In the online world, it is getting increasingly complicated to get your message noticed.

Messaging is an important tool for establishing your brand.

By developing a consistent and compelling message across all social media platforms, you create a strong brand that resonates with your audience. This builds trust, loyalty, and recognition which ultimately leads to clients, and clients lead to sales. Looking for mentorship on this? We got you!

When you think about how you want to message your business you must understand three things:

1. Who you serve
2. What their needs are
3. What they desire

Your messaging will be important when it comes to creating your website, building your offerings, and marketing your business. You want to be sure to clarify your messaging before you start putting a lot of effort into marketing. The reason for this is because effective marketing requires solid messaging that resonates with your clients’ ideas. This is especially true when it comes to paid marketing, such as social media advertising.

What is social media advertising?

Social media advertising is a type of social media marketing where paid ad campaigns are run on social media platforms to promote your business and reach your target audiences.

These ads are an opportunity to promote your brand and inspire sales through the platforms that users frequently use. Ads can appear in a target audience’s feed as posts or stories, and will usually be labeled as “sponsored,” “promoted,” or “boosted”. Social media advertising can help businesses increase brand awareness, gain new customers, and drive revenue. Social media advertising is significantly impactful as it allows you to deliver your message to your ideal buyers. You can reach a larger audience, target specific demographics, reach your target audience on their favorite social media platform, and interact with your customers.

When should social media advertising be used?

Social media advertising has three primary objectives: to inform, to persuade, and to remind.

If you are wanting to build demand for a product or service you offer, social media advertising can help with that. Ads can be an effective way to introduce people to your product if you have an innovative product or service that your customers are not actively searching for. They can also help target users before they make a purchase decision.

How much does social media advertising cost?

The cost of social media advertising ultimately depends on your goal.

To ensure your goal is measurable, consider using time as a metric. You can do this by establishing a timeline, which can help you determine how many tasks to complete, how much time to spend on each task, and how much time it may take to achieve your overall goal. Understanding your goal and your business timeline will determine how much you need to spend on social media advertising.

Many social media advertising models use conversions such as a pay-per-click (PPC), pay-per-view (PPV), cost per lead, or a cost per 1000 impressions basis. This means that advertisers only play when someone clicks on their ad, watches their ad, gets a new client from an ad, or when their ad reaches a specific number of people. 

You can find a breakdown of social media advertising costs for a variety of social media platforms here.

Where should you advertise?

The best place to advertise on social media depends on your target audience and the type of business you have.

• Facebook: a reliable choice because it’s popular with a wide range of demographics.
• Instagram: this platform has over 1 billion monthly users, so the likelihood that there will be users interested in your ad are good.
• LinkedIn: a good choice for business-to-business companies because users are already in a professional mindset.
• Twitter: a platform that can help you reach your target audience and boost your branding.
• Pinterest: people who use Pinterest are actively searching for solutions, so they’re more likely to click on your ad links.
• TikTok: a choice that can help you boost your customer base and following while helping you keep up with trends in your target market.

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to how often to post on social media.

The best time to post on social media depends on the platform, your goals, and your target audience. In general, midweek mornings (Tuesday–Thursday, 9 AM–noon) are a good time to post on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. However, Pinterest and TikTok tend to have higher engagement in the afternoons. Monday and Friday tend to be hit and miss with the amount of engagement you may see on each platform. Studies have shown varying results regarding the effectiveness of ads during weekdays versus weekends. Generally, weekdays tend to have a higher engagement rate as people are more likely to be online for work or personal reasons. However, this can vary based on your industry and audience.

What all do you need to set up your social media advertising?

To set up social media advertising, consider the following steps:

1. Define your goals. Be sure to set clear objectives for your ad campaign and what exactly you want your ad to do.
2. Research your audience. Make sure that you understand your target audience’s interests and motivations by identifying their demographics and what they care about.
3. Choose your social media platforms. Select social media platforms where your target audience is most active and where your content will fit seamlessly to draw the most attention.
4. Create your ad content. Craft engaging content that addresses your users’ needs and values and aligns with the specific social media platform you’re using. It’s important to know what your ad is going to say and look like. This step should be strategic.
5. Plan ahead. Consider using a content calendar to stay organized and plan for a consistent mix of content to be advertised. It’s a great strategy if you can have the Pixel on your website for retargeting (aka showing ads to people who have been on your website).
6. Set a budget. Make sure you have a budget for your campaign. A good social media budget is one that produces a positive return on investment and helps your business meet its goals.

You might still be asking yourself if social media advertising is worth the investment. The answer is YES! Paid social media is a great outlet to improve your social media following, and also generating more traffic to your page and/or website. Understanding the potential return on this investment, and also how much you need to invest is key to making sure you are successful.

At Hello Digital, we’re more than just a Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based social media marketing agency—we’re your partners in growth, serving incredible clients nationwide. Whether you need a full-service team to handle all your social media marketing needs, a reliable partner to take some tasks off your plate, or a dedicated coach to guide you through your social media marketing knowledge gaps, we’ve got you covered. Ready to elevate your social media game? Let’s connect and make your social media marketing goals a reality!