What Are Social Media Ads?
Social network advertising, or social media targeting, are adverts which appear specifically on social networking services (Facebook(opens in a new tab), Instagram(opens in a new tab), LinkedIn, etc). Social media ads are arguably one of the best ways to reach a new target audience—fast. They utilise the data users post and share throughout the many different platforms to create highly personalised content, which hopefully ends in your brand gaining more customers.
How to Get Started
Advertising on social media is an excellent way to reach a specific audience. You will first need to understand what demographic you are looking to target. Teens? Tiktok(opens in a new tab) is a great place to start. Mums? Facebook. Understanding exactly who you want to reach is imperative as you can waste time and money advertising on the wrong platform reaching out to the wrong audience.
Think about what you offer. Which social media platform speaks to you and your desired audience specifically? Advertising to people aged between 18-29—Snapchat is a good option. But attempting to reach that same demographic on LinkedIn, for example, will be a waste of money and effort, as that age group generally doesn’t use that platform as much. According to Emarketer(opens in a new tab), marketers waste up to one-quarter of their budgets on poor or unresearched advertising!
The Platforms to Consider
The number of daily users across platforms(opens in a new tab) has been steadily increasing over the years. The potential reach to an audience is growing, so choosing the correct platform to advertise your brand is very important. We’ve broken some of the most popular social media platforms down and condensed them below:
- Social ads of Facebook
Holding the title of the world’s largest social media platform, Facebook ads have the potential to reach an enormous amount of people. It’s very visual with great photos and condensed, easy-to-read content that has the potential to go a long way. - Ads on Instagram
Instagram is based around photos and videos. Ads on Instagram are integrated into the feed and on the Stories section, so fully optimising your video and photo content for the ads will be incredibly beneficial as your ads will appeal more to the eye of the average Instagram user. It’s also the perfect platform to show in detail what you do. - Ads on Snapchat
With 238 million daily active users, it provides a great base to advertise to a generally younger audience. The benefits of advertising on Snapchat are that the ads seem more authentic (the opportunity to show behind the scenes footage) and there is generally less competition compared with the other, larger platforms. - Ads on YouTube
The closest you’ll get to traditional advertising. Think about what you see on TV and use stories to connect with people. - Ads on TikTok
The baby of the bunch but not to be underestimated. Put your creative hat on and try to appeal to the typically younger audience that uses the app! - Ads on LinkedIn
A social media platform with a large professional user base. Here, LinkedIn will help certain brands reach out to a corporate audience.
When to Pay
Considering starting a social media marketing campaign? Before splashing the cash and risk losing your investment in wasted ads, read some of our some tips:
- Have a solid understanding of your demographic or target audience
- Calculate your budget and stick to it (social media ads are whatever you want them to be but be sure you don’t just throw money at it)
- Pick the social media platform that speaks to your brand and audience
Why Pay?
Once you have your plan in place and you’re confident you have the right ads, for the right people, on the right platform—you’ll begin to reap the benefits by:
- Amplifying your reach
- Boosting your brand awareness
- Gaining access to mobile users
- Gathering market information
Overall, take some time and fully plan before splashing any cash on social media adverts. Having a clear idea of what you want to advertise to who and where is imperative as anything outside that structure will result in wasted funds. And it doesn’t have to be a drag. Enjoy it! Appeal to your audience and show your enthusiasm for what you do and what you offer. Good luck!
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