What's Hot In Digital

What’s working in paid social media right now?In this episode of What’s Hot in Digital, WHD’s Head of Paid Social Strategy, Steph McGrath, joins James to break down the strategies that are driving performance across lead gen and eCommerce accounts — from high-quality lead forms to AI-powered Advantage+ Shopping campaigns.Whether you’re running ads for your own business or managing campaigns for clients, this episode is packed with actionable takeaways.Here’s what we cover:• The lead form updates that are improving both quality and volume• How to use custom questions and conditional logic to pre-qualify leads• Why we’re using lead forms over landing pages in many accounts• How AI-driven Advantage+ Shopping campaigns are outperforming traditional setups• What to watch for when rolling these strategies out (and what not to do)Smart strategy. Better performance. Practical tips you can use today.Need help getting more from your paid social campaigns?WHD helps ambitious brands scale with performance-driven Meta Ads that convert.Visit https://whd.au to learn more.Hosted by James Walker – Managing Director at WHDGuest: Steph McGrath – Head of Paid Social Strategy at WHD

If you’re still relying on platform-reported ROAS to measure your marketing success, you’re missing the bigger picture.In this episode of What’s Hot in Digital, WHD’s Marketing Director Lana Hill joins James to unpack how businesses should actually be measuring marketing performance — and why most agency reports aren’t telling the full story.We break down MER (Marketing Efficiency Ratio), the hidden cost of siloed data, and how to understand true return on investment across multiple channels — especially when you’re scaling or testing top-of-funnel strategies.Here’s what we cover:• What MER is and why it matters• The problem with relying on individual platform ROAS• How to factor in platform costs, agency fees and true profitability• Why brand campaigns (like BVOD or TikTok) often look like a loss — but drive growth• The real metrics smart marketers track before scalingDon’t let vanity metrics drive your decisions. This is how to get clear on what’s actually working.Want marketing you can confidently scale?WHD helps ambitious brands track, optimise and grow through performance-first marketing.Visit https://whd.au to talk.Hosted by James Walker – Managing Director at WHDGuest: Lana Hill – Marketing Director at WHD

Most businesses are leaking money on Google Ads without realising it. In this episode of What’s Hot in Digital, James is joined by WHD’s Google Ads Specialist, Tia Scott, to break down the four simple but critical fixes that can immediately lift your campaign performance.If you’re running Google Ads — or paying someone else to — these are the settings you need to check.Here’s what we cover:The location targeting mistake that’s killing your local resultsHow to use negative keywords to instantly stop wasting spendWhy your match types might be attracting the wrong trafficThe conversion tracking setup that separates smart campaigns from blind onesThese are foundational — but they’re missed in the majority of accounts we audit. Don’t wait to fix them.Want Google Ads that actually drive results?WHD works with ambitious brands to build campaigns that cut waste and maximise ROI.Visit https://whd.au to talk strategy.Hosted by James Walker – Managing Director at WHDGuest: Tia Scott – Google Ads Specialist at WHD

Meta is sneakily switching on ad settings that are tanking your results — and unless you know exactly where to look, you’ll never even know it’s happening.In this episode, James is joined by WHD’s Senior Paid Social Specialist, Thom Riley, to uncover the hidden traps inside Meta Ads Manager. From sneaky auto-enhancements to dangerous copy changes, we break down what to watch for — and what to turn OFF — before your campaigns go live.If you’ve ever looked at your Meta ads and thought “this isn’t what I set up,” this episode is for you.🎯 What you’ll learn: - The auto-settings that are ruining your targeting - How Meta overrides your ad copy without telling you - The hidden features adding junk to your ads (like site links and irrelevant CTAs) - Why some placements kill performance — and how to fix them - And how to take back control of your Meta Ads accountDon’t waste another cent. Watch the full breakdown now.📌 Need help fixing your Meta Ads account?WHD helps ambitious brands build paid social campaigns that actually perform.Visit https://whd.au to book a strategy session.Hosted by James Walker – Managing Director at WHDGuest: Thom Riley – Senior Paid Social Specialist at WHDLearn more about WHD: https://whd.au

Google Ads has just launched a new feature called Platform Comparable Columns. While it might sound technical, it’s a game-changer for anyone running Demand Generation campaigns.In this episode of What’s Hot in Digital, James is joined by WHD’s Senior Google Ads Specialist, Brent Neale, to unpack exactly what this update means, why it matters, and how it can give you a clearer picture of what’s really driving conversions in your account.If you’re running Demand Gen and not seeing results, this might be why. This new metric gives credit where it’s due — and finally shows the impact of YouTube and Display activity that was previously hidden in your reporting.Here’s what we cover:• What Platform Comparable Columns actually are• Why your current reporting might be underplaying Demand Gen performance• How this update separates Demand Gen into its own ecosystem• The right way to structure your campaigns to get a true read on effectiveness• How to start comparing channel performance properly — without guessworkWe’re also setting up an in-house campaign to test this firsthand, so stay tuned for the results in a future episode.Need help getting more out of your Google Ads account?WHD works with ambitious brands to drive performance through smart, transparent campaigns.Visit https://whd.au to talk strategy.Hosted by James Walker – Managing Director at WHDGuest: Brent Neale – Google Ads Specialist at WHD