In theory, paid media should be the most direct way to grow your business. You invest budget → you reach your audience → you generate revenue. Simple, right?
In reality, it rarely works that cleanly. Most paid media budgets aren’t just underperforming — they’re actively leaking money every single day. The good news?
Once you know where the cracks are, you can fix them — fast.
At Heard, we’ve audited and rebuilt enough accounts to know the patterns. Here’s why most brands’ paid media budgets fail — and how to turn yours into a high-performing growth engine.
The Problem:
Too many brands launch paid campaigns without a real plan. They pick some keywords, target some interests, throw some ads into the mix — and hope for the best. Paid media becomes a scattergun approach, not a strategic investment.
The Fix:
Every campaign should start with a clear strategy:
What exactly are you trying to achieve?
Who are you targeting, and where are they in the buying journey?
How will success be measured (beyond vanity metrics)?
A strong, documented strategy ties every pound you spend to a specific, measurable outcome.
The Problem:
Without accurate tracking, you’re flying blind. Poor tracking leads to false conclusions: you kill campaigns that are working, you scale ones that aren’t. Worse, you can’t properly attribute revenue across channels — meaning your entire performance picture is distorted.
The Fix:
Invest in clean tracking and robust attribution from the start.
Set up server-side tracking where possible.
Align platform events (Meta, Google Ads, LinkedIn) with your CRM and sales data.
Build a dashboard that focuses on bottom-line metrics, not just clicks or impressions.
At Heard, we make sure you’re seeing the truth — not just the numbers that look good in a report.
The Problem:
You can have the best creative and copy in the world — but if it’s shown to the wrong people, it won’t convert. Many brands rely on overly broad audiences or lazy lookalike targeting, leading to wasted spend and low engagement.
The Fix:
Build layered audiences based on real buyer behaviour, not just demographics.
Continuously test and refine targeting to match customer intent.
Use exclusions and negative targeting just as aggressively as you use targeting.
Precision beats reach every time.
The Problem:
Bad creative kills good campaigns. If your ads don’t capture attention, differentiate your offer, and drive action, it doesn’t matter how sophisticated your targeting is — your results will stall.
The Fix:
Test multiple creative angles and formats, not just variations of the same message.
Focus on strong hooks in the first 3 seconds.
Build creative specifically for platform behaviour (what works on TikTok won’t work on LinkedIn).
Never stop iterating. Creative fatigue is real — fight it.
Great creative isn’t just an art. It’s a performance tool.
The Problem:
Many brands (and agencies) launch campaigns, set a few rules, and leave them to run. In a constantly changing auction environment, that’s a fast track to diminishing returns.
The Fix:
Paid media needs active management — daily if necessary.
At Heard, agility isn’t optional — it’s built into everything we do.
Paid media done badly is a cost.
Paid media done properly is an investment that compounds over time.
If you’re serious about making your budget work harder — and generating measurable growth — it’s time to work with a team that builds campaigns engineered for scale, not just spend.
Ready to find out what your paid media could really be doing?
Book your free Paid Media Audit today →