ElasticFlow
AI SkillPlan Ad CampaignMarketingv1.1.0

Paid Ads — Plan Campaigns That Deliver ROI

Runs on
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Plan and optimize paid ad campaigns across Google, Meta, and LinkedIn

  • Build campaign structure for Google Search, Display, and Performance Max
  • Define Meta audience targeting by demographics, interests, and lookalikes
  • Recommend bidding strategies based on your goal and CPA targets
  • Create LinkedIn campaign structure for B2B audience targeting
  • Diagnose underperforming campaigns and recommend optimization actions

Who this is for

Demand Generation Manager

You own pipeline generation — paid ads, email sequences, lead magnets, and form optimization. These skills plan campaigns, write sequences, and optimize every conversion point.

See skills for this role
Growth Marketer

You run experiments, optimize funnels, and own the numbers from signup to revenue. These skills handle the audit, analysis, and testing setup — so you spend time on strategy, not spreadsheets.

See skills for this role

What it does

Planning a new paid search campaign

Designs the full Google Ads structure: campaign type, ad groups, keyword strategy, bidding, and budget allocation

Improving ROAS on a Meta campaign

Reviews current audience setup, creative performance, and bidding, then recommends specific changes to improve efficiency

Starting B2B paid ads on LinkedIn

Builds a LinkedIn campaign strategy with audience targeting, ad formats, budget recommendations, and conversion tracking plan

How it works

1

Describe your product, target audience, and campaign goal

2

Share current campaign data if optimizing an existing campaign

3

Skill designs the campaign structure, targeting, and bidding approach

4

Recommends budget allocation and measurement setup

5

Delivers a prioritized action plan for launch or optimization

Metrics this improves

Lead Generation
Paid campaigns are a direct and scalable driver of lead volume with measurable attribution
Marketing
Ad CTR
Audience targeting refinement and creative iteration improve ad click-through rates
Marketing
CPA
Optimizing targeting, bidding, and campaign structure directly reduces cost per acquisition
Marketing
ROAS
Campaign optimization and budget allocation toward top performers increases return on ad spend
Marketing

Works with

Google Analytics
manual

Track post-click behavior and conversion attribution from paid campaigns

Segment
manual

Pipe conversion events to ad platforms for accurate audience and attribution data

Google Ads
manual

Plan, launch, and optimize search and display campaigns for inbound acquisition

LinkedIn
manual

Execute B2B paid campaigns targeting by job title, company size, and industry

Meta Ads
manual

Run demand generation and retargeting campaigns on Facebook and Instagram

View on GitHub

Paid Ads

You are an expert performance marketer with direct access to ad platform accounts. Your goal is to help create, optimize, and scale paid advertising campaigns that drive efficient customer acquisition.

Before Starting

Check for product marketing context first: If .agents/product-marketing-context.md exists (or .claude/product-marketing-context.md in older setups), read it before asking questions. Use that context and only ask for information not already covered or specific to this task.

Gather this context (ask if not provided):

1. Campaign Goals

  • What's the primary objective? (Awareness, traffic, leads, sales, app installs)
  • What's the target CPA or ROAS?
  • What's the monthly/weekly budget?
  • Any constraints? (Brand guidelines, compliance, geographic)

2. Product & Offer

  • What are you promoting? (Product, free trial, lead magnet, demo)
  • What's the landing page URL?
  • What makes this offer compelling?

3. Audience

  • Who is the ideal customer?
  • What problem does your product solve for them?
  • What are they searching for or interested in?
  • Do you have existing customer data for lookalikes?

4. Current State

  • Have you run ads before? What worked/didn't?
  • Do you have existing pixel/conversion data?
  • What's your current funnel conversion rate?

Platform Selection Guide

PlatformBest ForUse When
Google AdsHigh-intent search trafficPeople actively search for your solution
MetaDemand generation, visual productsCreating demand, strong creative assets
LinkedInB2B, decision-makersJob title/company targeting matters, higher price points
Twitter/XTech audiences, thought leadershipAudience is active on X, timely content
TikTokYounger demographics, viral creativeAudience skews 18-34, video capacity

Campaign Structure Best Practices

Account Organization

Account
├── Campaign 1: [Objective] - [Audience/Product]
│   ├── Ad Set 1: [Targeting variation]
│   │   ├── Ad 1: [Creative variation A]
│   │   ├── Ad 2: [Creative variation B]
│   │   └── Ad 3: [Creative variation C]
│   └── Ad Set 2: [Targeting variation]
└── Campaign 2...

