Ads and creativeRule 03

Call it fatigue only when frequency is high and CTR keeps falling

Either signal on its own isn't fatigue.

The rule

Where to move past the default.

The default

LinkedIn recommends several ads per ad set and shifts delivery toward the ads it predicts will perform best.

LinkedIn Campaign Manager

What the Standard adds

Rotate the losers, never the proven winners. A winner keeps running until the data says it's tired.

Why it holds

An ad that has run for a while has collected likes, comments and shares, and that social proof lowers its cost per click. Refreshing everything on a calendar throws that away along with the ads that were actually tired.

When it matters less

Letting LinkedIn favour the strongest ads is the right default. It already moves delivery away from the weak ones, so most weeks there is nothing to change by hand.

Decision triggers

Spot it, then act on it.

You seeDo this
Frequency high, CTR holdingLeave it. Winners keep the social proof they've built.
CTR down for one weekCheck again next week.
Frequency above target, CTR down two to three weeks runningReplace the weakest ads. Keep the winners.

What experts say

Where people in the field stand on it.

  • Correct. I look for a trend of CTR dropping over several weeks.

    Ivars Krutainis Otter

  • I look for at least a two-week pattern. Two weeks of the trend going down is when the fatigue trigger should fire. Then I decide whether to pause, based on frequency being high and CTR going down.

    Ivan Falco Frontal

  • Falling CTR is the best indicator of fatigue in my mind. The frequency number is so opaque (you can't actually tell how often the most active audience members are being reached) that I use it as a precursor clue to what's happening, and then confirm with falling CTR. Sometimes CTR starts to fall even when frequency looks OK.

    Runs it differently

    AJ Wilcox B2Linked

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