The framework for creating ads prospects read for 17+ seconds (without using thought-leader posts or video)

Hey — Patrick here from Ad Juice!

Welcome to this week’s edition of The Squeeze, the newsletter created for B2B marketing operators looking for fresh LinkedIn Ads tactics, proven on real ad accounts.

Anybody that’s been running LinkedIn Ads for a while will know this: single image ads typically get the lowest dwell times. Even the best ones rarely push past 5 or 6 seconds. 

That’s why I had to double-take when I was running through my daily client checks this week: 17 seconds average dwell time on a newly launched set of single image ads.

That’s higher than the best performing thought leader posts in the same campaign, which still had a respectable 10+ seconds average, but usually out-perform single images.

Insane.

Now, you might be asking: “why are you talking about dwell time, I thought you were all about pipeline!?” You’re right to call me out on that. 

Here’s why it matters:

Most data shows non-skippable ad inventory outperforms skippable ad inventory for building recall. The reason? Non-skippable ad inventory forces longer dwell times.

That data might be for video. But it applies to every ad format. More dwell time = higher recall = more pipeline. So, you should absolutely be optimising to push dwell time as high as possible, whatever the ad format you’re using.

So, what exactly made this set of ads so attention-worthy? Well, I did something I don’t see anybody else do with image ads right now.

Let’s take a look at how it works.

One of the main questions I’m asking myself when I’m building new ads for clients is this: how can I create something distinctive, that stands out in the noisy market they’re operating in.

It’s a legitimately tough challenge, and it’s the part of the process I spend the most time on. I’ve built all my systems to automate as many tasks as possible just so I can dedicate more time to this part.

Now, this client is targeting B2B SaaS companies, which is easily one of the noisiest markets there is on LinkedIn. After building the initial set of pain-related ads, I wasn’t convinced we had a distinctive enough angle to really slap. 

When you have an intuition like that, you have to trust it.

After drinking some coffee, going for a walk, and staring at a blank screen for an hour or so, I had a brain wave: I’m gonna try approaching the ad image the same way I approach writing a LinkedIn post:

Honestly, I felt stupid I hadn’t thought of it sooner. If it works for organic text-only posts, why wouldn’t it for an ad image?

See, everybody (including me), approaches ads like this:

Marketers targeting B2B SaaS companies do it 10x as much, it’s just the default playbook now.

Sadly, I can’t share an image of the actual ads I used, for client confidentiality reasons. But, I can walk you through a working example so you catch the gist and test it yourself. 

Let’s give it a go.

*Caveat, this is only going to work ⁠if ⁠you actually have something genuinely bold, and interesting, to say. If you don’t, it won’t work.

For the image headline, treat it like a LinkedIn post hook, rather than an ad headline.

You’re not trying to be clever, witty, or funny. You’re trying to make people double-take and think: “WTF did they just say!?”

As an example, for Ad Juice, I could use hooks like: 

I’m not talking about a pain point. I’m not talking about the product. I’m not feature dumping. I’m starting with a unique, provocative POV that arouses curiosity.

Most companies have these when you do enough digging.

Here’s a few templates you can test:

That list is non-exhaustive, and is more of a starting point. You could also analyse some of your best-performing thought leader post hooks for inspiration here, or just get creative.

Here’s an example I could run for Ad Juice:

It’s bold, provocative, and counter-intuitive. That’s likely to hook attention.

I was lucky, because the client I was working with had a literal treasure trove of diagrams, infographics, frameworks, and process maps, outlining the unique methodology they’re applying to the category they operate in.

Most B2B SaaS companies, especially ones with product marketing arms, usually have a mountain of these types of assets you can pull from too.

With the ads I launched, I decided to do something not many advertisers do when they’re building single image ads: I didn’t simplify the diagrams.

Most advertisers simplify images on single image ads. Which, now that I’m thinking about it, seems crazy since complex visuals perform the best organically. It makes sense they would for paid ads too.

So, I kept the supporting images intentionally complex, placing the bet that the provocative hook would make prospects intrigued enough to want to read deeper.

In this case, the bet payed off.

Here’s a few different visual frameworks you can use for communicating your process:

I used all 3 of those in the ads above.

Here’s the example from step 1, with the process added:

It’s quite a busy process diagram. But, if the hook worked, it’ll entice readers to scan the diagram to understand what I’m saying.

Now, all of that work is useless if you don’t give prospects a good reason to click.

For the final step, you’ll want to add an offer that stands out in the sea of “book a call” or “book a demo” that 90% of competitor ads feature.

It’s not that those CTAs don’t work, it’s just that they’re too overused to really turn heads and ramp up dwell time. When the goal is dwell time, book a demo isn’t the ace up your sleeve.

In the case of the ads with the 17+ second dwell times, we used a strong guarantee I know few others in the category wouldn’t be willing to compete with. No one else, to my knowledge, is offering what they’re offering.

Here’s a few offer positioning tactics you can test: 

Here’s what the ad we’ve been building looks like with all 3 components:

It’s a bold offer few others in my category would touch. That’s enough to drive eyes to the primary copy, which would expand on the PoV and drive dwell time even higher.

Just recently, I posted on LinkedIn about how my purpose with the newsletter wasn’t just to teach playbooks. Playbooks alone are worthless. It’s the thinking behind them that makes them successful. 

So, one of the key purposes of the newsletter is to also help people reshape how to think about marketing problems, so they’re better equipped to adapt if the playbook doesn’t work. Or, even better, develop their own new playbooks based on intuition and clear thinking.

So, that leaves me with, what I think is the key principle behind today’s topic: don’t be afraid to pull ad inspiration from formats outside of the format you’re developing. 

This is an easy pattern to get stuck in.

You’re building single image ads, so you build a single image ad mood board. You’re building video ads, so you build a video ad mood. Etc. Etc. Etc.

Instead, ask yourself:

The possibilities for unique ad angles your competitors didn’t think of, and nobody else is doing, is endless!

That’s it from me this week. Thanks for reading and catch ya in the next one 🤘

P.S. Wanna have me run your LinkedIn Ads for you? Hit this link to book a 30 minute strategy call where I’ll ask a few questions about your biz and strategy, then send across an in-depth 90 day roadmap to get your account generating consistent pipeline.