Platform native optimisation is not enough: why paid social needs an audience led strategy

Chasing algorithms is costing you money

Why platform native optimisation matters, but cannot be the strategy

Let’s be clear upfront. Platform native optimisation matters.

Ads that ignore format, placement and platform behaviour will underperform. Creative needs to feel native. Media needs to respect how people actually use each platform. Anyone running paid social today understands that.

The problem is not platform first thinking.
The problem is stopping there.

For many senior marketers and performance leads, platform native optimisation has quietly become the strategy rather than one input into it. And that is where costs rise and results weaken.

Platform native is the baseline, not the differentiator

Optimising creative for each platform is table stakes.

Using the right formats, aspect ratios and placements is essential just to compete. Platforms reward content that feels native because it keeps users engaged. Ignoring that reality is not an option.

But when every brand follows the same guidance, the same formats and the same optimisation rules, differentiation disappears.

When platform recommendations become the primary decision driver:

• Creative converges instead of standing out
• Media strategies look increasingly similar
• Brands compete harder for the same attention
• Costs rise as efficiency is fought over

Platform native execution helps you enter the game. It does not help you win it.

Why paid media costs keep rising despite optimisation

Most paid media teams are doing exactly what platforms ask of them.

They optimise formats. They test relentlessly. They refresh creative frequently. Performance metrics look stable, sometimes even strong.

Yet spend keeps increasing just to maintain results.

This happens because optimisation is happening in isolation from audience understanding. Creative is built to satisfy platform signals rather than resonate deeply with people.

The consequences are subtle but expensive:

• Creative fatigue sets in faster
• Attention drops sooner
• Incremental gains require more spend
• Efficiency declines without obvious failure

Nothing breaks. Everything just costs more.

Platform signals tell you what happened, not why

Clicks, views and conversions are important. They are also incomplete.

Platform metrics show response, but they rarely explain intent, motivation or long term impact. Optimising exclusively around these signals leads to short term wins at the expense of sustained performance.

Without deeper audience insight, brands risk:

• Misreading why ads perform
• Doubling down on tactics that do not scale
• Overvaluing efficiency metrics while underbuilding memory
• Optimising away long term growth

This is how brands become trapped in constant testing cycles with limited learning.

Where audience first thinking changes the equation

Audience first strategy does not replace platform native optimisation. It gives it direction.

When paid media decisions start with real audience behaviour, platform optimisation becomes a tool rather than the driver.

Audience first paid media means:

• Creative is designed to resonate before it is optimised
• Platform formats serve the message, not the other way around
• Success is measured by quality of response, not just volume
• Media works harder because attention lasts longer

This is how brands reduce waste rather than chase efficiency.

The balance senior marketers are now seeking

Senior marketers and performance leads are not rejecting platform guidance. They are questioning its dominance.

They are seeing:

• Strong short term performance masking long term decline
• Rising CPMs despite best practice execution
• Creative teams burning budget on constant iteration
• Growth increasingly dependent on higher spend

The question has shifted from how to optimise better to what should be optimised in the first place.

Pepper’s approach: platform native, audience led

At Pepper, we believe platform native execution is essential, but it cannot be the strategy.

We start with audience insight, using research and behavioural understanding to shape creative and media decisions. Platform optimisation then enhances that work rather than dictating it.

Our approach:

• Grounds creative in audience intent and motivation
• Uses platform data as feedback, not instruction
• Measures success beyond surface level efficiency metrics
• Aligns brand and performance outcomes rather than trading them off

The result is paid media that sustains performance instead of inflating costs.