Targeting is for efficiency, content is for revenue
You don't need yet another marketing course, template, or checklist.
Marketers often default to a “do everything” approach to improving ad results: add this audience, tweak this bid strategy, add new copies, maybe change the campaign structure.
Many get bogged down with flipping on all the features instead of choosing the right one.
I get it. Marketers often get this large routine set of tasks, and they lose sight of the bigger picture.
There’s no clear way to understand what each task is ultimately for.
Here’s a simple way that works: you can bucket each marketing task into “targeting” or “content”.
Targeting is for marketing efficiency. Content is for revenue.
If the job requires you to increase revenue, then focus all efforts into ad quality & ad quantity.
If the job requires you to improve marketing efficiency, then focus all efforts into better targeting & account structure.
Think about it.
What ultimately drives revenue?
Revenue increases because there are more people who resonate with & agree with what you say in your ads.
And what drives marketing efficiency?
Marketing efficiency improves when you filter and select the people who agree most with what you had to say, and you cut out the rest who don’t care.
This rule of thumb works whether you’re doing Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, Search Ads, or TikTok Ads.
So when you need to catch up to revenue, the answer is that you almost always need to increase your creative throughput: explore different angles, try more ad variations, do alternative cuts to your creatives.
More often than not, most brands’ targeting is done right. It’s just that content has gotten stale, and you’ll need to switch it out, and try more variations.
Kenn Costales is the Founder of Monolith Growth Consulting (a growth marketing agency) and Jetdraft (writing software for business owners). He is an honoree of Forbes 30 under 30 and Tatler Asia’s Generation T.