Naming Conventions

[Platform]_[Objective]_[Audience]_[Offer]_[Date]

Examples:
META_Conv_Lookalike-Customers_FreeTrial_2024Q1
GOOG_Search_Brand_Demo_Ongoing
LI_LeadGen_CMOs-SaaS_Whitepaper_Mar24

Budget Allocation

Testing phase (first 2-4 weeks):

  • 70% to proven/safe campaigns
  • 30% to testing new audiences/creative

Scaling phase:

  • Consolidate budget into winning combinations
  • Increase budgets 20-30% at a time
  • Wait 3-5 days between increases for algorithm learning

Ad Copy Frameworks

Key Formulas

Problem-Agitate-Solve (PAS):

[Problem] → [Agitate the pain] → [Introduce solution] → [CTA]

Before-After-Bridge (BAB):

[Current painful state] → [Desired future state] → [Your product as bridge]

Social Proof Lead:

[Impressive stat or testimonial] → [What you do] → [CTA]

For detailed templates and headline formulas: See references/ad-copy-templates.md

Audience Targeting Overview

Platform Strengths

PlatformKey TargetingBest Signals
GoogleKeywords, search intentWhat they're searching
MetaInterests, behaviors, lookalikesEngagement patterns
LinkedInJob titles, companies, industriesProfessional identity

Key Concepts

  • Lookalikes: Base on best customers (by LTV), not all customers
  • Retargeting: Segment by funnel stage (visitors vs. cart abandoners)
  • Exclusions: Exclude existing customers and recent converters — showing ads to people who already bought wastes spend

For detailed targeting strategies by platform: See references/audience-targeting.md

Creative Best Practices

Image Ads

  • Clear product screenshots showing UI
  • Before/after comparisons
  • Stats and numbers as focal point
  • Human faces (real, not stock)
  • Bold, readable text overlay (keep under 20%)

Video Ads Structure (15-30 sec)

  1. Hook (0-3 sec): Pattern interrupt, question, or bold statement
  2. Problem (3-8 sec): Relatable pain point
  3. Solution (8-20 sec): Show product/benefit
  4. CTA (20-30 sec): Clear next step

Production tips:

  • Captions always (85% watch without sound)
  • Vertical for Stories/Reels, square for feed
  • Native feel outperforms polished
  • First 3 seconds determine if they watch

Creative Testing Hierarchy

  1. Concept/angle (biggest impact)
  2. Hook/headline
  3. Visual style
  4. Body copy
  5. CTA

Campaign Optimization

Key Metrics by Objective

ObjectivePrimary Metrics
AwarenessCPM, Reach, Video view rate
ConsiderationCTR, CPC, Time on site
ConversionCPA, ROAS, Conversion rate

Optimization Levers

If CPA is too high:

  1. Check landing page (is the problem post-click?)
  2. Tighten audience targeting
  3. Test new creative angles
  4. Improve ad relevance/quality score
  5. Adjust bid strategy

If CTR is low:

  • Creative isn't resonating → test new hooks/angles
  • Audience mismatch → refine targeting
  • Ad fatigue → refresh creative

If CPM is high:

  • Audience too narrow → expand targeting
  • High competition → try different placements
  • Low relevance score → improve creative fit

Bid Strategy Progression

  1. Start with manual or cost caps
  2. Gather conversion data (50+ conversions)
  3. Switch to automated with targets based on historical data
  4. Monitor and adjust targets based on results

Retargeting Strategies

Funnel-Based Approach

Funnel StageAudienceMessageGoal
TopBlog readers, video viewersEducational, social proofMove to consideration
MiddlePricing/feature page visitorsCase studies, demosMove to decision
BottomCart abandoners, trial usersUrgency, objection handlingConvert

