The Growth Note #03

Happy Friday and welcome back to The Growth Note — the growth marketing newsletter from your friends at Tuff!

It’s the last day of the quarter, so you should probably be congratulating yourself with a little treat. Of course, we’re talking about peeling your eyes away from last-minute quarterly reporting to read our Helpful Growth Tips™️ in five minutes or less.

Today, we’re featuring an ad creative testing methodology you can use to rocket growth, tips for creating people-first content in the age of AI, and the top matter of national importance right now: Navigating ad challenges and declining organic traffic. (What, were you expecting something else?)

Happy almost July, dear readers.

–  Spencer at Tuff

P.S.: If you’re enjoying the newsletter, don’t forget to forward (and share the sign-up link) to a friend. As always, if growth insights aren’t your jam, you can opt out here.

Let’s dive in.

We’re going to share a little secret.

For many brands, big and small, measuring the impact of great ad creative feels like an elusive and inconsistent process.

But getting paid media right isn’t a question of spray-and-pray tactics. It requires experimenting with different creative assets and messaging strategies and knowing how to interpret the results.

If you’re looking to boost your results, we believe there are four major levers to pull:

Tuff’s Ad Creative Testing Methodology

Snuggies are one-size-fits-all. Ad creative testing? Decidedly different. It’s all about the specific question you’re trying to answer, your goals, and the platforms you’re using.

Moisturized, unbothered, and in our lanes (testing ad creative). Credit: Snuggie Sherpa

Our high-level approach involves setting up A/B or multivariate tests to minimize variables and produce accurate, replicable results.

For perspective, if we were aiming to set up a performance creative test on Meta (ya know — Facebook, Instagram, etc.), we would focus on minimizing variables to produce accurate and replicable results.

Here’s a snapshot of the larger process, from measuring performance through to assigning ownership.

We’ve tested our methodology with a variety of startups and scaleups, including soona—a self-serve content creation platform. Our strategy to build a repeatable formula for winning ad creative led to impressive results, including a 60% increase in conversions month-over-month and a CPA below the target by $200+ — read all about it here.

The bottom line

Big budgets don’t always equal big results. But focused, data-driven campaigns with sharp messaging and targeting can yield high-impact learnings, regardless of budget size.

Interested in learning more about how Tuff tests and measures performance creative? Check out our full blog post here.

AI-powered tools have unquestionably lowered the barrier to entry for content creation. But as the discourse in recent months shows us, human readers are great at picking up on patterns — especially where content is concerned.

They might not tell you they’re using AI, but there will be signs. Credit: @ChatGPTapp on X

At Tuff, we leverage AI to streamline our creative process, but we never lose sight of the importance of a solid creative strategy.

Here’s why: We’ve seen firsthand that low-fi, genuine content often outperforms its slicker counterparts. This trend is especially exciting in B2B marketing, where influencers and user-generated content (UGC) are becoming game-changers.

Looking to produce people-first, authentic content in the age of AI? Let’s delve (sorry) into some practical tips.

Know Your Audience

Noted philosopher Socrates’ most famous command? “Know thyself.”

Noted Growth Marketing Agency Tuff’s retort? “Know thy audience.”

In all seriousness, it’s worth diving deep to understand who your audience is and what their day-to-day struggles are.

Aim to help them solve their problems, not sell them your platform. Lean into value propositions, customer research, and agile message testing to determine what your customers care about and how to get their attention. And good things will happen.

Create Intentionally

Consider the most impactful ways to get your message across to your audience.

If it’s a quick message, a static graphic is great. If it requires some explanation, video is your friend. Keep in mind that your viewer is always a human, even in B2B.

Here’s an example of a video asset we created for goHappy, an SMS messaging solution for companies that need to communicate effectively with deskless workers (i.e., the folks not often checking email). It’s one of three assets we introduced to goHappy’s LinkedIn ad mix, helping improve CPL by 34% in just 30 days.

Test and Learn

Experiment with different approaches and learn from what works (and also what doesn’t!).

As long as you have a creative testing framework, no under-performing content is wasteful. A nimble approach allows you to adapt and evolve your strategy over time.

Embrace Technology

Use tools and automation to streamline your content production process. This gives you more time for strategic thinking and ensures your messaging stays human-centric. Currently, we’re finding great support from tools like Envato, Stocksy, Adobe Stock, Pexels, Unsplash, and Artlist.io.

Looking to get authentic with your ad creative? Check out the full post here.

This month, we sat down with Chris Alarcon, Tuff’s Head of Paid Media, to discuss how the ad landscape is changing in today’s AI and data-driven environment, and what it means for brands that rely on paid advertising to grow.

You can check out the full conversation here. For a sneak peek, here’s what Chris had to say on the issue of declining CTRs with no-click results on the search engine results page:

“In general, the rule of thumb still seems to be when Google makes some kind of update, specifically to the organic side, to focus on creating valuable content and the content that users want to read,” Alarcon says.

Enjoy AMA-style content? Make sure to check more of ‘em out on our blog — available while supplies last.

We’re (10 blue links on the search engine results page) so back 📃

Google announced this week the end of infinitely scrolling links for desktop users. In a reversal, the world’s largest search engine by market share will revert back to its pre-2022 paginated interface.

Source: Search Engine Land 

According to Search Engine Land, mobile users pining for the search experience of old will have to wait a few more months to see the change on their phones. Now, if we can just get Google to address *gestures broadly* everything else.

Goodbye, old friend… 👋

On July 1, Google’s officially pulling the plug on Universal Analytics. Access to data stored on the defunct analytics property, including via its user interface and API, will cease at the start of the new month.

Source: Universal Google Analytics

In other words, if you’ve been putting off backing up any important historical data, there’s no time like the present. Literally.

R.I.P., UGA — you were too good for this world.

In case you needed a reminder today that humans are capable of amazing things, we humbly present this guy who used statistical analysis to show you how bad Chipotle’s been skimping on your burrito bowls.

When we talk about data-driven methodologies, this is what we’re talking about. Credit: @tanayj on X. 

Check out case studies, spreadsheets, and more resources for all things growth on our site.

Cheers,

Spencer Cappelli, Senior Content Strategist

Tuff Growth

© 2024 Tuff | We’re a division of Goodway Group!

Want to opt out of future newsletters? Unsubscribe here