Strategic Paid Advertising Plan

Process

1. Discovery

• Business type, products/services, target audience
• Current advertising status (active platforms, spend, performance)
• Goals: brand awareness, lead generation, e-commerce sales, app installs
• Budget range (monthly/quarterly)
• Timeline and urgency
• In-house team capacity vs agency needs

2. Competitive Analysis

• Identify top 3-5 competitors
• Analyze their ad presence across platforms (Google Ads Transparency, Meta Ad Library)
• Estimate competitor spend levels and platform mix
• Identify messaging themes and creative approaches
• Note keyword/audience gaps (opportunities competitors are missing)

3. Platform Selection

• Load industry template from

  assets/

  directory
• Match business type to recommended platform mix
• Read

  ../ads/references/budget-allocation.md

  for platform selection matrix
• Read

  ../ads/references/conversion-tracking.md

  for tracking setup requirements
• Assess platform fit based on:
  • Target audience demographics per platform
  • Product/service type suitability
  • Budget requirements per platform (minimums)
  • Sales cycle length and attribution needs
  • Creative capabilities and content availability

4. Campaign Architecture

Naming Convention

[Platform]_[Objective]_[Audience]_[Geo]_[Date]

META_CONV_Prospecting_US_2026Q1

Campaign Structure Template

Account
├── Brand Campaign (always-on, protect brand terms)
├── Non-Brand Prospecting
│   ├── Campaign 1: [Top Funnel - Awareness]
│   │   ├── Ad Group/Set 1: [Audience A]
│   │   └── Ad Group/Set 2: [Audience B]
│   ├── Campaign 2: [Mid Funnel - Consideration]
│   │   ├── Ad Group/Set 1: [Interest-based]
│   │   └── Ad Group/Set 2: [Lookalike/Similar]
│   └── Campaign 3: [Bottom Funnel - Conversion]
│       ├── Ad Group/Set 1: [High-intent]
│       └── Ad Group/Set 2: [Custom audience]
├── Retargeting
│   ├── Website Visitors (7-30 days)
│   ├── Engaged Users (video views, social engagement)
│   └── Cart Abandoners / Form Starters
└── Testing
    └── New audiences, formats, or messaging

5. Budget Planning

Monthly Budget Distribution

../ads/references/budget-allocation.md

Budget Pacing

• Month 1-2: heavy testing, expect higher CPA (learning)
• Month 3-4: optimize based on data, tighten targeting
• Month 5-6: scale winners, kill losers, expand
• Ongoing: 70/20/10 maintenance with quarterly reviews

6. Creative Strategy

Content Pillars

• Pain Point: address specific problems your audience faces
• Social Proof: testimonials, case studies, reviews
• Product Demo: show the product/service in action
• Offer: promotions, free trials, lead magnets
• Education: teach something valuable related to your product

Creative Production Plan

7. Tracking Setup Plan

8. Implementation Roadmap

Phase 1 — Foundation (Weeks 1-2)

• Install all tracking pixels and server-side tracking
• Set up conversion events and goals
• Create campaign structure and naming conventions
• Build initial audiences (custom, lookalike/predictive)
• Produce first batch of creative assets

Phase 2 — Launch (Weeks 3-4)

• Launch campaigns on primary platform(s) first
• Set conservative budgets and bidding (Maximize Clicks / Lowest Cost)
• Monitor daily for the first 7 days
• Verify conversion tracking is firing correctly

Phase 3 — Optimize (Weeks 5-8)

• Analyze initial data (minimum 2 weeks of data)
• Adjust bidding strategies based on conversion volume
• Kill underperforming ad groups/creatives (3x Kill Rule)
• Launch secondary platforms
• Begin A/B testing (creative, landing pages, audiences)

Phase 4 — Scale (Weeks 9-12)

• Scale winning campaigns (20% rule)
• Expand to testing platforms (10% budget)
• Implement advanced strategies (ABM, Shopping feeds, Smart+)
• Monthly performance reviews

Industry Templates

assets/

• saas.md

  — SaaS companies

• ecommerce.md

  — E-commerce stores

• local-service.md

  — Local service businesses

• b2b-enterprise.md

  — B2B enterprise

• info-products.md

  — Info products and courses

• mobile-app.md

  — Mobile app companies

• real-estate.md

  — Real estate

• healthcare.md

  — Healthcare

• finance.md

  — Financial services

• agency.md

  — Marketing agencies

• generic.md

  — General business template

Output

Deliverables

• ADS-STRATEGY.md

  — Complete strategic advertising plan

• CAMPAIGN-ARCHITECTURE.md

  — Campaign structure with naming conventions

• BUDGET-PLAN.md

  — Budget allocation with monthly pacing

• CREATIVE-BRIEF.md

  — Creative production plan with specifications

• TRACKING-SETUP.md

  — Tracking implementation checklist

• IMPLEMENTATION-ROADMAP.md

  — Phased rollout timeline

KPI Targets