November 25, 2025
2025 taught us what not to do just as much as what works, and this episode breaks down both for Meta ads in 2026. If you feel like marketing trends change faster than you can keep up, you’re not alone. Greta and Judy have spent the last year deep in the data across dozens of clients, hundreds of ad variations, and more tests than they can count.
In this episode of Bringing Simplicity Unfiltered, they rapid-fire through what they’re leaving behind in 2025 and what they’re doubling down on. Smart marketing isn’t about doing everything. It’s about doing more of what actually moves the needle.
These things looked great on paper (ChatGPT would tell you they sound like a great idea). But when we tested them, performance tanked.
Many of our clients are business coaches, and a lot of coaches target “entrepreneurs” as a whole. But “Susie,” who’s a homemaker and absolutely an entrepreneur in her own right, may not be a business coach’s ideal client. We tested “entrepreneurs” as an audience, and we hated it.
Running ads to massive audiences, which used to be the goal in Meta Business Suite, gave us CPMs through the roof, some as high as $50 or more. (CPM is basically what Meta charges to show your content.) You might think that doesn’t matter for $2,000 programs. But when we dug into the data, those leads weren’t converting, because the message was too generic. When you talk to everyone, you’re selling to no one.
For Meta ads in 2026, it’s all about specificity. Niche down your messaging and targeting. If you serve a broad audience, segment it in your ad strategy and speak to multiple specific groups. Just don’t say “entrepreneurs.”
Greta loves a gorgeous graphic built on color theory and design principles. But Meta doesn’t care about your drop shadows. We typically test 8 to 10 ad graphics at a time, and the heavily designed ones underperform the straightforward visuals every single time. They’re less scroll-stopping, which sounds crazy, but it’s true.
Super polished graphics can feel like you’re trying to get people to click, so they don’t click on purpose. Ads that look like your organic posts get clicks. That’s why we work closely with whoever runs a client’s organic content. Why change your graphics if you’re not trying to change your demographic?
This one hurts a little, because nicely produced video has a purpose, and if that’s natural for you, keep doing it. But high-end animations, flying text, and cinematic edits are too much. Raw, selfie-style videos keep winning because people feel like they’re connecting with the real you, not an ad.
Keep on-screen captions simple, too. You don’t need fancy fonts or cursive styles. Natural, auto-generated-style captions work, and heavy text can be too much to read. Polish is out, personality is in.
Meta has been loud about this: SEO is officially part of the algorithm. It reads the on-screen text in your videos and the words in your images and carousels to decide who to show them to. Everything we do for Meta ads in 2026 will be SEO optimized.
A lot of what we’ve learned comes from Neil Patel, and our team uses AnswerThePublic to find what people search for. Call out your ideal client by name: coaches, course creators, service providers. Even better, get specific about the type of coach, their annual revenue, or who they help. The more you niche down, the better Meta knows who to show your content to. Remember, it’s a data platform first.
Optimize your captions too, with searchable phrases and clear topics. Social posts are now searchable through AI, and Google shows Instagram posts. Your captions should answer the question someone is typing into Google or ChatGPT.
We’ll (almost) never stop running reach and awareness campaigns. They establish you as a thought leader, make sure your content gets seen, and build an audience that wants what you offer. Most of your followers don’t see your organic content, so reach campaigns remind and warm them up, position you as a disruptor in your space, and usually lower your conversion costs.
Our clients usually spend only hundreds of dollars on them, roughly $1,000 to $2,000 a year. If you sell a course at that price, two sales cover it. One high-ticket sale covers it easily. And clients’ buyers regularly cite these ads as a reason they bought.
Everyone says to go all in on one format. Bringing Simplicity has always used a content mix, and we’re taking it into 2026, for both organic and ads:
Your audience won’t tell you how they like to consume content. “Betsy” won’t announce that she only swipes carousels. So mix it up. It also helps avoid ad fatigue. Meta rewards variety, and so does your audience. Even a format that gets less spend still shows up in feeds, so people feel like they’re seeing fresh content from you. Change the medium, keep the message.
Growth comes from testing, not guessing. You won’t be an expert right away, and your first talking-head video won’t be your best. If you really hate something six months from now, you can delete it. The only way to get better, and to know what moves the needle, is to test, step outside your comfort zone, and track the data.
Specific audiences and messaging, SEO-optimized captions and on-screen text, always-on reach and awareness campaigns, and a mix of content formats including static images, carousels, and raw short-form video.
In our testing, no. Broad audiences drove CPMs as high as $50+ and produced leads that didn’t convert because the messaging was too generic. Get specific.
Not in our tests. Heavily designed graphics and cinematic videos consistently underperform simple visuals and raw, selfie-style videos that look like organic content.
Meta reads your captions and on-screen text to decide who to show content to. Using specific, searchable terms that name your ideal client helps Meta target better.
If you want an ad strategy built on what’s working now, see our Meta ads services or reach out to us.
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Bringing Simplicity is a full-service marketing and Meta Ads agency helping established online businesses scale proven offers through paid advertising, stronger systems, and smarter strategy.
