How it works and How to create one

Many social networks offer paid advertising opportunities that can give you access to very specific audiences and get your message out there.

What you will learn

If you want to reach specific audiences online, advertising on social media sites is a great option. In this article we’ll talk about:

• How to get your message in front of specific audiences
• How advertising on social networks can complement your other social efforts.

What is social media Advertising?

Social media advertising is a type of digital marketing that utilizes social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to get your message across to potential customers. Social media ads are a quick and effective way to connect with your potential customers and boost your marketing campaigns.

Type of Social Media Ads

We have so many types of social networks and Advertising on each of them varies according to their users and the audience you want to reach. Below are a few examples of the most common types of ads used on social media. 

1. Image/Photo ads

Social networks have their own display network, while some social networks like Instagram and Pinterest are all about displaying visuals. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, that is why people love to use images to run social media ads. People are naturally drawn to visuals rather than text and will likely be more drawn to photo ads. Social network users are going there to have fun and catch up with trends. Photo ads can also include a call-to-action button like “Buy now” “Shop now” or “Learn more” which takes customers directly to your website or landing page. When using photo ads as a part of your marketing strategy, ensure that you post high-quality photos and keep ads consistent with your organic content.

2. Video ads

Like photo ads, video ads are best for visually appealing content. Social media users only want to watch short-form video ads, which means you have a small amount of time to keep people interested in your videos. Platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram have options to create short videos that people can view and interact with quickly while scrolling through their feeds.

3. Text Ads

Social networks like Twitter and Facebook allow users to promote some of their text content to a larger audience.

Read also: The evolution of mobile device

Social media Targeting based on Demographics (Sex, age, marital status)

Let’s say you run a snickers shoe store and you’ve fortunately noticed that your best customers seem to come from certain demographics… let’s say men, aged about 18 to 35. Wouldn’t it be great if you could focus your advertising on people who fit this profile and are more likely to become your customer?

Why social networks ads are effective at targeting the right people

Well, social media advertisements just like Search engine advertisements can help you do this and more. That’s because social media sites have their user data so they often know a lot about their users. For example, think about your Facebook or Twitter page, You Have definitely included your age, gender, and location on your personal social media pages, it is a required detail for signing up, and that’s why social media sites are able to offer businesses the ability to reach such specific groups.

Read also: Mobile Websites and Mobile Apps: The difference and Benefits

Social media Targeting based on likes and Interests.

Not all men aged 18-35 are going to be interested in the kind of shoe you sell. So, if we can avoid spending money advertising to people who aren’t interested in snicker shoes, that’s a win.

Luckily, social media sites can help you narrow down your audience even more. For example, you can target men aged 18-35 who are interested in a certain company. Or celebrities who have worn or posted about snicker shoes in the past. That would be a great way to focus your advertising only on the people who are most likely to be interested in your shop.

Social media Targeting based on Geographical Location.

You can also target your ads to a specific geographic area. That means, you could use social networks to advertise to men, aged 18-35, within 25 miles of your shop, who are interested in a snicker product you sell.

Social media sites provide great options for targeting ads or content to very specific audiences, and that’s a great way to make sure we’re investing our marketing budget wisely. 

Read: 8 tips to design a website that people will love

Benefits of social media advertising

Building up your presence on social networks is usually a gradual process. Over time, you post interesting, unique content, and gain more and more visibility. But is there a way to accelerate that process? That’s another great reason to try paid advertising on social networks.

1. Increased brand awareness: 

According to Digital 2020 report, social media has over 3.8 billion users. So social media is a better way to increase your brand awareness. Let’s Say you’ve got a Twitter page with a few hundreds of “followers” so far. What if you wanted to reach a lot more people – people who aren’t necessarily following you yet? You could try a “Promoted Tweet.” This is a way for you to get to your shop in front of potential customers – fast! For example, your Promoted Tweet could be shown to people who have “tweeted” about Snicker shoes in the past or people who follow an influential designer. All of a sudden, you’re potentially reaching a lot more than your 200 followers, and hopefully growing your network with even more followers as a result.

2. Improved brand loyalty: 

Advertising on social media can be a great demonstration of social proofing and a great way of proving your Business’s Genuity, which in turn, can improve brand loyalty and turn one-time visitors into lifelong customers. You can use social media advertising to share customer testimonials or case studies to demonstrate customer satisfaction.

3. Higher conversion rates: 

Social media advertising can help your business generate more conversions. According to the Digital 2020 report, 27% of people surveyed in 2020 stated that they found new brands and products through social media adverts. This establishes social media as a great way to reach potential customers ready to convert to paying customers – if you meet their demands.

4. Boost leads for your business: 

you can harness the benefits of social media to run specific lead generation ad campaigns for your business.

5. Low-cost advertising: 

Running social media ads is very cheap and effective compared to search engine advertising. Majority of social network models operate on a pay-per-click (PPC) or pay-per-view (PPV) which means you only pay when someone clicks your ad or views your video ad. As a result, you can keep your advertising costs low and only pay when someone takes action. Social networks like Facebook will give you free bucks to test the effectiveness of the platform.

6. Easy to use: 

Running ads on social media is as easy as posting on them.

7. In-depth analytics

Another benefit of advertising on social media is that it gives you useful data from your current advertisement which you can use to effectively run your next campaign. The data will give you a detailed insight into how your campaign is performing and lets you in on what you did right and what you did wrong in your current campaign. 

Conclusion

With social media, you get the ability to do some really fancy targeting. And on top of that, you can ramp up your visibility on social networks very quickly… as long as you’re willing to pay for it.