Social Media Advertising is complex. For the purpose of this article I will focus on Facebook & Instagram, but the principles apply to varying extents to each of the social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, SnapChat, etc) When initiating your first Facebook or Instagram ad you will be greeted with 10 initial auction-bid options and 7 reach-and-frequency options to start. From there you can pick a variety of sub-objectives, destinations, and creative types. All in all, we advertisers have 100’s’ of combinations to choose from to create the perfect ad. Allow me break it down from a top-level strategy & execution perspective to demonstrate three of the main reasons why every business should utilize social media ads as part of their advertising strategy!
The first reason to utilize social media advertising is the TARGETING. From the ways consumers engage with content on Facebook & Instagram, to the links they click, to the cookies tracking location/behavior outside of Facebook, to the information explicitly provided to the channels, to the data that the social media giant purchases from other locations… these social media platforms know a lot about who you are as a person & shopper. Essentially you have a “back-end” profile that advertisers can utilize for precise ad targeting. Exploiting thousands of precise targeting categories, as an advertiser we can tap into every advanced targeting option available for our clients.
The second reason to utilize social media advertising is the MEASURABILITY. Utilizing Facebook Ads Manager reporting and/or outside ads reporting tools (we like ReportGarden), advertisers can track literally everything. Have you ever wondered how ad placement on billboards, radio, TV, print, or display advertising translated into sales? With Facebook and Instagram conversion tracking, measure the quantity of checkouts & associated Return on Advertising Spend (ROAS). Optimize for the thank-you page conversion to spend ad dollars specifically on driving the sale. Measure true return on ad spend, but also measure the typical metrics like impressions, reach, frequency, link clicks, CTR, CPM, and more. Measure your ad spend. Measure your sales. Calculate your ROI & ROAS.
The third reason to utilize social media advertising is the ENGAGING CREATIVE. Tell a compelling story with video, visually present a carousel of products, build a canvas ad in a scrollable visual format, tag products in a unique photo/video. Each ad objective & correlating creative accomplishes a different step of the Facebook sales Funnel: awareness –> consideration –> conversion. Retarget with the proper creative to spur an immediate desired action. Social media advertising is unique from other ad mediums in that past, current, and prospective customers can engage with a brand (and that brand’s audience) via the ad itself. Brag on a stellar customer experience on the ad itself to influence prospective customers to purchase from that business. Engage with the brand with product questions on the ad itself or via a private message. The power of the crowd mentality works in sales, harness it with social media ads!
If you need help in executing a social media ad strategy or setting up the social media sales funnel – be sure to reach out to the social media advertising experts at Venture Creations! hello@venturecreations.com.