Basics of Social Media Advertising
As a business owner or someone working in the field of marketing, you know it’s important to find and reach your customers where they are. In this day and age, they’re spending a lot of time on their phones and computers using social media websites and applications. In fact, many people spend between 15 and 30 minutes a day on several social media platforms, including Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and SnapChat. That really adds up over time. If your business hasn’t started advertising on social media, now is the time!
Every social media platform handles ads a little bit differently – costs can vary and advertising options are specific to each channel. Regardless, as you begin to add social media advertising to your digital marketing plan, consider the following integral aspects of social media advertising before you get started:
Know Your Audience
The beauty of social media advertising is the fact that you’re able to target exactly who you’re looking for with your ads. You can drill down to the very core of who you want to reach by choosing from a wide variety of characteristics, including location, gender, age, preferences, and so on. By learning your audience and having a clear plan for who you want to reach, you’ll be able to specifically target your most viable consumers.
As you begin to develop your social media ads, be sure to think through your audience and develop ads that speak to this group (or these groups) of people. Social media advertising allows for all kinds of split tests to help you narrow down your audience and determine what works best for them. Social media platforms can also help you expand your audience by finding new people who you’ve never reached but ultimately may be interested in your product or service because of past web behavior. Social media advertising is a great way to reach new people and experiment with new target audience groups.
Define Your Goals
In social media advertising, the options are nearly endless. Before you head down a rabbit hole, think through what your objectives are and what your budget will be. Design your ads in a way that will help you increase your ROI and ultimately meet these goals.
Your goals may include things like growing the following of your account, increasing traffic to your website, or getting more leads. Each social media platform has different ad types that will help you reach your customers in a way that makes the most sense for your business.
Nail Your Creatives
As with any advertising campaign, digital or otherwise, you must have an ad that’s attention-grabbing and includes an enticing call to action. When you nail your ad creatives with great headlines and imagery, you will reach and, more importantly, move your audience. One of the best ways to do this is through a strong and consistent voice for your business. When your business has a strong voice, your company will become more recognizable and memorable to customers. Your voice should carry throughout all advertising and marketing efforts, including social media advertising.
The best thing about social media advertising is that it’s still a very cost-effective and accessible way to reach immense audiences. A working knowledge of how social media advertising works is a valuable tool for any business owner, marketing staff member, or even those looking to switch to the field of digital marketing.
Ready to learn more about social media advertising and how you can leverage it to grow your business or land your dream job? The Social Media Advertising Class at the Digital Workshop Center might be just what you’re looking for. It’s designed for users who want to learn about the paid advertising and audience targeting available on social media, including but not limited to Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Students will learn advanced techniques and tricks to apply to their social media advertising strategy and increase their ROI and efficiency. By the end of the class, you’ll be equipped to harness the power of social media advertising.
Click here to learn more about this class and register!