Why You Need To Invest In Social Media Advertising

It’s no secret that a social media presence is important for connecting with consumers and getting the word out about your business. There are a variety of elements that make up a successful campaign, such as posting on your page regularly, not being overly self-promotional, including images, responding and engaging with followers and sharing a variety of content. But another helpful way to increase your social media presence is through social media advertising. Why is this so crucial and how can you get started? Keep reading to find out!

Why Is Social Media Advertising Important?

Running a social media ad campaign is a fantastic way to reach new users. When you create an ad, you can determine exactly what type of user you want to target and place your content directly in their news feed.

In addition, the cost of running a social media advertising campaign is very cost-effective; you can choose a daily budget or a set amount for the life of the ad. The platform will charge you a few cents to a couple of dollars per click. Compared to traditional advertising, the overall cost is much more manageable, especially for tight budgets!

But is social media advertising really effective? Yes, it is! Here’s what recent research shows:

According to HubSpot:

• “54% of social browsers use social media to research products.
• 54% of Gen Z and 49% of millennials say social media is their preferred channel for ad influence.
• 79% of people say that user-generated content on social media significantly impacts their purchasing decisions.
• 73% of marketers believe that their efforts through social media marketing have been “somewhat effective” or “very effective” for their business.
• Facebook ads are used by 70% of marketers, and there were 10 million active advertisers on the platform in Q3 2021.
• In a 2021 HubSpot Blog poll, 79% of marketers report buying paid advertising on social media.”

And according to Forbes, three reasons your business should be advertising on social media are that it allows you to:

• Hyper-target customers.
• Build audiences.
• Track ROI.

Social Media Advertising: Initial Advertising Questions

What are your goals? Whatever they are, make sure you have SMART goals in mind! They should be: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely.

1. Where are your target users? Which social media platforms do they use? Facebook continues to be a popular choice, but it’s important you make the decision on which platforms to use based on the consumers you’re trying to reach. If you want to reach millennials, for example, you may want to invest in Instagram ads; if you’re targeting affluent women, Pinterest may be a better fit. For a younger crowd, TikTok or Twitter might be your best choice.
2. What’s your budget? How much can you invest in social media advertising? While all social media platforms allow you to set your own budget and advertising fees are based on cost per click or impression, there is a pricing difference between the actual social media networks and the different types of ads you run.
3. What sort of content do you have? Will you need to invest in professional photos or video, which may take funds from your overall budget? This is important to think about up front.

Getting Started With The Social Media Advertising Process

1. Define your goal: Are you trying to increase website traffic, page follows and so on? The results you’re hoping to achieve will drive your calls to action, images, videos, ad format and more.
2. Define your target audience: In addition to options like geographic location, age and gender, think about their interests. What drives them? Each of the platforms have different options, but most of them allow you to choose job titles, income levels, relationship status, entertainment, dining and so on. The better you can specify your target, the more personalized you can make your ad and the more successful it will be.
3. Test up front: We always like to start with testing up front. This means you run two virtually identical ads that have one variable so you can see which one your target consumers respond best to. You can use different images, text and ad formats. There are all sorts of ways you can test your ads to learn what resonates best with the people you’re trying to reach.
4. Design the creative: 
   • Each platform has different video and image specifications, so before you create your social media ad you’ll want to tailor your visuals to meet their requirements. Sprout Social has a fantastic guide to edit/crop your visuals so they’re the ideal size.
   • Each social media platform also has different specifications for content length. For example, Twitter limits the character counts much more than Facebook or LinkedIn. Before you write your ad’s copy, check out the character count limits you’ll be working with so you don’t need to change the text you carefully crafted when you’re uploading the ad.
5. Begin your ads: If you’re A/B testing, we recommend letting them run for five to seven days, then review which ad resonates better and put more money behind that one. In general, we recommend changing up your social media ads every two to three weeks so they don’t get stale in users’ feeds.
6. Review the results and compare: The more ads you can run, the more results you can compare. This will help you to see trends regarding which types of ads work best for your company.

Social Media Advertising Tips and Tricks

• Remember the call to action! How do you want users to respond to your ad? This is your call to action! If you can entice users with something of value (such as a special discount or giveaway), even better.
• Use clear, crisp visuals.
• Update your ad content every several weeks; if the ads show up in the same users’ feeds you don’t want them to get stale!
• Put the most compelling information first since that’s what draws users’ attention.
• Be relevant and timely.
• Don’t use too many words in your visuals; in fact, Facebook only allows you to cover 20% of the image with text.
• Consider including user-generated content to add a personal touch to the ads; just make sure you have permission from the user first!
• Include hashtags in your ads (remember each platform’s best practices when you do this).
• Keep the mobile user in mind! Remember, most social media users access the platform on their phones and tablets, so make sure the ads are compelling on these devices as well.
• Create a landing page for your website specifically for social media users who click your ad. Creating a custom page allows you to target the first page they see on your website.
• Remember to review analytics regularly; if you don’t look at what works and fine-tune your ads you’re wasting your hard-earned money.

Do You Need Help With Your Social Media Advertising Campaign?

Contact Three Girls Media today for a complimentary 30-minute phone consultation with our CEO, Erika Taylor Montgomery! We’re happy to help, whether it’s by proofreading content, fine-tuning your target audience or running the ad itself.

Special Offer:

Sign up for a complimentary consultation during December and receive an Annual Marketing Planning Guide valued at $475!  We offer a 30-minute phone consultation with our CEO, and can answer your questions and discuss your specific marketing needs - no strings attached. Call 408-218-2391 or contact us today to arrange your consultation!