Retargeting Windows

StageWindowFrequency Cap
Hot (cart/trial)1-7 daysHigher OK
Warm (key pages)7-30 days3-5x/week
Cold (any visit)30-90 days1-2x/week

Exclusions to Set Up

  • Existing customers (unless upsell)
  • Recent converters (7-14 day window)
  • Bounced visitors (<10 sec)
  • Irrelevant pages (careers, support)

Reporting & Analysis

Weekly Review

  • Spend vs. budget pacing
  • CPA/ROAS vs. targets
  • Top and bottom performing ads
  • Audience performance breakdown
  • Frequency check (fatigue risk)
  • Landing page conversion rate

Attribution Considerations

  • Platform attribution is inflated
  • Use UTM parameters consistently
  • Compare platform data to GA4
  • Look at blended CAC, not just platform CPA

Platform Setup

Before launching campaigns, ensure proper tracking and account setup.

For complete setup checklists by platform: See references/platform-setup-checklists.md

Universal Pre-Launch Checklist

  • Conversion tracking tested with real conversion
  • Landing page loads fast (<3 sec)
  • Landing page mobile-friendly
  • UTM parameters working
  • Budget set correctly
  • Targeting matches intended audience

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Strategy

  • Launching without conversion tracking
  • Too many campaigns (fragmenting budget)
  • Not giving algorithms enough learning time
  • Optimizing for wrong metric

Targeting

  • Audiences too narrow or too broad
  • Not excluding existing customers
  • Overlapping audiences competing

Creative

  • Only one ad per ad set
  • Not refreshing creative (fatigue)
  • Mismatch between ad and landing page

Budget

  • Spreading too thin across campaigns
  • Making big budget changes (disrupts learning)
  • Stopping campaigns during learning phase

Task-Specific Questions

  1. What platform(s) are you currently running or want to start with?
  2. What's your monthly ad budget?
  3. What does a successful conversion look like (and what's it worth)?
  4. Do you have existing creative assets or need to create them?
  5. What landing page will ads point to?
  6. Do you have pixel/conversion tracking set up?

Tool Integrations

For implementation, see the tools registry. Key advertising platforms:

PlatformBest ForMCPGuide
Google AdsSearch intent, high-intent traffic✓google-ads.md
Meta AdsDemand gen, visual products, B2C-meta-ads.md
LinkedIn AdsB2B, job title targeting-linkedin-ads.md
TikTok AdsYounger demographics, video-tiktok-ads.md

For tracking, see also: ga4.md, segment.md

Related Skills

  • ad-creative: For generating and iterating ad headlines, descriptions, and creative at scale
  • copywriting: For landing page copy that converts ad traffic
  • analytics-tracking: For proper conversion tracking setup
  • ab-test-setup: For landing page testing to improve ROAS
  • page-cro: For optimizing post-click conversion rates

Reference documents

Ad Copy Templates Reference

Detailed formulas and templates for writing high-converting ad copy.

Contents

  • Primary Text Formulas (Problem-Agitate-Solve, Before-After-Bridge, Social Proof Lead, Feature-Benefit Bridge, Direct Response)
  • Headline Formulas (For Search Ads, For Social Ads)
  • CTA Variations (Soft CTAs, Hard CTAs, Urgency CTAs, Action-Oriented CTAs)
  • Platform-Specific Copy Guidelines (Google Search Ads, Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads)
  • Copy Testing Priority

Primary Text Formulas

Problem-Agitate-Solve (PAS)

[Problem statement]
[Agitate the pain]
[Introduce solution]
[CTA]

Example:

Spending hours on manual reporting every week? While you're buried in spreadsheets, your competitors are making decisions. [Product] automates your reports in minutes. Start your free trial →

Before-After-Bridge (BAB)

[Current painful state]
[Desired future state]
[Your product as the bridge]

Example:

Before: Chasing down approvals across email, Slack, and spreadsheets. After: Every approval tracked, automated, and on time. [Product] connects your tools and keeps projects moving.

Social Proof Lead

[Impressive stat or testimonial]
[What you do]
[CTA]

Example:

"We cut our reporting time by 75%." — Sarah K., Marketing Director [Product] automates the reports you hate building. See how it works →

Feature-Benefit Bridge

[Feature]
[So that...]
[Which means...]

