“You will regret every cent not spent on Facebook and Instagram advertising.” – Gary Vaynerchuk (entrepreneur, New York Times bestselling author, speaker and internet personality)
If you are on any social media network, then you have definitely already been targeted in some or other way to receive ads. A business can target its audience with relevant messages through specific platforms by identifying the demographics and interests of the ideal client and then serving them with relevant and intriguing content aimed at capturing their attention.
Social media advertising has taken off big time, but what exactly is it? Simply put, social media advertising is the use of paid-for advertisements, which are served to specifically targeted audiences through demographic information on various social media platforms. The ultimate goal is to have content about your product or service show up in your ideal audience’s feed and for those people to complete the call to action, whether it be: “buy now”, “call us” or “like our page”.
(Source: Social Media Examiner) When asked which forms of paid social media they regularly use, 72% of marketers say they most often use traditional Facebook ads, followed by Instagram ads, which come in second, with 31% of marketers using paid ads on this platform.
There are many ways in which you can advertise on the various social media channels. Each channel has its own set of objectives, ad sets, visual formats, audience selection sources, etc. The most important question to ask yourself first is: What’s the objective of my social media advertising strategy? Here is a brief explanation of some of the objectives, as well as what they mean for your business.
- Awareness and visibility: Social media advertising is a great way to increase the visibility of your brand, so that more people become aware of what you do or offer.
- Traffic: Advertising can drive traffic to your website and thereby increase the number of people who visit your website. You can also encourage them to take action when they get there. This is perfect if you want to promote a new website landing page, product, service or announcement.
- Lead generation: The aim of lead generation is to get contact information from people that are already interested in what you have to offer. This is great for building a database to use regularly in other areas of your marketing strategy, such as e-newsletters.
- Engagement: You can use social media advertising to get more people to follow and like your social media profiles and engage with your posts through comments, shares and likes. This can help you understand which content works best with your audience and it sparks digital conversations.
- Drive conversions: Social media advertising can aim to increase actions taken on your website, whether they be sign-ups to your e-newsletter, making a purchase or downloading an app. A key feature of this objective is that it drives people to do something.
Once your objectives have been established, ICSC can build your social media advertising strategy, starting with choosing your audience, optimising your budget, scheduling posts, selecting the right visuals and writing the carefully crafted copy.
Social media advertising is a very powerful tool in any digital marketing strategy. If you own a medium or small business, you might be hesitant about social media advertising, especially with a thinly stretched budget. However, when it is done right, it will count in your favour. What ad types will be most effective for your business? Which network has the greatest potential reach? These are all important questions.
ICSC specialises in managing paid campaigns across various social media channels, using the best social media advertising tools to deliver advertisements to your ideal audience. Contact us today for to start your social media advertising journey.