One of the most common activities people engages in while online is using social media. Over 4.26 billion individuals around the world utilized social media in 2021, and it is anticipated that this figure will nearly double by the year 2027, reaching almost 6 billion users.
You might say that the number of social media users is certainly growing rapidly!
Because there are a lot of brands competing for people's attention on social media, it can be challenging to stand out and get noticed by people.
Brands that want to be successful need to put in a lot of effort to produce content that is interesting, develop advertising campaigns that are successful, and position themselves strategically so that they can reach their target audience.
So if you have been struggling to start your business and get more people interested in your brand, having effective social media advertising might be the solution!
Here, you will get to know more about the benefits of Social Media Advertising together with the best platforms and strategies that could work for your business!
What is Social Media Advertising?
Social Media Advertising is the use of paid ads on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms to reach ideal customers.
Social media ads are a quick and easy way to connect with customers and boost marketing campaigns.
What are the benefits of Social Media Advertising?
You can make more people aware of your brand
According to Hootsuite, statistics about Social Media Advertising for 2023 suggest that running social media ads is still a “failsafe” way to get more people to know your brand.
With that being said, social media ads can help increase your brand awareness which could actually aid as well in setting your business apart from your competitors and giving it an edge in the market.
You can go after your target audience
In social media advertising, you can decide where to put your ads to target your audience, especially if you know where they are most active, mostly gathered, and easiest to reach.
You can get more engagements and leads
You can promote your brand and build engagement by creating engaging content that resonates with your target audience.
On your social media ads, you can add links to a landing page on your website that has a call to action (CTA) like “Buy Now” or “Subscribe” and usually a form to fill out (like an email or phone number).
With this, you can make use of email marketing, such as AWeber and GetResponse to nurture your leads and keep them engaged.
You have more say over your preferred ads and budget
When you use a social media ad platform instead of traditional advertising, you have more control over the ads that will be shown to your target audience and the amount of money you want to spend on the ads.
Some platforms require you to spend between $1 and $5 per day on ads, but you can turn ads on or off at any time.
This gives marketers a better sense of control over the campaign and more ways to make it better as it goes on.
You can have a system for tracking your ads
The great thing about social media is that you can use social media metrics to keep track of almost everything. With social media metrics, you can keep an eye on nearly everything.
What are the Strategies that Work in Social Media Advertising?
Setting your Social Media Campaign Goals
You must be clear about your goals to save you a lot of time, money, and effort. If your goals are defined, you know exactly what you want from your campaign.
To get you started, here are some goals that you might want to consider:
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- Make your brand more well-known and visible.
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- Get more people to follow you and interact with you on social media
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- Get more leads and sales
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- Raise your sales and income
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- Get to know your customers and partners
Knowing your target audience
If you want your social media ads to work, ensure that you have a clear picture of who your ideal audience is. See to it that your ads will aim at the right people and, of course, make sense to them.
Remember, the more you know about your target audience, the better you'll be able to target your ads, especially as you build your brand.
Additionally, remarketing to your customers will remind them of your brand and may make them more likely to buy from you again. So it is important to lead them to your website.
Showcasing your business (and your creativity) through DIY websites and landing pages like Leadpages could entice your visitors to take action.
Looking for the best Social Ad Platforms
When deciding which social media platforms to use, you should remember that each has its own audience. So, choose a platform where your ideal customers are.
If you already use social media, pay attention to which platforms do well and which organic posts get the most interaction so you can reach the right people.
According to WebFX, the best social media ad platforms are the following:
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- Snapchat
Let's take a look at each platform and the type of ads that can be utilized so you can decide which social media advertising will work best for you.
Since Facebook is the biggest social media site in the world, it's a safe bet that it's an excellent place to advertise your brand. Through Facebook advertising, it can potentially reach 2.11 billion people.
Here are some advertising options on Facebook that can help you reach your campaign goals:
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- Image and Video ads
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- Stories ads
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- Carousel ads
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- Slideshow ads
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- Collections ads
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- Messenger ads
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- Playable ads
So if you want to explore more about Facebook ads, follow this link.
Instagram is a great place for brands to show off products that are visually appealing and easy to use in visual media. It has the second-highest engagement rate of all social media platforms.
Instagram has become the go-to platform for product research for 62% of its users.
Before we get into the different kinds of ads, you have to take note that you need a business account to run ads on your Instagram account. Explore Instagram Ads here.
