Newsletter #41 - 3 Powerful Ad Formats to Test Before Your Competitors with Paco from Adsteroid ⚡️

Hello!

 

Whether this is your first newsletter or you’ve been with me from the start, welcome to this special edition co-written with Paco from Adsteroid, my partner in crime in Paid Social 🤜🏻🤛🏻

 

Before founding his ad agency, Paco managed the Meta campaigns for his own e-commerce brand and handled a budget of over €10M in just two years.

 

Our meetings are (almost) entirely dedicated to strategy and building innovative funnels.

 

These actionable hacks and tactics seemed too valuable not to share with you, so I’ve invited Paco to reveal them here!

 

In this special edition, Paco unveils 3 little-known but very powerful ad formats that you absolutely need to test before your competitors ⚡️

 

1. Branded Content “Influenceur”

 

What's that? 🧐

 

This involves communicating with a dual identity (that of your brand and a content creator) to capture a broader audience and achieve your brand, sales, or lead generation goals.

 

On Facebook, you can proceed in two ways:

 

• Publish a cross-post organically on Instagram (by inviting your partner to collaborate) and then reuse it as an ad,
• Create a dark post directly from your Ad Manager with permission to broadcast on both profiles.

 

Example 🖼️

 

KFC’s recent collab with the French Influencer Mister V (5M+ followers on Insta, 6M+ on Youtube) to launch the Burger De La Mama 🍔 ⤵️

 

 

By giving Mister V free rein, KFC successfully captured the attention of users who are fans of his humour and universe.

 

Advantages of this format ❤️

 

Branded Content Influencer campaigns can double your ROAS and CTR if well-constructed and set up.

 

Your ROAS, CTR, Hold Rate, and Scroll-Stopper Rate are good indicators of whether you have reached the ultimate goal of capturing the user's attention and generating an intention to act.

 

 

🚨 Common Mistakes

 

Many brands try to impose a script or concept that aligns with their DNA on the content creator. For Branded Content to work, it’s essential to give the creator some creative freedom to keep the content authentic.

 

 

2. Branded Content (or Whitelisting) “Media”

 

What's that? 🧐

 

The concept differs slightly from the previous one as it involves collaboration with a “media” rather than an influencer.

 

“Media” is in quotes because you don’t necessarily need to rely on a well-known media outlet.

 

You can create a page to run your campaign (e.g., “Cricket Enthusiasts”). In this case, it’s Branded Content.

 

However, if you use an existing media to promote your content without showing your brand, it’s Whitelisting.

 

The difference between the two is subtle, but it exists!

 

Exemples 🖼️

 

The collaboration between Tinder and the Instagram account @mytherapistsays ⤵️

 

 

 

Advantages of this format ❤️

 

Branded Content or Whitelisting Media aim to make your ad more engaging by making the user forget the “sponsored” label.

 

Adsteroid clients who use this approach for Lead Generation typically halve their CPL!

 

 

 

💡 Bonus Tip

 

The key is coherence, whether you’re promoting e-commerce, lead gen, app downloads, or SaaS. An approach that’s too obvious (whether using fake or real media) will backfire. It’s all about finding the right balance.

 

 

3. Whitelisting “B2C”

 

What's that? 🧐

 

In this last format (probably my favourite), the ad message is communicated via a third-party page unrelated to your brand 👻

 

The goal? To move away from a direct commercial approach and capture the user's attention through a different funnel.

 

Brands are incredibly imaginative in exploiting this format.

 

Examples 🖼️

 

Some brands, like the food complement brand Vimergy, communicate through accounts like Megan Elizabeth Call, to generate “more authentic” ads (to save money, you can also create your own page 😈).

 

 

Others take it to the extreme, 🇬🇧 Newsletter #41 x Adste - 3 formats d’ads émergents, à tester avant vos concurrents ⚡️ - Engaged Contacts 🤯

 

For instance, this French pet insurance brand collaborating with Chantal Renart.

 

Surprisingly, Chantal, the nice lady who “shares tips with her friends”, doesn’t exist and actually operates for several third-party accounts ⤵️

 

 

 

Advantages of this format ❤️

 

It’s hard to predict the impact of this format as every parameter of your ad (content, wording, identity, link, etc.) is analysed by a new algorithm to target the right audience.

 

In any case, diversifying formats will help you maximise your reach and, therefore, your performance. It’s the ad that seeks the audience, not the other way around.

 

 

🚨 Common Mistakes

 

As with branded content, ensure the partner account's identity is coherent with your target. Note that collaborating with a major media company adds advertising costs. Finally, always test and measure your campaigns’ effectiveness with A/B testing structures.

 

 

Want to boost your Meta strategy? 👀

 

If these formats intrigue you, Paco offers 30 minutes of personalised Paid Social coaching. To benefit from his expertise and optimise your campaigns for free, click here ⤵️

 

To go further...

 

Here are our 3 most popular articles this month ⤵️

 

• Salomon's Hype Secret: Ski Brand to Must-Have Sneaker
• The Top 10 DTC Brands to Follow 2024
• The Ordinary: Viral TikTok Skincare with Over 1.3M Followers

 

I hope you enjoyed this newsletter and are excited to explore new ad formats for your Paid Social campaigns!

 

See you soon,

 

  Julie

E-commerce Expert @ Bigblue