// LEARN_PERFORMANCE_MARKETING
Learn the short-form-video game.
Performance marketing fundamentals for the surfaces that decide retention in the first three seconds — TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. Each article scores back to the rubric.
// FUNDAMENTALS
What is performance marketing?
Paid-traffic ads designed for measurable conversion, not brand recall — and how the short-form-video lens (hook rate, sound-off, native execution) reshapes every traditional best-practice you know. Calibrated for TikTok, Reels, and Shorts.
Read the fundamentals →
// SCORING_RUBRIC
The 6-category rubric
Hook, clarity, CTA, brand fit, native feel, pacing — what each category actually measures, why hook is weighted heaviest, and how to read a Deep Dive score line by line.
Break down the rubric →
// HOOK_LIBRARY
Hooks
30 proven short-form-video hook formulas with real examples — pattern interrupt, curiosity gap, problem-agitate-solution, social proof, contrarian, number-led. Works across TikTok, Reels, and Shorts. Copy a template, rewrite your hook, score the new cut.
Browse 30 hook formulas →
// SOUND_OFF
Designing for sound-off
Sound-off rates vary by platform (TikTok ~85% muted, Reels ~60%, Shorts ~25%) but on-screen text and visual storytelling are universal. The three failure modes and what strong sound-off design looks like across all three platforms.
Read the sound-off rules →
// CTA_ARCHITECTURE
CTA architecture
CTAs aren't buttons — they're an instruction sequence using each platform's native mechanics. Code clarity, save-bait, comment-bait, pinned-comment, link-in-bio framing — the primitives, when each works on TikTok / Reels / Shorts, and the mid-roll + closer pattern that converts.
Build a CTA that converts →
// ALGORITHM_SIGNALS
What the algorithm rewards
Five upstream signals that tilt early reaction: distribution likelihood (FYP / Reels feed / Shorts shelf), audio-trend alignment, hashtag effectiveness, first-frame thumb-stopper, paid-amplification suitability (Spark Ads / Boosted Reels / VAC). The Deep Dive scores all five per platform.
Read the algorithm signals →
// REELS_SAVES
Reels — why saves rule
Saves outrank comments, shares, and watch-time as the #1 Reels ranking signal. Save-bait copy patterns that score, anti-patterns (link-first openers, premature CTAs), and the save → DM → LTK conversion funnel. Cross-platform: TikTok comments + Shorts repeat-views contrasted.
Read the save economy →
// REELS_BOOST
Boosted Reels vs. Advantage+
Two Meta paths into Reels-feed paid placement, two different creative bars. Boost inherits the organic Reel's audio + signal; Advantage+ generates variants you may not control. Audio licensing, safe-zone interaction, and a workflow for scoring one cut against both paths at once.
Compare the two paths →
// REELS_AESTHETIC
Why pure UGC underperforms on Reels
Reels rewards aesthetic-led polish more than TikTok does. A raw selfie-cam clip scoring 78 on TikTok might land at 62 on Reels for the same script. The aesthetic gap quantified, audio-visual sync as a Reels signal, and the per-platform letterboxing / color / b-roll-density playbook.
Read the aesthetic playbook →
// FB_REELS
Facebook Reels vs. Instagram Reels
Same Meta ranker, different audiences — Facebook skews Boomer + rural-US, Instagram concentrates 18-34. Cross-posting mechanics, Andromeda creative-diversity collapse, native-feel calibration drift, and a decision tree for FB-native vs same-MP4 cross-post.
Read the FB Reels playbook →
// FB_FEED
Facebook Feed video in the short-form era
Feed video is not short-form — 4:5 / 1:1, sound-on more often, longer dwell, older intent-quality audience. When Feed out-converts Reels, where The Ad Bench's short-form rubric under-reads dwell, and how to ship Feed-first vs Reels-first as part of Advantage+ Shopping creative diversity.
Read the FB Feed playbook →
// CROSS_RECUT
One shoot, three cuts
Most operators shoot once and post the same MP4 everywhere — that's a 15-30 point native-feel penalty on at least one platform. Capture rules that survive all three cuts, plus the TikTok (raw, looser) / Reels (polished, save-bait closer) / Shorts (looped, voiceover-forward) cut profiles.
Read the recut workflow →
// HOOK_PORTABILITY
Hooks that travel — and hooks that don't
Pattern-interrupt hooks land harder on TikTok, curiosity-gap dominates Reels, number-led wins Shorts. Map every formula in the 30-hook library against per-platform portability, plus the workflow for rewriting a winning hook for a second platform.
