The Meta Ads strategy that worked in 2024 doesn't work in 2026. The platform has fundamentally changed: detailed targeting and manual optimisation are making way for AI-driven campaigns. And that's good news, if you know how to work with it.
Advantage+ is the new standard
Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns (ASC) are now the standard for e-commerce. Instead of building audiences yourself, you let Meta's algorithm do the work. What you provide: strong creatives and a good product catalogue. Meta then automatically tests combinations of audiences, placements and ads. The result? Lower cost per purchase and better scalability. Done right, Meta Ads can become your best growth engine. At Ares Gym Clothing we saw a 232% increase after implementing this approach.
Creative testing at scale
Creative testing is the new targeting. Where you used to test 20 audiences, you now test 50+ creative variations. That sounds like a lot of work, but it doesn't have to be. Work with a system: make 5-10 variations of your best-performing ads every week. Change hooks (the first 3 seconds), backgrounds, subtitles and formats. UGC content, videos made by real users or creators, performs better than produced studio content in most cases. People scroll past perfect advertising, but stop for something that looks real.
First-party data and broad targeting
First-party data is your secret weapon. With stricter privacy rules (iOS, cookie restrictions) Meta loses more and more signals. The solution: send back as much data as possible via the Conversions API (CAPI). Connect your CRM, your email platform and your webshop to Meta. The more data the platform has, the better it can optimise. Companies that have CAPI set up well see 15-25% better performance on average than companies relying only on the pixel.
Broad targeting isn't scary anymore. Meta's algorithm has become so good that in many cases you're better off with broad targeting (18-65, the whole country) than with niche audiences. The algorithm finds your ideal customer faster than you can manually. Combine broad targeting with strong creatives and let the data tell the story. Have a look at our Klaviyo integration to see how email and ads strengthen your results together.