The Secret Formula for Winning Ads

Happy Wednesday!

One of the biggest challenges in paid social is creating ads that actually convert.

It’s not enough to slap together a flashy video or follow the latest TikTok trend.

A winning creative strategy requires deep customer understanding, data-driven iteration, and a structured approach.

Step 1: Assess What’s Already Working (or Not)

Before diving into new creative ideas, the first step is understanding what’s been tested before.

We analyze past performance by looking at:

• Best & Worst-Performing Creatives: Analyzing the top and worst-performing creatives over a certain amount of time, tracking business performance, etc.

• Retention Metrics: Hook rates, hold rates, and view-through rates tell us what’s grabbing attention and keeping users engaged.

This audit lays the groundwork for our next steps by highlighting opportunities and eliminating wasted effort on strategies that don’t convert.

Step 2: Learning from Competitors and Customer Insights

Great creative is rooted in customer insight and market positioning.

Here's what you should do:

• Review customer sentiment: Go through product reviews, social comments, and support tickets to find common themes.

• Analyze competitor ads: Use the Facebook and TikTok Ad Libraries to see which creatives have been running the longest. This is a sign they’re working. I like to use Atria which saves many hours on research and studying winning ads.

• Study brand messaging: Look at how the brand communicates in organic content, emails, and landing pages.

In the end, document the top 5 customer objections and desires from reviews and create an ad that directly addresses each one.

If you’re spending over $10,000 a month on Meta ads for your e-commerce or SaaS business, we’re here to help you optimize your ad performance and scale your ads profitably. Apply to work with us here.

Step 3: Define Core Messaging Themes

Your creative needs a strong, clear message that speaks to what customers care about most.

• Pinpoint the strongest selling points

• Leverage social proof: Screenshots of positive Facebook comments are a powerful way to build trust and credibility.

• Address pain points: What frustrations does your product solve? Make it clear in the first few seconds.

Create a “Messaging Bank” where you list out customer testimonials, top benefits, and problem-solution angles to use in future ads.

Step 4: Turn Research into Winning Ads

Pick the best creative style, whether it’s real customer stories, product demonstrations, or engaging problem-solving content.

Experiment with different angles, adjusting the first few seconds, messaging, and calls to action to maximize impact.

Repurpose existing content and use AI voiceovers and AI avatars when possible to save time and resources.

Lastly, focus on efficiency. Launch a few well-thought-out variations, track their performance, and refine them based on what drives results.

Step 5: Optimize and Scale What Works

Regularly assess ad performance to identify patterns, launch fresh creatives to avoid ad fatigue, and track results closely to determine which ads should be iterated, scaled, or turned off.

A winning creative strategy isn’t just a one time thing. It’s built on constant testing and adaptation.

Looking for a creative partner to scale your business with performance-driven ads? Apply to work with us here. Our clients include brands like For Wellness, Frido, Scribe, and others. We’ve likely worked with businesses in your niche.