The Beginners Guide to Social Media Advertising
To put it plainly, social media advertising is a big deal. According to a report from Statista, over 3.6 billion people use social media and the number is projected to increase to 4.41 billion in 2025. If you are not advertising on social media, you are missing out on a golden opportunity to place your business in front of a huge swath of people for an extremely affordable price.
Here’s what it boils down to; your potential customers are on social media, your competitors are advertising on social media, and you should be advertising on social media too.
There are several questions that you may ask yourself before diving into social media ads. What are the benefits? What platforms should I advertise on? Is it expensive? Who will see my ads?
We are here to help answer all of these questions and more.
What is Social Media Advertising?
If you’re looking to advertise to a new, targeted audience quickly, advertising on social media is a must. However, the world of social media advertising can be intimidating for newcomers. So, what is social media advertising anyway?
Also called paid social media, social media advertising is the use of social media platforms to connect with an audience to build your brand, increase sales, drive website traffic, produce leads, and more. This is done by paying the social media platform for digital advertising space that can be seen by users in your demographic.
What are the Benefits of Advertising through Social Media?
Affordability of Social Ads
One of the most enticing aspects of social media marketing is affordability. Social media advertising is cheaper than any form of advertising available today. It provides you the opportunity to reach up to 1,000 new customers for as little as $3 (*results may vary depending on various factors*). No other advertising medium is capable of such low costs.
Laser-sharp Social Media Targeting
Using data and learning technologies, social media platforms can place your business in front of your ideal target audience member. These channels have an incredible amount of data about their users. These specifications allow you to be extremely precise on who sees your ads.
You can target your audience using generic information such as age, location, sex, interests, etc. And then you can dial it in even further by layering those options with additional specifications such as recent purchase behavior, life events, income, custom audiences, and lookalike audiences.
Plus, you have the ability to re-target those who have already seen your ads or visited your website. Re-targeting represents low-hanging fruit in the digital world. It can be picked up quickly, easily, and at a very low cost.
Access to Real-Time Data
Social media platforms track and report data in real-time. Having access to these metrics allows you to get the most out of your advertising budget. Plus, you don’t have to run a complete campaign and then wait for the data to be reported afterward. You can stop a social media campaign in its tracks if it isn’t working for you or if it is spending too much money.
More Conversions
When marketing on social media, you have the option to include specific calls-to-action (CTA). It would be inconvenient to ask users to pick up their phone, dial your number, and call you. Users want a quick, convenient experience on social media. That is why you can and should include simple CTA buttons in your ads.
Learn More, Click Here, Send Message, and Download are examples of helpful CTA buttons that people can easily click and complete the action you’re wanting. You’ll obtain more leads, more conversions, and more sales when you include CTA buttons in your advertisements.
Increased Brand Awareness
When you combine organic social media content with advertisements, you have a recipe for brand awareness success. Social media advertising places your ads in front of an audience who is most likely casually browsing their news feed or tapping through Stories. Although these users may not be seeking out your product or service like with search engine marketing, social media ads create that first introduction and keep your brand top-of-mind.
Your audience will see your advertisements multiple times as they flow through your marketing funnel. This repetition will increase brand awareness and brand recall. By remaining “top of mind” these users will come to you first when they are ready to purchase.
Social Media Advertising Costs
Social media advertising provides the flexibility to create campaigns and drive results no matter what your advertising budget is, making it a great option for businesses of all sizes and budgets. You can decide whether you want to spend $5 per day on ads, or tens of $1000’s per day.
Social media platforms have designed their advertising systems to be greatly effective. The more results they produce, the more money you’ll be willing to continue spending on ads, making it a mutually beneficial relationship.
The cost to advertise can vary greatly depending on the platform on which you’re advertising. Below, you’ll find a chart comparing a common metric among digital advertising, cost per click (CPC).
| Social Media Platform | Cost Per Click (CPC) |
| $0.97 per click | |
| $3.56 per click | |
| Youtube | $3.21 per click |
| $5.26 per click | |
| $0.38 per click | |
| $1.50 per click |
There are plenty of factors that determine the cost of advertising on social platforms. Click here to learn more about advertising costs and how to get the most value out of your marketing budget.
Paid Social Media Advertising Examples
Ad design is one area where you don’t want to hold back. As we mentioned, your competitors are also advertising on social media so it is crucial that you create ads that cannot be missed. Having enticing, scroll-stopping creatives is one of the best things that you can do for your ad performance.
Here are some examples of social media ad creatives that were thoughtfully designed by us for our clients.
Instagram Social Ad Examples
Facebook Social Ad Examples
Facebook Carousel Ad Examples
Gif Ad Examples
Story Ad Examples
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60+ Creative Ad Ideas
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How to Advertise on Social Media
Although each social media platform has its own setup and ads management systems, there are similar campaigns and strategies that can be applied across the board.
When advertising on any social media platform, you will focus your marketing efforts in three different areas: the top of the funnel, middle of the funnel, and bottom of the funnel.
Top of the Funnel (TOFU)
The top of the funnel is the awareness stage. This stage reaches the broadest, most general audience. TOFU ads should increase awareness and are likely the first impressions of your brand. At this stage, you are showing users that you can offer a solution to their problems.
Some TOFU content ideas include blog posts, social media posts, infographics, videos, and newsletters.
Middle of the Funnel (MOFU)
The middle of the funnel is the consideration stage. Here, users are learning which solution or product best solves their problem. In this stage, they check out the options you provide them with and are considering how it can benefit them.
Some MOFU content ideas include educational resources, webinars, surveys, free downloads, and promotional material.
Bottom of the Funnel (BOFU)
The bottom of the funnel is the decision stage. At this point, your audience knows who you are, what solutions you offer, and which solution best fits their needs. At the bottom of the funnel, you need to explain why your product is the best solution that they’re going to find.
Some BOFU content ideas include case studies, testimonials, consultations, customer stories, and events.
Consider all three stages of the funnel when mapping out your ads strategy. The ad copy and creatives should be geared towards the specific audience you are targeting. Within each stage of the funnel, you will need to create multiple variations of each ad creative and ad copy. Testing different combinations within your ad set will allow you to see which one is producing the best results.
We have a post that goes into more detail about each of these funnel stages & how to create content that will engage your audience as they move through each stage. Click here to learn about that content.
If creating multiple variations of ad graphics sounds overwhelming, we have the solution for you. No Limit Creatives offers multiple graphics packages to suit your needs. With unlimited graphics and unlimited revisions, you are sure to get several winning assets that will capture the attention of your target audience and increase conversions. Click here to get started!
Get Started
If you are just dipping your toe into the waters of social media advertising, don’t be afraid! Social media ads are an extremely cost-effective way to generate leads, increase website traffic, book appointments, close more sales, and grow your business. Schedule a free call with us to discuss how we can help you with your particular social media ad creation needs here