📦 - Making a List, Checking It Twice

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‍Tuesday, October 31, 2023

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Happy Halloween! This is your formal reminder that all those extra boxes of halloween candy go on sale tomorrow. 👀 🤤 🍫

Could be a great way to celebrate DTC Issue 420 😏

In this newsletter, you’ll find:

• 📦 We’ve made our Meta Q4 and Q5 optimizations list, you should check it twice.
• 📦 Meta’s giving EU users the option to pay for privacy.
• 📦 What is brand value?
• 📦 P.S. Did you know you can schedule messages on Slack?

Let’s dive in: 👇

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• Mastery over the basics of Meta Ads;
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👉 This is your last change to take advantage of our 75% off offer. Act now, you won’t regret it.

‍META

🧑‍🎄 Making A List, Checking It Twice — Q4 and Q5 Meta Optimizations Checklist

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Want to have a leg up on the Meta competition to round out the year? We thought so. 🤝

The Pilothouse Meta team broke down some key things you should do in the BFCM period and through Q4 to ensure your brand sees maximum returns.

Read this checklist inspired by data presented in a training session from Meta themselves, see if anything is missing from your plans, and revisit it to ensure you’re ahead of the game. 👏

🎃 October to mid-November: Start strong

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🎯 Implement performance best practices

• Allocate 30-70% of your budget to Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns (ASC), as it typically results in a 16% reduction in cost-per-action (CPA) and a 32% boost in return on ad spend (ROAS).

• Incorporate Catalog Ads into your ASC strategies for a 25% decrease in CPA compared to ASC standard image and video assets.

• Simplify your account structure. Aim for less than 30 ad sets to reduce time spent in the learning phase. Eliminating interest targeting reduces duplication and leads to a 16% decrease in CPA.

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🌐 Expand your brand's reach to new customers

• Invest 5-10% in mid/upper funnel campaigns to build audiences for the peak sales period.

• Utilize multi-objective buying to yield a potential 11% to 22% improvement in ROAS.

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🎁 Initiate pre-cyber 5 sales

Not sure what cyber 5 is? Cyber 5 or cyber week is the 5 day period between American Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday. 👀

• 50% of customers start holiday shopping before US Thanksgiving, and 65% of consumers consider price discounts a motivator for early shopping.

• Leverage early promotions such as friends and family sales, creator/influencer sales, private sales, etc, to take advantage of early shoppers.

• Create a sense of urgency with "last chance" and "get it before it's gone" messaging, as 26% of consumers express concerns about items going out of stock.

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🤑 Black Friday to Cyber Monday: meet the demand

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📈 Scale rapidly

• Be aggressive in your initial push when the ROAS is at its peak.

• If budgets are performing well, there's room to expand – monitor mid-day budget pacing and adjust accordingly.

• Leverage increased budgets when bid or cost-controlled to facilitate quick scaling while achieving KPI targets.

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✍️ Opt for direct and concise messaging

• Use straightforward, effective messaging. Remember to diversify across products and formats, including static and video, to maximize your auction potential.

• Highlight key messages such as percentage discounts or "Black Friday Sale" and "Cyber Monday Sale."

• Utilize sales frames and overlays for catalog ads.

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🧑‍🎄Early December: Maximize gift giving

• Create a sense of urgency with creative messaging related to gift-giving and shipping times, especially since last year, 60% of consumers were concerned about gifts arriving on time (FedEx 2022 Peak Report).

• Leverage Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns for surplus inventory in the Apparel category, especially if a warmer winter is expected.

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⏰ Last shipping days to end of year: Finish strong in Q4

• Leverage low CPMs. Starting from December 15th, CPMs significantly decrease due to major players exiting the market. Capitalize on these low CPMs to enhance your performance.

• Shift your seasonal messaging from gifting to "new year, new me" or "new year, new wardrobe" themes.

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Do you have any must-do’s when it comes to Meta advertising through Q4? If so, respond to this email and let us know!

‍🌐 IN THE SOCIAL SPHERE                            

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‍Can’t view the image? Click here.

Want to read some interesting takes on brand value? Check out the responses to Mehtab’s post!

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You’ll find takes covering:

• Compounding product line and perceived value
• The power of the collectable shoe market
• How trends impact sales and visibility
• Celebrity endorsements and their benefits

‍META

🔐 Bye Bye Meta Ads, EU Users Can Pay For Privacy

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Meta announced the introduction of an ad-free subscription model for users in the European Union (EU), European Economic Area (EEA), and Switzerland.

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🤷 Why is Meta testing the paid waters? This decision comes after years of privacy issues and legal challenges in the EU. The main point of contention has been Meta's practice of tracking and profiling users for targeted advertising. Under EU data protection law, the only way Meta can continue this practice is by obtaining clear consent from its users.

Meta's solution to this challenge is to offer an ad-free subscription service. Users can opt to pay a monthly fee, thus avoiding targeted advertising. The rates are set at €9.99/month for web access and €12.99/month for mobile access on iOS or Android.

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What does this mean for you? 👀

Users having the option to pay for privacy in the EU may mean your ads reach could be impacted. Additionally, the cost of ads may see an increase due to more competition in a smaller viewing audience.

If you’re advertising on Meta in the EU, keep a close eye on your ad accounts. For more information from Meta, read here.

‍🎉 SLACK HACK

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Does your company use Slack? Ours too. 🤝

If you (1) have a thought outside of working hours, (2) want to make sure you don’t forget it, and (3) don’t want to ping a coworker late at night, you should try out Slack message scheduling.

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Simply type your message to the person you want to send it to, and click the green down arrow beside the send button. You’ll be able to select a date and time the message is delivered.

🔥 Hot tip, if you’re messaging someone in a different timezone, Slack will show you what time they’ll receive your message too! Happy scheduling.

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‍⚡ QUICK HITS

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✖️ X posts updated or corrected by Community Notes will be disqualified from the revenue share program. The move aims to combat sensationalism with accuracy.

📱 Mastodon issues a new update for Android devices that allows users to organize their followed accounts with filters to remove unwanted content from the home feed.

🔎 Google is testing a new overview for your ad metrics. One major change reportedly allows users to “segment by time” from the overview panel.

💃 Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS and the NBA sign a first-of-its-kind partnership making SKIMS the official partner of the NBA, WNBA, and USA basketball leagues.

👀 BANTER                            

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Mirrors, cheese, couches. What else did/do you have to buy as an adult where the price SHOCKED you?! Reply to this email and let us know.

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Have you heard our latest podcasts?

• 🌧️ Owning the Weather and Scaling Through Nine Figures - Vessi's Tony Yu and Mikaella Go
• 🚗 AKNF 346: Maximize Your Road to Q4
• 💋 Form, Function, and Fragrance: Cosmetic Industry Vet Sherry Jharwar on her Beautiful Journey in DTC
• 👀 AKNF 344: Is Amazon Anti-Consumer?
• 💤 Pillows, Sleep, and the Journey of a DTC Founder - Larissa Hildebrandt and Henrie.com
• 🚀 AKNF Archive: Rux Rockets to Meta Ads ROAS with the Pilot Test

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Don’t forget to rate the DTC Podcast on Apple (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Got an awesome DTC brand story to tell? Calling all brand-side founders and team leaders! Fancy joining us on the DTC Podcast as a guest? Tap the link to toss in your application.

DTC Newsletter is written by Rebecca Knight and Michael Venditti. Edited by Claire Beveridge and Eric Dyck.

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