Example:

Real-time collaboration on documents So your team always works from the latest version Which means no more version confusion or lost work

Direct Response

[Bold claim/outcome]
[Proof point]
[CTA with urgency if genuine]

Example:

Cut your reporting time by 80% Join 5,000+ marketing teams already using [Product] Start free → First month 50% off

Headline Formulas

For Search Ads

FormulaExample
[Keyword] + [Benefit]"Project Management That Teams Actually Use"
[Action] + [Outcome]"Automate Reports | Save 10 Hours Weekly"
[Question]"Tired of Manual Data Entry?"
[Number] + [Benefit]"500+ Teams Trust [Product] for [Outcome]"
[Keyword] + [Differentiator]"CRM Built for Small Teams"
[Price/Offer] + [Keyword]"Free Project Management | No Credit Card"

For Social Ads

TypeExample
Outcome hook"How we 3x'd our conversion rate"
Curiosity hook"The reporting hack no one talks about"
Contrarian hook"Why we stopped using [common tool]"
Specificity hook"The exact template we use for..."
Question hook"What if you could cut your admin time in half?"
Number hook"7 ways to improve your workflow today"
Story hook"We almost gave up. Then we found..."

CTA Variations

Soft CTAs (awareness/consideration)

Best for: Top of funnel, cold audiences, complex products

  • Learn More
  • See How It Works
  • Watch Demo
  • Get the Guide
  • Explore Features
  • See Examples
  • Read the Case Study

Hard CTAs (conversion)

Best for: Bottom of funnel, warm audiences, clear offers

  • Start Free Trial
  • Get Started Free
  • Book a Demo
  • Claim Your Discount
  • Buy Now
  • Sign Up Free
  • Get Instant Access

Urgency CTAs (use when genuine)

Best for: Limited-time offers, scarcity situations

  • Limited Time: 30% Off
  • Offer Ends [Date]
  • Only X Spots Left
  • Last Chance
  • Early Bird Pricing Ends Soon

Action-Oriented CTAs

Best for: Active voice, clear next step

  • Start Saving Time Today
  • Get Your Free Report
  • See Your Score
  • Calculate Your ROI
  • Build Your First Project

Platform-Specific Copy Guidelines

Google Search Ads

  • Headline limits: 30 characters each (up to 15 headlines)
  • Description limits: 90 characters each (up to 4 descriptions)
  • Include keywords naturally
  • Use all available headline slots
  • Include numbers and stats when possible
  • Test dynamic keyword insertion

Meta Ads (Facebook/Instagram)

  • Primary text: 125 characters visible (can be longer, gets truncated)
  • Headline: 40 characters recommended
  • Front-load the hook (first line matters most)
  • Emojis can work but test
  • Questions perform well
  • Keep image text under 20%

LinkedIn Ads

  • Intro text: 600 characters max (150 recommended)
  • Headline: 200 characters max (70 recommended)
  • Professional tone (but not boring)
  • Specific job outcomes resonate
  • Stats and social proof important
  • Avoid consumer-style hype

Copy Testing Priority

When testing ad copy, focus on these elements in order of impact:

  1. Hook/angle (biggest impact on performance)
  2. Headline
  3. Primary benefit
  4. CTA
  5. Supporting proof points

Test one element at a time for clean data.

Audience Targeting Reference

Detailed targeting strategies for each major ad platform.

Contents

  • Google Ads Audiences (Search Campaign Targeting, Display/YouTube Targeting)
  • Meta Audiences (Core Audiences, Custom Audiences, Lookalike Audiences)
  • LinkedIn Audiences (Job-Based Targeting, Company-Based Targeting, High-Performing Combinations)
  • Twitter/X Audiences
  • TikTok Audiences
  • Audience Size Guidelines
  • Exclusion Strategy

Google Ads Audiences

Search Campaign Targeting

Keywords:

  • Exact match: [keyword] — most precise, lower volume
  • Phrase match: "keyword" — moderate precision and volume
  • Broad match: keyword — highest volume, use with smart bidding

Audience layering:

  • Add audiences in "observation" mode first
  • Analyze performance by audience
  • Switch to "targeting" mode for high performers

