2023 was an incredible year for us at SOMO. Our team expanded, and so did our portfolio of clients. We also celebrated three weddings, one engagement and a baby among team members – among team members – a notable number for a small team. However, this year also brought a major shift in our work environment with the arrival of AI, a new in-house creative team, and an increasingly diverse team with members from 6 different nationalities.
The industry remains challenging, with inflation and high interest rates affecting sales, and the ongoing crackdown on digital privacy regulation leading to constant changes in advertising platforms and limitations on tracking.
Reflecting on the past year is essential. Understanding our achievements and challenges helps us plan for a brighter future, continuing to innovate and grow. Let’s take a closer look at the highs and lows of 2023 and peek into what we’ve got lined up for 2024:
THE GOOD
AI Tools
ChatGPT was officially launched on November 30, 2022, but we only started using it at the beginning of 2023, and since then our work has never been the same. AI has radically changed many of our processes and given us a huge boost in productivity, not only in copywriting tasks but especially in tasks involving coding, data analysis, and dealing with third-party APIs.
It’s hard to believe how rapidly AI has advanced in less than a year. A few months after adopting ChatGPT, we were surprised (and amazed) by the launch of GPT-4, and more recently the introduction of custom GPTs.
Besides ChatGPT, we are also constantly testing new generative AIs. The new features of Photoshop, such as Generative Fill, are among the favourites of the creative team. However, it’s safe to say that none have had as significant an impact as the latest offerings from OpenAI.
Client Growth
Despite the eerie outlook on the economy, with persistent inflation and high-interest rates in many countries, we were very pleased to see growth among our clients, even in such a competitive and challenging scenario. These are just a few examples that make us proud of our work and reinforce our confidence in our digital marketing strategies:
Influencer Content
The use of UGC-style and influencer-generated content in paid media is not new, but this year we celebrated many successful partnerships, especially for Elite Body Contouring and Lug+Carrie.
Central to this success was the introduction of our in-house influencer marketing specialist, whose expertise was a game-changer in harnessing the full potential of influencer content, connecting the client to content creators that aligned perfectly with the brand values and campaign goals.
For Elite Body Contouring, videos crafted by influencers achieved a 20-40% lower CPA compared to non-influencer content during the same timeframe. Lug+Carrie also benefited from videos created by local micro-influencers, helping us to cut their Meta CPL by 35% in the second half of the year.
THE NOT SO GOOD
GA4 Migration
After a long transition period, June 30 marked the end of the long-reigning Universal Analytics. The classic version of Google Analytics stopped processing data to make way for the new version, known as GA4.
Even though we prepared in advance, the transition process was more problematic than we had anticipated. Many predicted that the day after the deadline would be the most chaotic (something similar to the Y2K bug), but that was not the case. Instead, problems emerged over time, and the fact that historical data were not imported into GA4 was a major headache when doing our monthly reports.
Moreover, GA4 had (and still has) many limitations in data measurement that did not exist in the previous version, such as thresholding, sampling, and incomplete demographic data, primarily caused by stricter privacy rules.
Although GA4 has improved in recent months with new features, we can’t deny that we miss the good old Universal Analytics and its reliability.
Documenting
Every day, we all learn new things. We frequently share helpful content and tips on Slack, and we also have a weekly training meeting where a team member teaches something new to the rest of the team. However, this not enough, and knowledge ends up being limited to one or a few people.
Obviously, we don’t want this to happen. We need to ensure that knowledge reaches as many people as possible so that everyone develops and learns new skills. For this, documenting processes is very important, but with the day-to-day rush and prioritising client work, this is usually neglected. Moreover, as platforms keep changing, many SOPs become outdated, and it takes a considerable effort to update and maintain our internal documentation.
Every Thursday, we gather to exchange fresh ideas and engage in discussions.
Underwhelming Experiment Results
When it comes to paid media, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. That’s why experimentation is key! By fostering a culture of innovation and discovery, we’re able to stay ahead of the curve and discover new strategies that work. However, every experiment carries risk, and some of our 2023 experiments did not yield the expected results, leading to a bit of frustration. This was evident in some of our TikTok conversion campaigns and the inconsistent performance of Instagram Reels ads, despite all the hype.
It’s important to keep in mind that an experiment’s failure with one client doesn’t necessarily mean it will fail with another. Continuing to test while cautiously mitigating risks remains one of our top priorities.
THE 2024 OUTLOOK
More AI
AI is not just a buzzword, it’s here to stay, and we believe it is the most significant technological and cultural revolution of recent times. We will continue to work to integrate AI tools more deeply into our processes. This doesn’t mean becoming lazier and delegating more tasks to AI, but rather increasing our productivity, freeing up more time for the things that matter, delivering better results to clients, and improving the quality of our work (and life) as a whole.
To achieve this, we will continue testing new tools beyond ChatGPT and documenting internal processes so that everyone can enjoy the benefits of AI.
More Experimentation
Like we said, paid media is all about experimenting, and no brand achieves desired growth without experimenting, taking risks, and trying new things. For the next year, we want to make our experimentation methods even more scientific, ensuring the decisions we make are all based on accurate data.
Customer Relationship
For us, the most important thing is the relationship we build with our clients, always based on honesty, transparency, and mutual respect. Our goal for 2024 is to continue putting the client first, always seeking healthy and sustainable growth for both sides.
We want to say a big thank you to all our clients for their trust in us last year. We hope the new year brings lots of success to all our clients, friends, and partners at SOMO. Let’s make 2024 an amazing year for everyone!
