The Growth Newsletter

How to make Snapchat ads profitable

Based on insights from Tim Chard. Lightly edited by Demand Curve with permission.

Snap has niche audiences you’ll want to take advantage of. Examples include “people with digestive issues.” Facebook doesn’t have that. Plus, ad clicks on Snap can be cheap ($0.30 USD isn’t uncommon).
However, Snap traffic typically converts poorly once it arrives on your site or app.
Here’s a technique to mitigate that: cross-target your Snap traffic. Meaning, use unique UTM tags on your Snap ad links. Then, in Facebook/Instagram, detect that unique UTM to create a custom audience of Snap visitors. Finally, retarget those visitors with FB/IG ads, which tend to convert much better than Snap.
In other words, combine Snap’s narrow targeting with FB/IG’s conversion potential for maximum effect. This works for LinkedIn ads too.

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Tips for effectively working with influencers

Based on insights from Barron Caster (see his Medium blog). Lightly edited by Demand Curve with permission.

Create a referral system for influencers: Influencers who sign up others get a % of their sales or signups. This makes a mini-pyramid structure and turns your influencers into a salesforce. Why is this important? Some influencers don't actually sell products, but just sign up tons of other influencers. Find these people.
Get everything you can out of an engagement (e.g. permission to use them as a testimonial for emails, social proof, etc.).
Working with influencers is a relationship-building game:
Actually go to conferences to meet influencers.
Treat influencers like royalty. Surprise them with gifts like flowers/donuts. $100 to send a gift can pay hefty dividends if they like your brand more and share that with their followers.
Give influencers a tangible benefit to share with their followers. They care about their followers and want to beneficially incentivize them to click on their link and buy with them.

More tips for working with influencers

Based on insights from Cezar Grigore. Lightly edited by Demand Curve with permission.

Geo rollouts: Your ROI increases when a bunch of influencers in the same category / region share your product within an interval of 2-4 weeks. It gives the impression that everyone is talking about your product.
Initially focus on influencers with 10-150k audiences. They’re smaller and more willing to accept bartered deals. There are enough influencers in this range willing to work in exchange for a free product. Most may not be producing results, but some work well, bringing in 50-200 customers within 24 hours. As you build up your following and reputation for your brand, it becomes much easier to work with more influential people.
It’s harder to cut deals with bigger influencers (100k-2M). Only about 5-10% of bigger influencers are willing to work on an affiliate basis (e.g. $10/customer).

Overcoming ad blockers that screw up your conversion data

Ad blockers can block FB's tracking libraries and underreport ad conversions (even by 50%). The trick? Consider using the static IMG FB pixel — not the JavaScript one — which ad blockers don’t appear to block. —Aaron Cheung
Here’s another ad block workaround: You can extract UTM tags from the URL then save them into LocalStorage using JavaScript. Next, send that stored data plus the user’s on-site conversion behavior to a custom backend that, inherently, will circumvent ad blockers. Just be diligent about ensuring your marketing links all have UTM tags. —Neal O’Grady‍
Remember that the use of ad blockers varies heavily by audience and device type. Depending on who your audience is, ad blockers can either be a huge problem or a non-problem. —Neal O’Grady‍
So, for example, few people on mobile have ad blockers. Not much of a problem there.
However, on desktop, up to ~75% of millennial gamers and techies may have it installed.
In contrast, on desktop, maybe only 25% of middle-aged Americans outside of tech hub cities may have it installed.
These are hand-wavy numbers. Google for specifics.

Cool stuff

In a week or two, you’ll get another batch of insights on a variety of growth topics. A few notes before we wrap up:

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