Discover what your competition is advertising on social media
There is an easy (and free) way to find out what your competitors are up to on social media. I'm often surprised by how few people know about this. A while ago, Facebook created a library of all the ads that are being run on it's platform, in a bid to be more transparent It's a great way to spy on your competition to see what they are up to.
Just click on the link and enter your competitor facebook page. You can see all their active ads and filter them by platform (FB, IG, messenger, audience network), country and date of publication.
For example a search on Hilton will reveal a few clues as to their current strategy: they are targeting business travellers, with a series of funny video vignettes featuring different business hacks, to make the most of their business trips thanks to Hilton. There is also a lot of cocktail promotion. It's worth noting that the videos are specially tailored for social media, they are all in vertical format (which gives better results as suited for mobile viewing), engaging and short (less than 15 seconds).
Another search for CitizenM reveals that they operate two kind ofs ads. Brands awareness ads, which are essentially popular posts repurposed as ads. And currently promoting heavily their Copenhagen hotel, with a series of direct response ads. There is no use of the video, but all ads feature a call to action to book now, with a minimum price indication.
As you can see their is a lot you can get from using this tool. And you can always check other brands in search for inspiration. Have fun!