Q&A for Retailers with Rise’s Social Experts

Two and a half years after Instagram launched their Stories feature, over 500 million users were using it daily. It should be no surprise to any marketer utilizing social media in their strategy that the industry moves very quickly.

We compiled a few of the most common questions we receive from retailers and got Megan McConkey, Director of Social Media, to weigh in.

It doesn’t look like we can take our Social campaigns any further; our results aren’t growing with our budget. How can we scale?

Scaling issues such as these are often the result of brands essentially bidding against themselves and causing algorithm issues on the platform.

Due to frequency caps, you’ll want to be intentional with how you construct your audiences and what creative you serve them. Most importantly, you want to reduce audience overlap.

Remember that you want to keep the momentum moving toward conversions, so when choosing exclusions, I recommend keeping your remarketing list whole, since they’re your most engaged audience. Instead, exclude them from upper-to-mid-funnel lists, such as look-a-like audiences. By doing this you can be sure to serve only your strongest remarketing creative to them.

When we’ve adopted this strategy with clients, we’ve seen revenue grow twice as fast as spend—don’t believe you’ve hit a wall until you’ve tried this!

How can we reach GenZ?

Firstly, you need a GenZ product. Consider if what you’re selling is relevant to that audience, and if their buying power is compatible with your value. Secondly, you’ll want to consider contextual targeting as your best option to reach GenZ. Depending on age demographics included in your target audience, they may fall under Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) protections.

In general, we really recommend meeting audiences where they are. Snapchat and TikTok are two platforms that skew young in their audience base, making them an ideal choice for brand awareness campaigns. Additionally, I’d recommend looking into the more interactive ad formats available on Social. Shoppable Instagram ads and try-on filters for Pinterest are two strong examples of how ad formats have evolved to meet the demand for competing ad clutter in feeds.

Keep in mind that this audience has the unique experience of growing up with digital experiences, and has a much keener eye for brand messaging. It’s extremely important to be authentic when targeting this audience - they won’t be “fooled” with stock photography and salesy language.

What new platforms should we explore?

We all just experienced a year where social media boomed out of a bigger need to stay connected with one another. As a result, there are a ton of emerging social platforms. Clubhouse, Caffeine, and Houseparty have succeeded TikTok as up-and-coming social platforms. Depending on your target audience, there are plenty to explore. For example, an advertiser with a large local strategy/local presence may want to invest in advertising on NextDoor or similar community platforms to reach their audience when contextually relevant. 

The challenge in paid media is waiting for the platform to begin monetizing. You’ll also want to wait until the new platforms hit a point of maturity that they debut an auction product or sufficiently provide a measurement framework for you to track ROAS. However, as a marketer, I’d strongly recommend familiarizing yourself with the platform organically while you wait. Real-time conversations can help you understand the tone and trended topics of your target audience on the platform, setting you up for success when you begin crafting messaging.

Though first mover’s advantage on these emerging platforms can be exciting, don’t neglect the very “new” tactics emerging on mainstream social platforms. In 2020, Facebook and Instagram launched shops that can be a transformative ad unit for eCommerce brands. Their Instant Experience ads are an immersive opportunity for lead gen brands to drive conversions while educating their audience. Innovation is happening in every corner of Paid Social world - not just the 15 second video platforms.

What types of ad units are best for different KPIs/objectives?

If your product is complex and you find yourself often explaining it in ad copy, try video and instant experience ad formats. Use the creative to show off your product and keep the descriptions out of ad copy for a stronger message. Look for an improvement in your CTR when you make this change, and keep testing ad copy if you don’t see results.

If you have a relatively simple product or are advertising in a well-known product category, a GIF, Cinemagraph, or Carousel may perform just as well.

In general, the cheapest unit to convert remarketing audiences will drive the highest return. Similarly, if your goal is reach, you should think twice about bidding on an expensive unit. In both of these instances, create and test DPAs to find the best performing; don’t feel pressured to move to a more expensive ad unit if it isn’t the right choice for your product.

How will the iOS 14 AppTrackingTrasparency (ATT) Impact Targeting and Reporting?

The new iOS 14 updates are expected to shrink remarketing pools, making it difficult to rely on pixel based audiences for retargeting. There will be a large emphasis on CRM lists to help continue to segment out remarketing versus prospecting guests and tailor creative. 

For companies with longer purchase cycles or with high iOS 14 user rates there will be a need to start to leverage alternative reporting alongside the platform due to the attribution windows adjusting down and a loss of data as users begin to opt-out of cookie tracking. 

Looking for more answers to your retail questions on Paid Social? Reach out to Rise.