You’re digging in the wrong place
Where to look for insights that will scale
Hello! Welcome to your weekly dose of INSPO ✨
There are 3 billion AI tools (not an exaggeration) out there for scraping your competitor’s ads and finding out how long they’ve been running for.
But the reality is, if you’re copying, you’re behind.
Plus, it means you’re not making ads that are the perfect fit for YOUR customer which is exactly what Meta wants you to be doing.
So this is your reminder to put down the competitive scraping and start digging elsewhere.
Ad breakdown
For me, one of my favourite places to find both creative inspiration AND customer insights is organic social — mostly Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.
Over a year ago, I wrote the brief for this ad for Mother Root. And starred in it 🙋♀️
There are a few insights at play here and an important reason I decided not to include the product.
Here’s why I think it works 👇🏼
👉 Authentically native: I’d seen someone post a very similar question to this, in this language and so mimicked a real human’s way of speaking to write the copy for Mother Root.
👉 Real language: it’s so hard for brands to describe their products with words they might not use or to leave things out they want to include, but that’s what humans do. There are so many other things I could have said about Mother Root that would make it more ‘informative’ but they’d have made it less native, less real, more like an ad.
👉 It’s specific: the insight was people want less sugary non-alc drinks but don’t know where to find them so they’re reaching out for suggestions. Instead of trying to tell people about ‘the best non-alc drink’ or the ‘nicest’, I kept it focused on a specific desire of a particular group of people.
👉 A human: too often I see brands posting something that feels quite emotional when you read the copy but it’s laid over an image of the product on a boring surface, no emotion at all. Including a real person adds a layer of connection that we know is effective on organic social as well as paid.
👉 No product: again, I’ve seen a lot of ads like this where the product feels forced in. Obviously there are times where it makes complete sense, but sometimes it’s best to let the copy do the hard work.
How to make this strategy work for your brand
Dig and dig deep. Organic social is an absolute gold mine for insights that will help you scale your ad account BUT you’re unlikely to come across them just watching reels on your own or your brand’s TikTok account.
🪩 Digital ethnography: immerse yourself in the comment sections around your category. Look for recurring phrases, emotional triggers and in-group language
🪩 Subculture mapping: Identify micro-communities your audience aligns with (e.g., “clean girl” aesthetic, sneaker heads, cosy gamers, sustainable fashion). Track their rituals, memes and aesthetics.
🪩 Behavioural cues: observe what kinds of posts they save vs. share vs. scroll past. Saving often signals inspiration or aspiration; sharing often signals identity or relatability.
🪩 Join groups: use Facebook groups to identify unfiltered consumer conversations. Comments often reveal pain points, aspirations or misconceptions about your category or product.
🪩 Decode: learn to breakdown why something worked. Analyse trending sounds and how they’re being used. Trends mutate, insight lives in how people adapt a format, not in the trend itself.
🪩 Identify cultural tensions: what people are joking, arguing or dreaming about related to your niche?
🪩 Look for questions: in your own organic comments, in your competitors, or even on the posts of influencers, what are people asking? What are they unsure about? Is there something everyone else is missing that your product already answers?
The 🗝️ …
Record your observations and turn them into insights…
Observation: users mock “clean eating” culture with sarcastic comments
Insight: people don’t want the pressure of perfection, they want permission to be real.
Ad idea: show your product in an ad that’s embracing imperfection as a form of confidence.
Give this a go and let me know how you get on 💪🏼
Thanks for reading,
Katherine 🪩
If you found this useful, don’t forget to pass it onto your team…
P.S. If your brand needs creative strategy but you don’t know where to start, drop me an email and let’s chat.