Everyone and their mother have a social media app on their phones. From Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat. All these options leave advertisers with the task of finding what type of campaigns will work for each and how to get closer to their targeted audience effectively. Knowing that each platform has its niche and being so different can make things challenging when it comes to making paid ads. With almost 5 billion people connected to social media, learning the basics of what works for social marketing is essential. Why? Because each of these platforms can be a lifesaver to reach out to as many people as possible. In this guide, we’ll teach the types of advertising on the most important social media platforms. Plus, we will give you perfect ideas for your next campaign to be a success. 

Choosing the Right Social Media Platforms

Before going in and investing money and time to advertise on various Social Media platforms, you need to make sure that you know your targeted audience and which platforms they like to use on a daily basis. You can also go for brand-new customers but remembering to find your target is a vital step in the process. Just because all social networks have advertising options doesn’t mean you need to use all of them. It’s better to choose wisely than lose money. 

For example, if your target is retired people, then you advertise on Facebook. If you are looking for teens and young adults, then you should advertise heavily on TikTok. If your product is in the fashion or art industry, go for Instagram. Knowing your audience will make things easier and more effective, and your brand’s performance will be more organic. 

Now let’s talk about the most popular and what they have to offer. 

Facebook

You might think Facebook is getting too stale for this new age on the internet, but you’ll be surprised to know that its platform has almost 3 billion active users. Their users are very broad in age groups, but they are mostly adults and professionals wanting to stay in contact with their families and friends. 

Using Links

Since their systems have detailed targeting options and other tools you can customize depending on your needs, it’s a great place to start your social media advertising journey. Their system lets you add a link that goes directly to your website and enables you to customize it to have an instant experience without leaving the Facebook app. 

Posting Photos

When creating a photo-only ad on Facebook, you can include a 90-character text and a 25-character headline which can be accompanied by a “download” or “Shop Now” button. This option is great if you sell a physical product, you want the user to see up close. Just remember to make the picture interesting by showing how the item works, or if it’s clothing, having someone model the piece is better than just showing it in a hanger. Use your creativity to make your ad pop!

Sharing a Video

There are a few options for video ads, from the video length (it can be short to 241 minutes for desktop only). You can select if you want it to autoplay when it shows to the user. You can also play a video ad between Facebook videos, just like on YouTube. Or, if you want to get more creative, you can share a 360-degree video to make it more interactive with the user. Just remember to choose what’s best for what you want to promote and the audience you want to reach. It is also good to mention that shorter videos tend to have better results and completion rates, but if you have a message that needs more than 30 seconds to deliver, go for it! Make that video as entertaining as possible to get people’s attention and stand out from the rest.  

Creating Stories

Like any other Facebook Story, they only last for 24 hours, so this is fantastic if you have a limited time offer you want to promote. They have to be short 15-second videos or a photo that can stay on screen for 6 seconds. You will need to keep things simple and to the point, for them to be successful. 

Twitter

Twitter is a bit simpler compared to Facebook since there are fewer ad placements. Almost two-thirds of the Twitter audience is male, so it’s something to consider when working on your campaign. It’s also worth noticing that the way they set up campaigns depends on your marketing objective.

Twitter Promotions

This system works by automatically promoting tweets for your specific audience by passing through a quality filter. The only problem with this feature is that it randomly selects your daily tweets, so you cannot choose what tweets they will promote. Although it can be a bummer, it doesn’t cost much, and Twitter guarantees that accounts will reach 30,000 people per month with an average of 30 new followers every month. 

Ad Campaigns

You can select an existing organic tweet or create one exclusively for the ad. But before you do that, you will need to choose a business objective that goes with your business goals for it to work. You can add a video or a picture and even combine it with a link to your website. If you are using an existing tweet, make sure it doesn’t have @ mentions or hashtags because people tend to avoid them. Since it will show in people’s timelines, try to make it as creative and interesting as possible so users can stop when they see it instead of scrolling down.  

TikTok

TikTok is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms, with over 30 million active users. There’s no wonder why many brands have used it to advertise their products and services, especially for small businesses that are looking to grow their online presence. Most users are in the 24 to 44 age bracket, but if you want to focus on the U.S. market, 69% of their users are between 13 and 24 years old. Their ads are only available in certain regions for now, so you will have to wait if you want a worldwide audience. 

Self-Serve for Videos and Images

For now, TikTok only offers a self-serve option for businesses, meaning that your ad will appear in the user’s “For you” feed and look like a user-generated video. After 9 seconds in the ad, the user will get a card showing your brand’s username and a call-to-action (CTA) button. If you have a parent company, you can also place ads across other platforms like Buzzvideo using the TikTok Ad Manager. Try having a different ad every week, so people don’t get tired of seeing the same ad repeatedly and keeping things refreshing.  

The most important thing is that no matter what social media platform you use for promoting your brand, always keep it fresh, to the point, and entertaining. And keep your eye on the latest trends for inspiration and to know what is working better regarding social media paid ads. The industry is ever-changing and staying up to date is the key to making your brand bloom in this fast-moving world of social media.  

Did this guide help you understand social marketing? That way you can have paid ads via social networks. Do you like Facebook or Twitter better? Comment below! 

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