If you choose to use paid advertising, you want to get the most for your advertising dollars. One way to do that is by using paid social media advertising. Social media use is becoming more prevalent each year with over 4 billion users across various platforms worldwide. You have the opportunity to reach a wider audience than you could with other advertising methods.

Here are 5 tips on paid social media advertising:

1. Choose the right platform.
As with all social media marketing efforts, it’s best to advertise on one platform well instead of having a presence on every platform while advertising less effectively than you otherwise could. The platform you choose depends on a number of factors like your audience and content. Social media platforms differ in that they have their own unique features and user bases.

These features include advertising features. For example, Facebook Messenger allows you to deliver ads and start conversations with users directly. Meanwhile, shopping ads on Instagram allow users to see a product’s price and make purchases directly from the platform. You have to consider which features you need when choosing a social media advertising platform.

2.  Target the right audience.
If you’ve created a buyer persona, you have an idea of who your target audience is. With this information and social media audience targeting features, you can deliver advertisements to the right people in the right place. Like with other types of paid advertising, you can target your ads based on the intended audience’s age, location, and other attributes.

Considering the wide reach of social media, this targeting could be beneficial for smaller, local businesses with a physical location. For example, if you own a coffee shop in Bangor, Maine, you could target users who live within 30 miles of your location with your advertising on Facebook. That way, you reach customers who are more likely to visit your location.

3. Set goals.
Like everything you do in your business, your social media advertising should be tied to a goal you have. Prioritize efforts that match your business goals, like driving sales. Before advertising on social media, look at your data to drive your goals and decision-making.

If you already use social media advertising, look at the past performance to see where to make improvements. Some metrics to look at include quality, engagement, and conversion. You can set goals related to any one of these metrics.

Here are some questions to ask yourself based on these metrics when setting goals:

• Quality – How is your ad performing in comparison to ads from other advertisers competing for the same audience?
• Engagement – How much engagement does your ad receive compared to others competing for the same audience?
• Conversion – How does the conversion rate of your ads compare to others with the same campaign goal and the same type of advertisement?

4.  Manage your budget.
To start, most social media platforms are free to join and have many free features you can use. When it comes to paid advertising, you have control over your budget. You can choose how much you’d like to spend to promote your advertisement. If you don’t have a large advertising budget, this can be helpful.

Social media advertising features can be beneficial as you can be specific about who you want to pay to reach. By using audience targeting, you only need to spend your advertising dollars on those who will be more likely to convert instead of a broader audience. This makes social media paid advertising a truly cost-effective way to advertise.

5.  Create the perfect ad.
The types of advertisements you can create on social media are just as varied as the platforms themselves. They also are better suited for certain goals. For example, video ads provide an easy, visual way to explain how products work.

Like with other marketing content, make sure to tailor your advertising to your audience. Provide your audience with the opportunity to engage with you through comments and user-generated content.

When creating content, use language and visuals that your audience can relate to. The value you’re providing to potential buyers with your product or service should be reflected in your ad content.

Also, make sure your brand is reflected across your social media advertising. That way, anyone who finds your content can recognize it’s from your brand regardless of the platform they’re seeing it on.

Summary
As you can see, there are many opportunities to advertise using social media platforms. All of these options can be overwhelming, but they don’t have to be. If you need help with social media or other forms of paid advertising, we can help you. Contact Links Web Design for a free consultation today.

Links Web Design is a web design marketing agency in Bangor, ME, and Fruitland Park, FL.