Read the portability map →
// PLATFORM_RULES
2026 ad rules across platforms
The actual ad-policy rules — TikTok, Reels, Shorts — plus FTC influencer disclosure requirements. Spec, banned categories, audio licensing, AI-content labeling, before/after disclaimer hygiene. With citations.
Read the rule book →
// AD_SPECS
US ad-platform specs, 2026
One reference page for every popular US ad surface — TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, Pinterest, Reddit, LinkedIn, X, and Threads. Aspect ratios, file sizes, length caps, character limits, safe zones, audio licensing, disclosure rules. With citations.
Open the spec sheet →
// AFFILIATE_ADS
Affiliate ads
TikTok Shop, LTK, and DTC affiliate creative scores by a different rubric than brand-direct ads. FTC disclosure timing, code clarity, save-bait, comment-bait CTA, native-execution penalty — all weighted heavier when affiliate signals are detected.
Read the affiliate rubric →
// BRAND_KIT
Brand voice + rubric weights
How the per-team Brand Kit (voice doc, banned words, compliance posture, six rubric-weight presets) bakes brand context into every analysis your team runs — no copy-paste into prompts, no remembering to set the vertical.
Set up your brand kit →
// DRAFTING_WORKFLOW
From brief to ship
Chain the drafting workbenches into a creative-ops loop: brief → concepts → compare → variants → hook test → compliance → voice match → thumbnail → ship → save the winning hook. Stage by stage with which surface to use when.
Learn the loop →
// CREATOR_VETTING
Vetting UGC creators
Replace 90-second feed scrolls with quantified hire/pass calls. Use the creator scorecard, swipe file, and brief template library to vet UGC talent before outreach in three minutes per creator.
Read the vetting flow →
// VERTICAL_PLAYBOOKS
Vertical playbooks
Per-vertical recommendations: rubric weight presets, compliance posture, banned-word lists, and common pitfalls for ecommerce, beauty, fitness/supplements, SaaS, fintech, gaming, education, and TikTok Shop affiliate.
Pick your vertical →
// REFERENCE
Reference + how-to
- What is hook rate?Definition, benchmarks, why algorithms care.
- How to make a Reels adSave-bait, aesthetic floor, Advantage+.
- TikTok vs Reels vs Shorts ad costSide-by-side CPM / CPC / CVR / ROAS — pick by what you sell.
- Reels ad cost in 2026CPM, CPC, Boosted vs Advantage+ pricing.
- What is CPM?Definition, formula, platform benchmarks.
- What is ROAS?Definition, ROAS vs ROI, benchmarks.
- What is CTR?Definition, formula, benchmarks per platform.
- What is CPA?CPA = CPM × (1/CTR) × (1/CVR), benchmarks.
// OTHER_PLATFORMS
Other platforms
// CREATIVE_CRAFT
Creative craft
- Writing hooks that stop the scrollPattern-interrupt, curiosity-gap, problem-agitate-solution.
- Caption strategyCaption mechanics + hashtag tradeoff per platform.
- Thumbnail strategyCover-frame design, first-frame stop-rate.
- Sound designAudio-trend selection, sound-off legibility, voiceover pacing.
- Storytelling structure4-6 beat ad narrative shapes that work in 15-30s.
- Social proof typesTestimonial, expert, peer, statistical — when each lands.
- Product demo adsDemo-mechanic patterns, before/after, the reveal.
- Testimonial adsUGC-native delivery, FTC disclosure inline.
- UGC vs studio productionWhen each wins, native-feel penalty math.
- How to write a creative briefBrief template that survives the recut.
// OPERATOR_PLAYBOOKS
Operator playbooks
- A/B testing ad creativeIsolated-variable testing, sample-size math.
- Ad budgetingDaily cap math, creative-test allocation, scaling triggers.
- Ad creative fatigueFrequency thresholds per platform, refresh cadence.
- Analyzing competitor adsTeardown via Meta Ad Library, TikTok Top Ads, YouTube Ads Transparency.
- Direct response vs brand awarenessRubric tilt by objective, how scoring shifts.
- Organic to paid funnelGraduating an organic post to Spark / Boost / Demand Gen.
- Repurposing organic content as paidLegal gates, native-feel preservation, re-cut math.
- Reading the retention curveDropoff-curve interpretation across platforms.
- Whitelisting + dark postingSpark Ads, partnership ads, allowlisting mechanics.
- When to postPer-platform active-window tables.
- Reading the storyboard rebuildHow the analyzer produces 4-6 beat re-cuts.
// READY_TO_TEST
The fastest way to learn the rubric is to run an ad through it. Drop a video, image, TikTok / Reels / Shorts URL, or script and see your scores.