RLSA (Remarketing Lists for Search Ads):

  • Bid higher on past visitors searching your terms
  • Show different ads to returning searchers
  • Exclude converters from prospecting campaigns

Display/YouTube Targeting

Custom intent audiences:

  • Based on recent search behavior
  • Create from your converting keywords
  • High intent, good for prospecting

In-market audiences:

  • People actively researching solutions
  • Pre-built by Google
  • Layer with demographics for precision

Affinity audiences:

  • Based on interests and habits
  • Better for awareness
  • Broad but can exclude irrelevant

Customer match:

  • Upload email lists
  • Retarget existing customers
  • Create lookalikes from best customers

Similar/lookalike audiences:

  • Based on your customer match lists
  • Expand reach while maintaining relevance
  • Best when source list is high-quality customers

Meta Audiences

Core Audiences (Interest/Demographic)

Interest targeting tips:

  • Layer interests with AND logic for precision
  • Use Audience Insights to research interests
  • Start broad, let algorithm optimize
  • Exclude existing customers always

Demographic targeting:

  • Age and gender (if product-specific)
  • Location (down to zip/postal code)
  • Language
  • Education and work (limited data now)

Behavior targeting:

  • Purchase behavior
  • Device usage
  • Travel patterns
  • Life events

Custom Audiences

Website visitors:

  • All visitors (last 180 days max)
  • Specific page visitors
  • Time on site thresholds
  • Frequency (visited X times)

Customer list:

  • Upload emails/phone numbers
  • Match rate typically 30-70%
  • Refresh regularly for accuracy

Engagement audiences:

  • Video viewers (25%, 50%, 75%, 95%)
  • Page/profile engagers
  • Form openers
  • Instagram engagers

App activity:

  • App installers
  • In-app events
  • Purchase events

Lookalike Audiences

Source audience quality matters:

  • Use high-LTV customers, not all customers
  • Purchasers > leads > all visitors
  • Minimum 100 source users, ideally 1,000+

Size recommendations:

  • 1% — most similar, smallest reach
  • 1-3% — good balance for most
  • 3-5% — broader, good for scale
  • 5-10% — very broad, awareness only

Layering strategies:

  • Lookalike + interest = more precision early
  • Test lookalike-only as you scale
  • Exclude the source audience

LinkedIn Audiences

Job-Based Targeting

Job titles:

  • Be specific (CMO vs. "Marketing")
  • LinkedIn normalizes titles, but verify
  • Stack related titles
  • Exclude irrelevant titles

Job functions:

  • Broader than titles
  • Combine with seniority level
  • Good for awareness campaigns

Seniority levels:

  • Entry, Senior, Manager, Director, VP, CXO, Partner
  • Layer with function for precision

Skills:

  • Self-reported, less reliable
  • Good for technical roles
  • Use as expansion layer

Company-Based Targeting

Company size:

  • 1-10, 11-50, 51-200, 201-500, 501-1000, 1001-5000, 5000+
  • Key filter for B2B

Industry:

  • Based on company classification
  • Can be broad, layer with other criteria

Company names (ABM):

  • Upload target account list
  • Minimum 300 companies recommended
  • Match rate varies

Company growth rate:

  • Hiring rapidly = budget available
  • Good signal for timing

High-Performing Combinations

Use CaseTargeting Combination
Enterprise salesCompany size 1000+ + VP/CXO + Industry
SMB salesCompany size 11-200 + Manager/Director + Function
Developer toolsSkills + Job function + Company type
ABM campaignsCompany list + Decision-maker titles
Broad awarenessIndustry + Seniority + Geography

Twitter/X Audiences

Targeting options:

  • Follower lookalikes (accounts similar to followers of X)
  • Interest categories
  • Keywords (in tweets)
  • Conversation topics
  • Events
  • Tailored audiences (your lists)

Best practices:

  • Follower lookalikes of relevant accounts work well
  • Keyword targeting catches active conversations
  • Lower CPMs than LinkedIn/Meta
  • Less precise, better for awareness

TikTok Audiences

Targeting options:

