Foodies (and business owners)… listen up…
Ad Buying is like cooking. Yep, that’s what I said.
Recently I’ve been seeing more and more posts and stories from Ad Buyers about setting up Facebook and Google campaigns and likening ad buying to:
- how you cook a steak
- as a “crusade”
- as a ninja
- using a single campaign
- or multiple campaigns
- 3-2-2 set up
- use Interests and LALs
- don’t use Interests and LALs
- go Broad
- don’t go Broad
- go all in on ASC Campaigns
- don’t use ASC campaigns
- use one PMax campaign
- use multiple PMax campaigns
- use a PMax feed only campaign
- use only ONE campaign, etc.
In keeping with the analogy (haha), Ad buying is like cooking. Everyone has their favorite recipe and will tell you theirs is the best and that you should always cook that one.
You might even have a couple recipes that you can follow and make a couple delicious dishes.
But picture this:
You’re cooking up an amazing meal.
Let’s say one of my favorites, Cherry Tomato & Caper Spaghetti
The noodles are homemade in your own kitchen with eggs from your chickens.
The cherry tomatoes and garlic are homegrown in your own greenhouse
The capers are organic and full of flavor
The lemon juice comes from lemons in the tree in your yard (yes, you can grow lemons in Colorado, I’ve got 2 on my little tree and I live at 8,000 feet)) The olive oil is imported from Italy.
And everyone is so happy as they ask for seconds and refills on their Malbec.
But what if your guests don’t like what you’re cooking? What if you’re missing an ingredient? What if the tomatoes aren’t ripe? What if someone has a food allergy? What if you need to make a substitution?
What if some cousins just flew into town and are about to show up with their five kids?
Can you quickly and nimbly mix and match recipes?
Can you quickly expand and scale your dinner party to serve more people?
Do you know food science enough to build on what you have and create some new dishes?
I see this happening with Ad Buying all the time. People have found the perfect formula. But it only works for a particular target audience, at a particular season, when the moon is full (okay, maybe that last part isn’t true).
So a word to the wise, next time you see a pitch for a silver bullet, say: “Thanks, But No Thanks.” They may work in the short term, but not in the long term.
And they can’t possibly accommodate every situation…
If you’re looking for Ad Buying solutions, make sure the people you’re looking at have the background, knowledge and experience to modify and adjust as needed.
Someone who knows when something isn’t working anymore and can pivot to a new strategy and most importantly, can drive conversions during the holidays AND in your off-season.
If you’ve got questions, let me know. I’ve been an Ad Buyer for 15+ years, and in millions of ad spend, have managed a great deal of changes over the years.
No hard sell; just happy to answer any questions and tell you anything I know.