Here are the advertising options for Instagram:
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- Image and Video ads
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- Instant Experience ads
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- Collection ads
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- Explore feed ads
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- Polling sticker ads
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- Instagram Shopping ads
Since 2006, Twitter has been a popular social media site, and because of this, the number of Twitter ads has grown.
Although it might not be the first social network that comes to mind in terms of social media advertising, it is noteworthy to know that there are 486 million active Twitter users that could potentially see your ads.
Here are different ads on advertisements:
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- Image and Video ads
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- Carousel ads
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- Moment ads
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- Text ads
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- Follower ads
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- Twitter Amplify ads
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- Twitter Takeover ads
You can use Twitter Ads Manager to check out more about their advertising options.
TikTok
TikTok is a fairly new platform that has a lot of potential to reach consumers, especially young audiences.
According to Hootsuite, TikTok's user base keeps growing (as of Q3 2022, it had 1.02 billion active users and was still growing). It’s always been the No.1 app in terms of time spent and overall positive sentiment.
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- Users spend 95 minutes per day on TikTok
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- Users spend 23.6 hours per month on TikTok
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- 78.6% of internet users use TikTok to look for funny or entertaining content
Most of the advertising on TikTok is done through videos that show up on users' “For You” pages. These ads are nine-second videos, and users can click “Shop Now” to go straight to the brand's website and finish their purchases.
TikTok has TikTok for business that helps you target your ads to the right people. Here are some format ads in Tiktok:
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- Image and Video ads
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- In-Feed ads
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- Hashtag challenges ads
LinkedIn is a platform for business, and both brands and individuals can use it to get their names out there. According to LinkedIn's official statistics, the corporation had more than 875 million users in more than 200 countries as of November 2022 last year.
Now, in LinkedIn Marketing Solutions, you can choose your Ad format such as:
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- Single Image and Video ads
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- Carousel ads
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- Text ads
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- Event ads
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- Spotlight ads
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- Follower ads
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- Conversation ads
Snapchat
Snapchat is most popular among millennials and the Gen Z audience which tends to favor casual and fun content. People who use Snapchat are still mostly young. Nearly 20% of the people who uses video messaging app are between the ages of 18 and 24.
If you want to reach Gen Z and young millennials with your social media strategy, Snapchat is a great place to do it.
Snapchat offers several types of ads, including
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- Single Image and Video ads
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- Collection ads
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- Story ads
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- Lenses AR ads
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- Commercials ads
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- Filters ads
Understanding your advertising options
As presented above, there are many platforms and formats for ads that you can choose from.
Thus, you have to find out what kinds of ads you can put on the platform, where they are shown, what type and size of materials you'll need (like photos or videos), and what kind of return you can expect.
A good thing to remember is that if you're just starting out, you can't expect a one-time ad or an ad that only runs for a few days to bring in a lot of money.
All of these social media sites let you set budgets to meet your own financial needs.
Setting up your business accounts on Google and social media platforms
Next, you have to set up your Google business account and social media accounts so people can look at your products or services when they visit your profile.
Google My Business works with Google's search results and Google Ads, making it easier for people in your area who are looking for products and services to find your business.
To increase your social media presence for your business, you have to set up your social media accounts to help you connect with potential customers and improve your marketing efforts.
Simple information about your business, a logo, and one or two photos are all you need to get started.
Creating Engaging Ads and Campaigns
To make ads that are more entertaining or informative and not just sales pitches, you need to gain a deeper familiarity with your audience.
But only focus on making an entertaining and engaging post that you remember to tell them how your business can help them. You have something valuable to give them, so make sure they know what it is.
Continuously learning from a few simple design and strategy tips that could help represent your brand could soon help you grab people's attention and get real results.
From ads, you can also continue to reach and keep them engaged and updated on their emails through AWeber, where you can find a huge selection of stock images and prompts for your email to inspire your target audience to take a desired action.
Tracking your Ads
Advertisements on social media platforms are more sophisticated and organized as they record every single view, click, and conversion that occurs.
In social media marketing, facts are significant, so you should base your selections on what's actually performing well rather than on hunches.
Ad tracking will give you information that will help you learn more about your audience and make ads that work better. If you use ad tracking, you can give your audience a better ad experience, which will make them more likely to interact with your ads.
Remember, the higher customer engagement, the higher returns for your business.
What else do you want to know about Social Media Advertising? Let us know by leaving your questions and comments below!
