How to Maximize Your Ad Impact: Creatives, Targeting, and Timing That Convert
Written By: Breanna Bergeron
Picture this.
You’re scrolling through your newsfeed on social media during your lunch break and notice an ad for that new movie you’ve been wanting to see, and the ad is promoting discounted tickets.
Click. Add to Cart. Checkout. Done.
This short example shows how easy it is to drive your target audience from a lead to a conversion by catching them at an optimal time where they are most likely to convert.
The world of advertising and digital marketing is faster than ever before, and capturing your audience with the right message at the right time can make a big difference in your campaign’s ROI. According to AdFuel, the average consumer is exposed to between 6,000 and 10,000 ads per day, which makes the effectiveness of your advertising efforts much more important. With all this noise, it can be difficult for your business’s message to be recognized and remembered. However, there are some best practices and strategies that you can implement that can give your business the best chance for a conversion. In this blog, we will explain how to build better creative assets, target smarter, and choose the right timing and placement to maximize the impact of your advertising efforts.
What are the Best Practices for Creatives? Why Does it Matter?
A creative, or the ad you are running, is one of the most important aspects of your business’s marketing campaign. This will be the first thing people see before they decide to convert. Unappealing or confusing creative is a surefire way to ruin a campaign before it can even begin to see results. With that being said, here are some best practices for creative assets.
Clarity over Clutter: Keep the main message of the ad clear, concise, and focused.
Visual Hierarchy: Utilize contrast, size, and layout to guide your audience’s attention.
Consistency and Branding: Make sure every single ad has proper branding (logo, colors, tone, fonts, etc.) and that your branding is the center of attention.
Responsive Designs: Ensure your design works on any device, especially mobile.
Call-to-Action: Your ad should always have a purpose or action that you want the consumer to perform. Make it obvious what you want them to do when they see your ad.
Visual Hierarchy
An example of how important visual hierarchy is in your creatives.
Want us to audit your creatives? Download our creative audit checklist or contact us to learn more.
How to Target the Right Audience
Now that you know how to make an impactful creative, you need to show it to the right people. Even the best creative falls flat with poor audience targeting. Finding your target audience can seem easy, but sometimes the “right” audience may be different from what you expected. One of the first things a business owner should ask themselves is, “Who would benefit from my product(s) or service(s)?” Here are a few ways to get in front of the right people.
Define your Ideal Audience: Who are they? What do they care about? What are their interests?
Leverage Data: Use leads from CRM lists, web analytics, and platform tools to further define your audience.
Personalize Whenever Possible: Small things like addressing your audience as “homeowners” or using dynamic content can be memorable to consumers.
Test your Audience & Evolve if Necessary: Try A/B testing creatives with different audiences and review performance metrics to see if you’re targeting the right audience.
Right Message, Right Time, Right Place
You’ve crafted the perfect creative and figured out your ideal audience, but now comes the critical question: where and when should your ad show up? If your message is posted in the wrong place or at the wrong time, it can lead to your campaign being unsuccessful, even if your content is strong. This is why placement and timing are important parts of the overall puzzle that is your marketing strategy. Many business owners find this part of marketing to be the most tedious, but there are some tips that can make this a lot easier. Here’s how to make sure your ads reach your audience when they are most likely to see them and take action.
Social Media:
Social media platforms are fast-paced and algorithm-driven, which makes timing and format important. On platforms like Facebook or Instagram, it is difficult to immediately know when your target audience is active, so try posting during weekday mornings or early afternoons when overall user activity is at its peak and adjust based on your audience’s behavior. Along with this, the ad format you are posting matters too. Reels tend to perform the best on Instagram, while static or carousels tend to do better on Facebook. Regular videos tend to work well on any platform. This is not an exact science, and your audience may respond in unexpected ways to different content styles. The best bet is to vary your content styles regularly to avoid ad fatigue and keep your audience engaged.
Email Marketing:
With inboxes more crowded than ever, standing out starts with smart timing. Most consumers receive dozens of marketing emails a day, so to increase your open rate, consider launching email campaigns during midweek mornings. If this time does not seem to work, try testing a couple of different times and see which one performs the best, and optimize as needed. Consider your audience’s daily habits, are they more likely to open emails at the beginning of the day or during a lunch break? Try to match your launch times to this mindset.
Display Ads and Video Ads:
Unlike social media or email, display and video ads are often delivered programmatically. This means the platform uses audience data to show your ad at optimal times across relevant websites. However, you still must feed the right inputs, such as demographics, interests, etc., so the platform knows when and where to serve the ad. For instance, if your target audience is people aged 65+ who like to golf, then the platform would likely place your ad on a website for sporting goods or other websites of things that golfers tend to be interested in. Having this audience data can be a great asset to any campaign.
Website or Landing Pages:
While you may not “schedule” a website like you do a post, timing still plays an important role, especially during campaigns. If you're running a promotion, make sure your landing page reflects it clearly and matches the messaging in your ads. A disconnected or outdated landing page can instantly break trust and cost you a conversion.
Ad placement and timing aren’t just finishing touches on a campaign; they are critical parts of what makes it high performing. With the right platforms, formats, and schedules in place, your ads are far more likely to be seen, clicked, and remembered.
How Six Media Marketing Can Help
In short, maximizing your ad impact comes down to three key factors: quality creatives, targeting, and timing that increase your chances for a conversion. Implementing these in your marketing campaigns will yield good results, but it's equally important to test and evolve based on your market and other performance data. Want help creating ads that leave a lasting impact? Contact us to get started with creating a marketing strategy that helps grow your business.
