Nastasia Ohl is a Senior Paid Social Associate at Bombas – a comfort-focused sock and apparel brand with a mission to help those in need.

Performance-driven creative is when every ad is designed to lead the customer to purchase through the ad directly.  

When it comes to designing performance-driven creative, there are 5 key principles.

1. Branding Matters

Include branded content in your ad and include it quickly.  Branded elements should be present within the first 3 seconds of the ad.  A brand’s logo should be visible prominently in the ad from the beginning, whether it is a static image or video.  With video, a branded front and end card leads to the most recall.  It is so important to reinforce your branded content as consumers are inundated with content, and it is easy to get lost in the mix.  It is also essential to get to the meat of the message early on to not lose your consumer’s attention. The average consumer has an 8-second attention span for paid social.  Always lead with what matters most; designing creative this way keeps consumers engaged the most. 

2. Creatives that Inspire Action

Design creative to reflect the action you want your audience to take. Include visual cues throughout your creative to encourage your audience to take a specific action.  People don’t know the difference between CTA buttons, so you have to be direct in the creative itself to have them take the desired action. For example, if the goal is to get people to visit your website, encourage them to swipe up or click on content that leads to your website. 

3. Communicate Core Values

Communicate key values within the creative itself to stand out. Infuse these core values in your content to show who you are as a brand and what the brand stands for. Sharing your brand’s core values and story motivates your audience to take action off your brand’s ads. 

4. Tailor Creative

Take a customized approach and tailor creative so that it is unique to each platform.  For some platforms, like Reddit, the best ads are the ones that don’t feel like ads. On other platforms like Snapchat and Tik Tok, more millennial and younger based platforms, the best ads use influencer assets and testimonials to show others advocate for products to get optimal results. For audiences on platforms like Pinterest, using specific silhouettes or collections in the creative got the best results.  This allows the consumer to know what they want before they even click on the particular product detail page. 

5. Extend the Experience

Design an ad experience that is an extension of your ads.  One way to do this is to use the same images in your ad as on your destination landing page. Another way is to use copy to educate customers on the brand, which will create a smooth path to purchase. The goal is to lead the customer through a curated experience. Designing a seamless experience allows for the consumer to explore the collection page and other products as well.

It is important to keep these 5 key principles in mind when you design your brand paid social strategy.