We all know that social media is a powerful channel to connect with consumers. It’s living and breathing- with the ability to change on a dime as consumer’s needs change. And A|B tests, and multivariate tests have always been your tried-and-true way to compare creative and content on marketing channels including social media. It gets you to see what resonates. You can see what engages. It’s helps gauge what to invest in. But it’s all done in a simulated bubble- in theory, it’s an experiment.
With brands doubling down on social media ad spend, and consumers inundated with ads at every turn, marketers and agencies are pressed for creative that stands out. Hours are spent on developing concepts, creative and content to get it right- with consumer research helping fuel direction. But even with all the research influencing the structure of campaigns/ads, it’s still a crapshoot once your test goes live. Fingers are crossed that your target audience quickly connects, clicks and converts.
But what if you could test concepts, get shopper insights, and forecast ad performance beforehand ahead of time? What if you had compelling pre-launch data to help validate direction and investment first? Now you can, with our powerful, real-world Social Media Ad Testing platform.
And sure, you may say that most social media platforms already have ad testing platforms- but this is different. For marketers and creative agencies, it’s a game-changer. By leveraging real-world, in-context social media feeds like TikTok, Instagram and more, you’ll pre-test directly with target audiences- while seeing, feeling and doing what they do while online. You’ll uncover what ads grab attention against the competition, gives you lift and intent to purchase- powerful data points to predict ad performance and impact. And with quantifiable consumer insight, behavior metrics, and performance drivers in hand, you’re well-equipped to optimize creative development from initial idea to final ad.
For marketers and creative agencies, there are three BIG reasons to pre-test….
IT’S REAL WORLD, NOT SIMULATED
Research found that a live ad testing platform yielded more predictive results and insights than those tested in a simulated environment. Testing directly on social media platforms allows you to be where customers are and where they are engaging and buying in the real-world. With social media ad budgets now accounting for over 1/3 of all ad spend (and slated to top $135B with projected 15% YOY growth by 2027) as well as the staggering growth of eCommerce, brands are shifting focus- with competition for eyeballs continuing to heat up. For marketers and agencies, the need for accuracy and alignment with consumers is more important than ever.
GET IT RIGHT- THE FIRST TIME
Marketing is subjective. You might love pink and purple polka dots, while your boss might despise them. And while brands tend to filter research to marketers and creative agencies to support campaign ideas, it’s good for marketers to do their own research before pitching creative. In addition to learning more about your target, with an ad pre-test, you can easily confirm creative direction and call to action, ensure content and language resonate with the target, and/or decide whether or not an ad should be organic or paid.
In addition to knowing what consumers like about your ad, it’s as important to understand behavior and what consumers are doing as they view ads. Insight into time spent viewing ads, percent of videos played, hover time, video replay started and more brings significant dimension to forecasting ad performance. Behavioral data, combined with traditional quant/qual data can not only further sway one creative over the other, but also becomes a meaningful navigating tool to inform future strategy, budgets and revenue projections.
SMARTER SPENDING
The production cost of any creative advertisement is a small part of the total investment of the advertising campaign, so changing it before launching can avoid launching a product or service that is not understood, or at least not in the way the brand expects. Therefore, testing the campaign before its launch using an ad pretest makes it possible to get the ROI anticipated. We also note that once ads are launched, advertising tracking or post-tests can help track effectiveness and overall success of the ad.
Without a doubt, social media ad spend will continue to surge. The projections are big with brands distributing larger budgets to social to reach their coveted audiences. All the while, marketers and creative agencies need to up their games to keep ahead. Tools like our Social Media Ad Testing platform have revolutionized the way we test, collect and analyze mobile and desktop social media data. Being where consumers are is vital. Understanding what they are doing is vital. And today’s smartest marketers and agencies are making their impact with the ammunition they need to impact brand performance more than ever before. Reach out to us for more information about our tool or to see a demo, contact us today.