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Social vertical has been on the top of the best-performing ones for decades. Indeed, even though people have different needs and aspirations regarding various commodities and services, there is something equally desirable for all – human connections, communication, and finally – romance, friendship, and partnership. 

How do people find matching people, what exactly are they looking for, and most importantly for advertisers – how to give them what they want? 

After discussing the peculiarities of Social vertical with a professional media buyer, Serge Abramov, we have some thrilling insights to share. Embrace yourself – it’s gonna be hot. 

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Social vertical special techniques: how does it differ from all the rest? 

Of course, every vertical is unique and requires a different approach. Let’s try to figure out how to make your Social campaign stand out by defining its peculiarities. 

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SOI and DOI as main lead generation models for Social vertical

To begin with, let’s define what SOI and DOI are and how they work specifically in the Social vertical. 

• SOI (Single-Opt-In) is a lead generation model where users are required to perform a single action. 

When talking about Social, in most cases, SOI is registration on a themed platform/website or application or completion of a survey. If users want to get access to the base of people to talk to, they have to submit a form sharing some basic information, like their name, age, email, etc. After that, they are ready to start their social journey.

• DOI (Double-Opt-In) means that users have to confirm their subscription or registration. On the one hand, DOI is a bit more complicated because it requires more steps to make, and there is a risk that fewer users will go through that procedure. However, with DOI, you get a more quality audience, interested in your offer. 

In the Social vertical, DOI is the same as SOI, but with an additional step included. Usually, after people complete registration, they are asked to confirm it via email. 

Quick notice: as Serge Abramov claims, DOI is more likely to bring you better income, but mostly in case if users buy a subscription for a Social service. For that reason, if you prefer the DOI model, make sure to target “expensive” GEOs, namely – Tier-1 and Tier-2 (say, IT, US, DE, GB, FR, JP, CA). Another interesting fact about user flow in Social – simpler is not always better, because a multi-step flow helps to eliminate bots and users not motivated to convert. 

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Any targeting peculiarities for the Social vertical?

“Remember that you need targeted traffic for the Social vertical, since it brings much better results. Social is not about quantity, but rather quality – when evaluating your campaign, mind that.” – says Serge.

And here are some targeting tricks for Social you probably didn’t know:

• GEOs: we recommend targeting no more than five GEOs at the same time, focusing on those with high purchasing capacities, because the main source of your income from Social is paid subscriptions. 
• Audience portrait: mostly but not limited to mature men from Tier-1 and Tier-2 countries. If you are an affiliate marketer, mind that offer owners usually pay more for conversions performed by men in the age of 35+, and the older the user is – the higher commission you receive. No surprises here, since such users are more capable of buying and prolonging paid subscriptions.   

• Seasonality: it makes sense to experiment with dates, like launching a campaign before/during big holidays – there might be a traffic spike explained by users’ eagerness to find a company for partying. Still, a pleasant fact – Serge Abramov’s experience proves that Social vertical is ever-green. 
• OS and device: orient on the type of offer you have. Obviously, if this is an app to find romance – mobile is a better choice. For Social websites, both desktop and mobile will do. Also, if you target Tier-1 and Tier-2 countries, don’t be shy to include iOS and MacOS in your targeting settings.    

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Ad formats and pricing models for Social vertical

Regarding ad formats for Social, in general, all of them can bring great results if used correctly. However, Serge Abramov highlights the following:

• Push notifications or native ads are the best choice since they are highly targeted;
• Popunder is less targeted than Push, but it is more affordable, so you can try it for better audience reach.

Serge adds: “Many advertisers try to use Facebook to promote Social offers, but this is not always the best idea. The reason is straightforward – Facebook, just like Social platforms and apps, offers the same thing – acquaintances and communication. Basically, when you offer these services to Facebook users, you compete with Facebook. This is how your chance to get banned becomes real.”   

Another complication: Social offers are allowed only with written permission from Facebook, check here for details. 

As for the pricing models, we recommend starting with SmartCPC to test your creatives and CPA Goal for auto-optimization. When you find out which creatives and targeting settings bring you the best results, you can scale your results with additional Whitelist campaigns with higher bids.

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Creatives and engagement tricks: how to lead users through your ad funnel?

We have a couple of tips on how to engage users in your Social offer. Our recommendations are based on the trends found among successful affiliate marketers and media buyers, PropellerAds partners, and research on strategies that really work. Here we go!

Pre-lander + landing page with a map

As Serge Abramov says, one of the best-working approaches to Social offer promotion is combining an engaging pre-lander (where the essence of the platform or app is explained), plus – a super-trendy creative of a map, where users can instantly see communication opportunities. 

Here is an example of a pre-lander:

When a user clicks the Join button, he is redirected to the page with a map, like this one:

Both this pre-lander and creative give an idea of what is waiting for users. Plus, such visual elements as map, distance, names, age, photos, and windows with profiles to view look appealing and contactable. 

Another super-popular idea to promote Social vertical offers (and especially – generate leads) is making themed surveys. Here is an example, if you are interested. How does it work? Well, might be something as simple as this:

Or this:

More tricks for your creatives:

• Be real: when using photos for your banners, make sure to choose simple and realistic ones. According to our research, ordinary people, instead of models, evoke more interest in users looking for acquaintances. Even a bit of low-quality photos can work for this approach.

• Eye contact: another tendency – photos of people who look directly into the camera. These pictures prove to work better. Glance into the camera is an instant eye contact with users, which motivates them to communicate. 

• Diversity: and another hint for your experiments – try adding collages of three and more photos to your creatives. This way, you can show the diversity of people possible to meet in the app/service you are promoting.

• Text: explain what exactly people will get from your offer, referring to their potential aspirations. Social apps and platforms may differ, as well as people’s aims. Some apps/sites are rather for flirting and romance, others are for those who want serious relationships and marriage, still, others are for those who just want to chat and meet friends. Make it clear from your description on a pre-lander and/or landing page. 

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Summary

Now, let’s sum things up! Your Social advertising strategy might be as follows:

• Ad format: Push, Popunder 
• GEOs: Tier-1 and Tier-2 (IT, US, DE, GB, FR, JP, CA) 
• Pricing model: CPA Goal, SmartCPC, or CPM when you get the testing results
• Platform: both, depending on your offer type
• OS: Android/Chrome or iOS/Mac OS
• Lead generation model: DOI (recommended for better income)
• Creatives: use a pre-lander, add maps, surveys, natural photos, collages, etc. 
• Tools to consider: Demographics and Interests Targeting, Multiformat campaign, Subzones 

And remember – PropellerAds has tons of high-quality traffic for your Social ad campaigns. So grab this guide and prepare to conquer the lonely hearts!