Millions of people across the globe use social media networks for entertainment, creative expression, and connecting with others. However, over the past several years, social media has begun playing an increasingly important role in the buyer’s journey. More and more users are relying on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter not only for connecting with brands they already know and love but also to discover new ones. This is where the power of social media advertising comes in: Paid Social Media ads help your business get in front of users who are most likely to be interested in your products or services.
Social media advertising has quickly become an essential aspect of digital marketing, with ad spend expected to reach over $98 billion in 2020 in the U.S. alone.
What Is Paid Social Media Advertising?
Paid Social leverages the social media platforms people use in their everyday lives to promote your business’s products or services through paid advertisements. Each ad is highly targeted to ensure it reaches users that are most likely to be interested in your brand. Paid Social media advertising is also used to help push users through the buyer’s journey, showing them relevant, valuable messaging and content offers that differ based on their current location in the marketing funnel.
Types of Paid Social Media Advertising Services
Today, every major social media network offers paid social advertising; however, not all platforms are suitable for every business. This is because each network has a unique userbase that varies based on demographics, interests, and more. For example, Snapchat and TikTok have a higher percentage of younger users, while most LinkedIn users are above the age of 30. Therefore, it’s important to have a solid understanding of your target audience and buyer personas to ensure you’re running social media advertisements on platforms that your customers actually use.
Additionally, each social media network offers different ad types and targeting capabilities. Here’s a brief breakdown of the different social media advertisements you can create across platforms:
- Facebook Ads – Photo ads, video ads, Stories ads, carousel ads, slideshow ads, collection ads, Messenger ads, and playable ads.
- Instagram Ads – Photo ads, video ads, carousel ads, collection ads, Stories ads, Explore ads, and IGTV ads.
- LinkedIn Ads – Sponsored content ads, sponsored InMail, text ads, and dynamic ads.
- Twitter Ads – Promoted Tweets, promoted accounts, promoted trends, website cards, app cards.
- Pinterest Ads – Promoted Pins, buyable Pins, promoted carousels, promoted video ads, Story Pins, and promoted app Pins.
- Snapchat Ads – Snap ads, Story ads, collection ads, and Snapchat Commercials
- TikTok Ads – In-feed video ads.
- YouTube Ads – Skippable in-stream ads, non-skippable ads, video discovery ads, bumper ads, outstream ads, and masthead ads.
Knowing how all of the social media ad types work and how they affect users at different levels of the sales funnel is essential for success on Paid Social. Working with a skilled Paid Social Media Advertising agency is the best way to understand this mix.
Why Your Business Needs a Social Media Advertising Agency
While Paid Search advertising is beneficial for targeting users based on their intent and pain points, Paid Social is valuable because it reaches people where they’re already spending most of their time. In fact, the average internet user spends 144 minutes on social media every day. This form of advertising also targets consumers across the entire sales funnel, meaning you can reach potential customers who are new to your brand and those close to making a purchase.
Another reason why Paid Social is so important is that it allows you to create highly targeted ads. For example, platforms like Facebook and Instagram use behavioral and demographic data (including interests, gender, age, and more) to help you reach a specific set of users.
The Zero Gravity Marketing Approach To Social Media Advertising
Zero Gravity Marketing (ZGM) uses a data-driven foundation to create and execute strategic campaigns that grow your audience and boost your sales. After learning about your buyer personas, we determine which platforms are best suited for your business. Then, we create social media ads with targeted ad copy and eye-catching visuals to draw the attention of potential customers.
Once your social media ads are live, we’ll continuously test both audience segments and creative assets to optimize your campaign and ensure you’re getting the most out of your ad spend. We believe that strategies are most effective when based on real analytics, so we take click-through rates, impressions, and more into account to optimize your ads and measure performance.
Of course, because transparency is our priority, you’ll always know how your social media advertisements are doing. Between recurring reporting calls with our Social Media Advertising experts and a custom reporting dashboard, we strive to give you continuous access to your data.
Paid Social Media Frequently Asked Questions
There are a variety of ways to measure the success of your Paid Social Media campaigns.
Here are some of the most common key performance indicators (KPIs) to consider:
- Conversions or conversion rate
- Web traffic
- Reach or impressions
- Cost per action
- Engagement
Keep in mind that the best metrics to measure for your campaign depend on your unique goals and where your ads fall in the sales funnel. For example, when running acquisition ads focused on building brand awareness, you could measure reach and impressions. Meanwhile, for bottom-of-funnel ads, it’s best to look at conversions and conversion rates.
When choosing social media channels to run your ads on, you should start by determining your target audience. Once you know exactly who you want to reach, you can identify the platforms they’re most likely to use. Here’s a quick overview of each social media network’s user base:
- Facebook – This platform attracts people of all demographics; therefore, it’s a safe bet for most businesses.
- Twitter – Because 40% of Twitter’s users are between the ages of 18 to 29, it’s an effective place to target Millennial and older Gen Z users.
- Instagram – This platform primarily appeals to a younger audience; over half of Instagram’s user base is under 35.
- TikTok – If you’re targeting a primarily Gen Z audience, TikTok is a great option. Over 60% of its users are between the ages of 13 and 24.
- Snapchat – Like TikTok, Snapchat users are primarily under 25, with 73% between the ages of 18 and 24.
- LinkedIn – Because LinkedIn maintains a professional audience, the platform is ideal for running business-to-business (B2B) campaigns or promoted job listings.
- Pinterest – If your buyer personas are primarily women, consider advertising on Pinterest, where 71% of users are female.
Much like the metrics you measure and the channels you use, your budget will depend on your business and goals. Every Paid Social strategy varies, but most businesses spend an average of $200 to $350 per day on their ads. A skilled Paid Social team can help you set a budget that meets your needs and manage it strategically to ensure your campaigns are successful.
The cost of Paid Social advertisements varies depending on the platform and bidding option you use. Most networks offer both cost-per-click (CPC) and cost per mille (CPM, or cost per 1,000 impressions) bidding formats. Here’s a breakdown of the average price of each across platforms:
- Facebook – $0.97 per click, $7.19 per 1,000 impressions
- Instagram – $3.56 per click, $7.91 per 1,000 impressions
- YouTube – $3.21 per click, $9.68 per 1,000 impressions
- LinkedIn – $5.26 per click, $6.59 per 1,000 impressions
- Twitter – $0.38 per click, $6.46 per 1,000 impressions
- Pinterest ¬– $1.50 per click, $30 per 1,000 impressions
- TikTok – $10 per 1,000 (minimum $500 spend to start a campaign)
- Snapchat – $2.95 per 1,000 impressions
Keep in mind that these numbers are only averages; prices typically fluctuate throughout the year.
Harness the Power of Paid Social Media with Help from ZGM
Ready to grow your audience and boost your sales with Paid Social advertising? ZGM is here to help. Contact us today to speak to one of our Paid Media specialists!
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