  • Demographics (age, gender, location)
  • Interests (TikTok's categories)
  • Behaviors (video interactions)
  • Device (iOS/Android, connection type)
  • Custom audiences (pixel, customer file)
  • Lookalike audiences

Best practices:

  • Younger skew (18-34 primarily)
  • Interest targeting is broad
  • Creative matters more than targeting
  • Let algorithm optimize with broad targeting

Audience Size Guidelines

PlatformMinimum RecommendedIdeal Range
Google Search1,000+ searches/mo5,000-50,000
Google Display100,000+500K-5M
Meta100,000+500K-10M
LinkedIn50,000+100K-500K
Twitter/X50,000+100K-1M
TikTok100,000+1M+

Too narrow = expensive, slow learning Too broad = wasted spend, poor relevance

Exclusion Strategy

Always exclude:

  • Existing customers (unless upsell)
  • Recent converters (7-14 days)
  • Bounced visitors (<10 sec)
  • Employees (by company or email list)
  • Irrelevant page visitors (careers, support)
  • Competitors (if identifiable)

Platform Setup Checklists

Complete setup checklists for major ad platforms.

Contents

  • Google Ads Setup (Account Foundation, Conversion Tracking, Analytics Integration, Audience Setup, Campaign Readiness, Ad Extensions, Brand Protection)
  • Meta Ads Setup (Business Manager Foundation, Pixel & Tracking, Domain & Aggregated Events, Audience Setup, Catalog, Creative Assets, Compliance)
  • LinkedIn Ads Setup (Campaign Manager Foundation, Insight Tag & Tracking, Audience Setup, Lead Gen Forms, Document Ads, Creative Assets, Budget Considerations)
  • Twitter/X Ads Setup (Account Foundation, Tracking, Audience Setup, Creative)
  • TikTok Ads Setup (Account Foundation, Pixel & Tracking, Audience Setup, Creative)
  • Universal Pre-Launch Checklist

Google Ads Setup

Account Foundation

  • Google Ads account created and verified
  • Billing information added
  • Time zone and currency set correctly
  • Account access granted to team members

Conversion Tracking

  • Google tag installed on all pages
  • Conversion actions created (purchase, lead, signup)
  • Conversion values assigned (if applicable)
  • Enhanced conversions enabled
  • Test conversions firing correctly
  • Import conversions from GA4 (optional)

Analytics Integration

  • Google Analytics 4 linked
  • Auto-tagging enabled
  • GA4 audiences available in Google Ads
  • Cross-domain tracking set up (if multiple domains)

Audience Setup

  • Remarketing tag verified
  • Website visitor audiences created:
    • All visitors (180 days)
    • Key page visitors (pricing, demo, features)
    • Converters (for exclusion)
  • Customer match lists uploaded
  • Similar audiences enabled

Campaign Readiness

  • Negative keyword lists created:
    • Universal negatives (free, jobs, careers, reviews, complaints)
    • Competitor negatives (if needed)
    • Irrelevant industry terms
  • Location targeting set (include/exclude)
  • Language targeting set
  • Ad schedule configured (if B2B, business hours)
  • Device bid adjustments considered

Ad Extensions

  • Sitelinks (4-6 relevant pages)
  • Callouts (key benefits, offers)
  • Structured snippets (features, types, services)
  • Call extension (if phone leads valuable)
  • Lead form extension (if using)
  • Price extensions (if applicable)
  • Image extensions (where available)

Brand Protection

  • Brand campaign running (protect branded terms)
  • Competitor campaigns considered
  • Brand terms in negative lists for non-brand campaigns

Meta Ads Setup

Business Manager Foundation

  • Business Manager created
  • Business verified (if running certain ad types)
  • Ad account created within Business Manager
  • Payment method added
  • Team access configured with proper roles

Pixel & Tracking

  • Meta Pixel installed on all pages
  • Standard events configured:
    • PageView (automatic)
    • ViewContent (product/feature pages)
    • Lead (form submissions)
    • Purchase (conversions)
    • AddToCart (if e-commerce)
    • InitiateCheckout (if e-commerce)
  • Conversions API (CAPI) set up for server-side tracking
  • Event Match Quality score > 6
  • Test events in Events Manager

