DistroFitSocial & display ads
Paying platforms to put you in front of people who were not looking.
What it is
Advertising on social networks and display networks, one of the 19 traction channels. S3 Performance marketing in the three-lanes model. S6
When it works
Same conditions as paid search: revenue from new users funds more spend, and payback lands on the first purchase or within 6 to 12 months for subscriptions. S6 Weinberg’s test-design rule is to run four Facebook ads rather than forty, because you are testing whether the channel has signal. S1
What it needs from the product
Enough price per customer to cover the click, and creative that can be refreshed. Chen’s recommendation is to keep refreshing creative and publishers to hold the baseline. S21
How it decays
The 1,500-fold decline in clickthrough from 1994 to 2011 is the canonical example of this channel decaying. S21 Your spend also lives on a platform that can change its algorithm, fees or rules without notice. S22
What the report checks
The arithmetic gate compares your CAC ceiling against an assumed floor for social and display. Assumed, not benchmarked, and flagged as such in the report.
Sources
- S3 Growth Method, "19 traction channels for growth marketers" secondary source
- S6 Hockenmaier and Rachitsky, "Drive Growth by Picking the Right Lane"
- S1 Gabriel Weinberg, "The Bullseye Framework For Getting Traction"
- S21 Andrew Chen, "The Law of Shitty Clickthroughs"
- S22 Stripe, "Platform risk: how to identify it, assess it, and build a more resilient business"