- Sometimes having an engaging message to share
on social media isn't enough to earn
the attention you're after.
Ensuring the visibility of your messaging on these channels
often requires investing in paid advertising
to promote your campaigns amongst your customer base.
Knowing what paid advertising options are available
on social media and how to best structure an ad campaign
is important for having a balanced,
results-focused strategy.
But first, what is paid advertising on social media?
Paid advertising is when you purchase exposure
to certain audiences or preferred placement
of your messaging on social media.
The primary way leading social networks generate revenue
is to provide a diverse set of paid ad options.
So much so that Facebook earned over 67 billion
in ad revenue in 2019.
In contrast posting organically is when your organization
shares content on social media without paying for exposure.
For example, your company shares an image on Instagram
and it organically reaches less than 2% of your audience.
Instead, you can pay for that post to be promoted
amongst a higher percentage of your customer base
with Instagram's advertising options.
More money spent strategically often means reaching more
of the right people.
So, what's the best way to pay to reach more
of the right people on social media?
Start by understanding that most social networks allow you
to target a specific audience and choose the type of ad
that corresponds with the message, offer
and the goal of your campaign.
And of course, each gives you the ability to measure results
on cost per impression, cost per click
or a cost per conversion basis.
With that in mind decide which audience members
you're trying to reach.
Is it families of four, veterans?
Just be specific to gain focus.
After that decide what you're trying to do
with your audience.
Or in other words what's the goal
of the advertising campaign?
Are you trying to drive sales, encourage app installs?
Once you've picked your audience and have a goal in mind
the type of ad, message and offer should also reflect
the customer you're targeting and what action
you want them to take.
Next it's time to choose a budget depending on the results
you're after and the cost associated
with ads on that network.
For instance, LinkedIn's ads are known to cost more
than other options but are particularly effective
at targeting the right people based on their job title.
There isn't an ideal starting budget as it really depends.
Set a budget based on what makes you comfortable
and your company's resources and then scale up.
Your first advertising campaign on social media
will include lots of experimentation.
I recommend investing a small portion of your budget
on different campaigns across platforms to see
which ads perform for you and where.
Lastly, monitor the progress of your paid ads regularly
and adapt future campaigns based on those results.
Follow these steps to make the most of paid advertising
and get your message heard.