Domain & Aggregated Events

  • Domain verified in Business Manager
  • Aggregated Event Measurement configured
  • Top 8 events prioritized in order of importance
  • Web events prioritized for iOS 14+ tracking

Audience Setup

  • Custom audiences created:
    • Website visitors (all, 30/60/90/180 days)
    • Key page visitors
    • Video viewers (25%, 50%, 75%, 95%)
    • Page/Instagram engagers
    • Customer list uploaded
  • Lookalike audiences created (1%, 1-3%)
  • Saved audiences for common targeting

Catalog (E-commerce)

  • Product catalog connected
  • Product feed updating correctly
  • Catalog sales campaigns enabled
  • Dynamic product ads configured

Creative Assets

  • Images in correct sizes:
    • Feed: 1080x1080 (1:1)
    • Stories/Reels: 1080x1920 (9:16)
    • Landscape: 1200x628 (1.91:1)
  • Videos in correct formats
  • Ad copy variations ready
  • UTM parameters in all destination URLs

Compliance

  • Special Ad Categories declared (if housing, credit, employment, politics)
  • Landing page complies with Meta policies
  • No prohibited content in ads

LinkedIn Ads Setup

Campaign Manager Foundation

  • Campaign Manager account created
  • Company Page connected
  • Billing information added
  • Team access configured

Insight Tag & Tracking

  • LinkedIn Insight Tag installed on all pages
  • Tag verified and firing
  • Conversion tracking configured:
    • URL-based conversions
    • Event-specific conversions
  • Conversion values set (if applicable)

Audience Setup

  • Matched Audiences created:
    • Website retargeting audiences
    • Company list uploaded (for ABM)
    • Contact list uploaded
  • Lookalike audiences created
  • Saved audiences for common targeting

Lead Gen Forms (if using)

  • Lead gen form templates created
  • Form fields selected (minimize for conversion)
  • Privacy policy URL added
  • Thank you message configured
  • CRM integration set up (or CSV export process)

Document Ads (if using)

  • Documents uploaded (PDF, PowerPoint)
  • Gating configured (full gate or preview)
  • Lead gen form connected

Creative Assets

  • Single image ads: 1200x627 (1.91:1) or 1080x1080 (1:1)
  • Carousel images ready
  • Video specs met (if using)
  • Ad copy within character limits:
    • Intro text: 600 max, 150 recommended
    • Headline: 200 max, 70 recommended

Budget Considerations

  • Budget realistic for LinkedIn CPCs ($8-15+ typical)
  • Audience size validated (50K+ recommended)
  • Daily vs. lifetime budget decided
  • Bid strategy selected

Twitter/X Ads Setup

Account Foundation

  • Ads account created
  • Payment method added
  • Account verified (if required)

Tracking

  • Twitter Pixel installed
  • Conversion events created
  • Website tag verified

Audience Setup

  • Tailored audiences created:
    • Website visitors
    • Customer lists
  • Follower lookalikes identified
  • Interest and keyword targets researched

Creative

  • Tweet copy within 280 characters
  • Images: 1200x675 (1.91:1) or 1200x1200 (1:1)
  • Video specs met (if using)
  • Cards configured (website, app, etc.)

TikTok Ads Setup

Account Foundation

  • TikTok Ads Manager account created
  • Business verification completed
  • Payment method added

Pixel & Tracking

  • TikTok Pixel installed
  • Events configured (ViewContent, Purchase, etc.)
  • Events API set up (recommended)

Audience Setup

  • Custom audiences created
  • Lookalike audiences created
  • Interest categories identified

Creative

  • Vertical video (9:16) ready
  • Native-feeling content (not too polished)
  • First 3 seconds are compelling hooks
  • Captions added (most watch without sound)
  • Music/sounds selected (licensed if needed)

Universal Pre-Launch Checklist

Before launching any campaign:

  • Conversion tracking tested with real conversion
  • Landing page loads fast (<3 sec)
  • Landing page mobile-friendly
  • UTM parameters working
  • Budget set correctly (daily vs. lifetime)
  • Start/end dates correct
  • Targeting matches intended audience
  • Ad creative approved
  • Team notified of launch
  • Reporting dashboard ready
Quality tested— 6 tests, 37 assertions verified