Quick Wins With Social Media Advertising

Originally posted May 20, '22; Updated Nov 8, '24

Advertising on social media is a hyper-direct way to reach the audience you want. It’s a terrific online marketing strategy that helps businesses build brand awareness quickly in ways other internet marketing techniques do not. Despite its benefits, about half of small businesses still don’t invest in social media ads to promote their goods and services. Smart WSI Marketing is an internet marketing company that knows how to leverage social media marketing to help brands build their online presence and authority. Call us today for a consultation. 

How to Win with Social Media Advertising

A solid social media presence is essential for every brand. However, using the wrong social media platforms can lead to disengaged followers and missed opportunities. Mastering social media marketing isn’t rocket science, but it does require a certain level of digital marketing skill and savviness.

Similar to billboards and flyers but with better targeting and results tracking, the best social media ads:

1. Aren’t just advertisements. They also deliver value, helping people stay up to date on things like product updates, promotional offers, and events. The goal is to be memorable!
2. Use social media influencers. There are always exceptions to this approach, but influencers remain one of the most effective social media strategies.
3. Deliver high-performance results. When you track ad performance and understand your analytics, you quickly see what is and isn’t working. You can then adjust ad campaigns accordingly and optimize efforts to cater to what your audience wants.

When using social media to build brand awareness, it’s important to remember that your ads are more than an opportunity to sell your products or services. They should clearly solve a problem your audience has and help them accomplish a specific task. They should also leave users inspired, so they come to associate good feelings with your brand.

Which Social Media Platforms Should Your Brand Advertise On?

By sheer size and reach, Facebook sits at the top of most people’s list for social media advertising. Which platforms you use, though, depends on your internet marketing priorities and goals. From there, you need to decide which ones will give you the proper exposure with the right audience. For instance:

• Brands that use a high level of visuals lend themselves to Instagram and TikTok.
• X (formerly Twitter) is ideal for businesses that focus on real-time events and trends.
• LinkedIn is the number one performer for B2B brands.

Narrowing down your choices can be as simple as determining which channels your intended audience uses. Customer surveys are a straightforward and fast way to find out where your audience is hanging out online. You can also use the social media site itself to get audience information. For example, when designing paid advertising campaigns, your digital marketing agency can tell different platforms about your ideal customers and the sites can then estimate audience size for you. This is another area where analytics can be a handy tool, telling you who your audience is and what they’re doing online.

Let’s take a look at two of the most popular social media sites that are best equipped to meet most brands’ marketing needs.

Facebook

With more than two billion daily active users, Facebook is used by over 60% of companies that advertise on social media. The platform has incredibly powerful tools for targeting and optimizing, helping marketers create authentic buyer journeys within the platform. Brands also tend to get a lot of bang for their buck, as the platform enjoys high conversion rates.

Are there times you shouldn’t advertise on Facebook? Brands that don’t have an in-depth understanding of who their target audience is may not find the site as beneficial as those who do. Because while Facebook’s ad targeting is specific, the platform’s algorithm works best when you begin the process with a pre-existing list of target groups.

Instagram

Instagram’s reach may not be as broad as Facebook—the site has about a half-billion daily active users—it does attract a high percentage of shopping enthusiasts who use the app for product discovery. Over the past several years, Instagram has upped its focus on shopping, adding new features like live streams that have proven to deliver a nice return on investment. It’s also the platform of choice for influencer marketing and can be an effective option for eCommerce businesses that produce high-quality visual content.

Does Instagram work for B2B brands? It’s generally accepted that Instagram is primarily designed to cater to B2C businesses. B2B companies would, for now, likely achieve greater success on sites like Facebook and LinkedIn.

Just because Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn are the most popular social media platforms, you can still experiment with new channels, so long as you have the resources. But if your campaigns on proven platforms start to suffer because of it, it’s probably best to stick with them for the near term.

Making Your Final Social Media Advertising Decision

Ultimately there’s no “right” platform for every brand. Some help businesses gain more traction with their ads, while others may not be as effective. And for brands who hope to use social media ads to attract more leads, they’re better off using more suitable marketing strategies like email newsletters that meet intentional searchers during their buying journey.

Smart WSI Marketing is an Edmonton digital marketing agency that helps brands use social media to remain relevant and gain online exposure. We’re skilled in tracking campaigns and analyzing metrics so you can make informed decisions about your online marketing efforts. Contact us today to learn more about the role social media can play in your digital marketing plan.

Lynne Motkoski, Marketing Strategist

Specialty: Online Marketing Strategies
Education: MA Communications & Technology, BComm [U Alberta]
Author: The Online Marketing Handbook for Busy Entrepreneurs (coming soon)

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Lynne is known for her strategic approach to marketing communications, technologies, and lead generation. She has a passion for education, keeping up with current marketing trends and practices, and helping clients keep ahead of their competition.

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