives and adapt them to fit your specific creative.
• 😀 Visual and editing iterations can include changes like green screens, split screens, or grid formats to refresh the look and feel of the creative.
• 😀 Experiment with hybrid iterations by combining existing video assets with new messaging formats (e.g., TikTok-style bubbles or updated headlines).
• 😀 Format iterations involve testing successful messaging in various formats—such as images or videos—to find the best-performing medium.
• 😀 Creator iterations can involve swapping creators for a fresh perspective or testing with different demographics to reach new audiences.
• 😀 Green screen effects can be a simple yet effective way to refresh video or image creatives by adding dynamic layers to otherwise static content.
• 😀 User journey iterations focus on tailoring messaging to target different stages of the funnel, making the creative more educational or curiosity-driven for awareness stages.
• 😀 Human desire-based iterations tap into universal emotions like beauty, romance, power, or family to enhance the emotional impact of ads.

Q & A

Why should 90% of your creative tests focus on net new creatives and only 10% on iterations?

The main reason is to avoid creative fatigue and iteration paralysis. Relying too much on iterations can make all your ads look and feel the same, which limits the potential for scaling. By testing new creatives, you bring fresh ideas and approaches, which are essential for reaching a broader audience and maintaining engagement.

What type of iteration is considered the easiest to implement in creative testing?

Messaging iterations are considered the easiest. This involves simply swapping out the most important messaging in your creative while leaving the rest of the creative intact. It's a straightforward way to test different messaging strategies and see which one resonates best with your audience.

How can you identify the right type of messaging to use in an iteration?

You can look at top-performing creatives in your account and identify common messaging points. For instance, if testimonials or superlative language are working well, you can adapt those into your new creative while tailoring them to the context of your current test.

What is the benefit of using Storyblocks for visual iterations in creative testing?

Storyblocks provides a curated library of high-quality, royalty-free content, including 4K and HD footage, music, sound effects, and images. This allows you to quickly and easily find the right visual assets for testing without needing to create everything from scratch, saving time and resources.

What does the term 'format iterations' refer to in creative testing?

Format iterations involve testing the same messaging across different formats. For example, if a piece of video creative is performing well, you can try converting it into image ads or experimenting with other formats. This helps determine if the message works well in different visual contexts.

What mistake do junior creative strategists often make when iterating on creatives?

Junior strategists often make the mistake of thinking they can only iterate based on past data and learnings. This can lead to creative fatigue, where all ads start to look the same. It’s important to also test new, fresh ideas rather than only making small tweaks to existing creatives.

How can you make effective creator iterations for UGC (user-generated content) ads?

To make effective creator iterations, try using the same successful script with a new creator. You can also analyze the type of creator content that has worked well and replicate the demographics, style, and vibe. However, it’s important to maintain a diverse range of creators to avoid becoming formulaic.

What is the impact of using green screen over an ad creative?

Using a green screen effect allows you to place a creator over an existing successful ad asset. This transforms image creatives into video and provides a fresh dynamic, making the content feel more engaging without needing entirely new visuals. It’s especially effective for reusing high-performing content in a new way.

What is the 'user journey messaging' iteration and how does it improve performance?

User journey messaging involves tailoring your creative to a specific stage in the user's journey. For example, you could make the messaging more educational, humorous, or curiosity-driven. This helps extend the lifespan of your creative and ensures that it speaks to users at different points in their decision-making process.

How can you incorporate human desires into your ad creatives?

You can tap into key human desires, such as beauty, power, family, or romance, to create emotionally engaging ads. For example, ads that reference family tend to be highly emotional and relatable. Identifying which human desire resonates most with your target audience and testing it can help improve engagement and conversion rates.