How to Make Your Social Media Ads Work Smarter in 2025

Happy New Year! 🎉

As we step into 2025, it’s time to take a fresh look at your marketing strategy. Whether you’ve been running ads for years or are just considering them, social media ads remain one of the best tools to grow your business – if you use them effectively.

At The Social Ads Squad, we’ve seen first-hand how small tweaks to ad campaigns can make a big difference. So, to kickstart the year, here are three key areas to focus on to ensure your ads are delivering real results:

1️⃣ Grab Attention with Strong Creative

Social media is a busy place – around 1.3 billion photos are shared on Instagram every day – and your ads are competing with everything from cat videos to holiday snaps. To stand out, your creative needs to grab attention and connect with your audience immediately.

Here’s what to consider:

• Your visuals: Does your image or video stop the scroll? Bold colours, eye-catching visuals, or even short, engaging videos work wonders.
• Your message: Is your headline clear and compelling? Does it explain why your audience should care?
• Your call-to-action: Are you giving people a clear next step, like “Shop Now” or “Learn More”?

Pro Tip: Don’t reinvent the wheel. Look back at your most popular posts, emails, or offers from last year. Use those winning ideas to create ads that resonate. If it worked once, it can work again—with the right audience.

2️⃣ Keep It Fresh to Avoid Fatigue

Even the best-performing ads can lose their spark over time. If your audience has seen the same ad multiple times and isn’t engaging, it’s time for a refresh.

This is especially true if your “frequency” (how often people see your ad) is creeping up. When frequency gets too high, you’ll notice engagement drops – and costs might start to climb.

Here’s how to keep things fresh:

• Update your visuals: Try swapping a photo for a short video or adding animation.
• Revise your copy: Focus on a different feature, benefit, or pain point.
• Expand your audience: Show your ad to new people who are likely to engage.

Pro Tip: Plan to refresh your ads regularly, even if they’re doing well. A small change—like a new image or headline—can extend their lifespan and keep performance steady.

3️⃣ Know What You’re Paying For

Understanding your costs is critical to running ads that work. Whether you’re driving leads, sales, or bookings, you need to know how much you’re spending for each result and whether it’s worth it.

Here’s how to evaluate your costs:

• Calculate your cost-per-result: Divide your total spend by the number of leads, sales, or actions.
• Weigh it against value: For example, if you’re spending £20 to generate a lead that typically brings in £200 in revenue, that’s a win.
• Adjust when needed: If costs feel too high, revisit your targeting or refresh your creative to connect better with your audience.

Pro Tip: Focus on warm audiences. People who’ve visited your website, engaged with your social media, or joined your email list are more likely to convert—and they cost less to reach.

Let’s Make 2025 Your Best Year Yet

Social media ads don’t have to be complicated, but they do require strategy. By focusing on your creative, keeping your campaigns fresh, and understanding your costs, you can make ads a powerful part of your growth strategy in 2025.

Need help figuring out what’s working and what’s not? At The Social Ads Squad, we specialise in making ads work harder for businesses like yours. Let’s chat about how we can help you hit your goals this year.

Ready to get started? Book a Call today.