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8 Social Media Advertising Tips to Boost Your Brand Name

Social media advertising is growing in popularity as a cost-effective way to boost your brand name. According to Statista, ad spending in the Social Media Advertising market is projected to reach $207.10bn this year. It could be as much as $247.30bn by 2027.

With many brands choosing to advertise across multiple social media platforms, it can be hard to get your head around. Fear not: here are our eight social media advertising tips to help you out.

Why advertise on social media?

Many brands already have a presence on social media. So why bother with paid ads, too? Well, unlike advertising in the past, social media advertising works as an extension of your organic reach. Paid ads are a cost-effective way to reach potential new audiences, as well as engage your current followers.

Imagine you’ve just created an animated explainer video to promote your new auto dialer software on Facebook. To turn it into a paid ad, you choose your target market based on different demographics – interests, age, gender, location, occupation, etc. – then you add your budget and the timeframe you want to run your advert for. You insert your call to action and you’re good to publish.

These ads work great even if you are on a tight budget, because you are only spending money if your ads are actually shown to your target audience. While creating social media adverts used to be a tricky process, many social media sites have automated a lot of ad creation to make it simpler.

Social media ads and organic content

Another great thing about advertising on social media is that these ads don’t stand out among the organic content in a way that feels forced or “salesy”. In fact, ads blend in so well that companies now have to clearly state when they’re posting paid content.

However, there are some ways ads differ from organic content:

• Call-to-Action (CTA) - This could be anything from ‘check out our new product’ to ‘subscribe now’.
• Targeted - Paid ads target specific audiences based on keywords, interests, behavior, and demographics.
• Branded - The branding on ads can be more obvious than on organic posts.
• Time-sensitive - Ads run for a certain amount of time. For example, when a new product is launched or in the run-up to a new series.

Now that we have clarified what social media advertising is and why it’s so great for brands, let’s discuss some best practices to use it for your own brand.

1. Set clear goals

Before you start spending money on advertising on social media you need to have some clear goals in mind. Advertising can quickly become a money pit if you don’t have a complete marketing strategy.

If your main goal is to boost your brand name, what does this look like in the long run? Do you have some new product launches coming up? Are you reaching out to current or potential new customers? Which social media platforms are you planning to use?

Many social media marketing plans include retargeting strategies. This is a marketing technique that encourages people who have previously visited your app or website to take a second look. The idea behind it is that these users are more likely to become potential customers, which is why this could be a helpful tactic to consider.

1. Collect data on your target audience

One of the main mistakes brands make when setting up targeted ads is not taking the time to understand their audience first. If you already have an established presence on social media you have all of the information you need to do this. If not, you can analyze the user data from your website or app.

First, establish your target audience. What is their age range and gender? Where are they located? What are their interests? Use the information that relates to your brand. Then, find out how your audience spends their time online, as well as how they shop and when.

Remember, though, that because you’ll be working with consumers’ data, you need to make sure that you’re using a secure data service solution to protect it from potential issues.

1. Look at your advertising options

There are so many advertising options on social media that it's best to research the specific platforms you plan to work with. Each platform, in fact, plays by its own rules when it comes to content creation and content type, and this tends to apply to advertising, too.

Of course, there is also some degree of crossover between platforms. For example, if you look into Facebook ad formats you will find that many are similar to Instagram’s ad formats as they are both owned by Meta.

Below are some examples of social media content that you can use for your advertising:

• Images - The most popular form of advertising for a long time, and the most simple to create.
• Videos - These include reels and TikTok videos, which are growing in popularity.
• Carousels - A collection of images that can have individual links or CTAs.
• Slideshows - Similar to a carousel, but tend to focus on one product or subject.
• Stories - These can be images or videos and work great as previews.
• User-generated content - Sponsored content created by influencers or fans and customers of the brand.
• Boosted posts - Posts that already have high organic reach can be boosted so they can reach non-followers.

Let’s see a couple of these examples in action.

Imagine you are a VoIP service provider creating an ad campaign for Vonage and its new cloud-calling software. You could create an explainer video ad illustrating its top features, with a CTA and link included.

On the other hand, if you run a more visual brand, such as a clothing line, you could put together a carousel of images with a shoppable link that lets interested users buy each product in a couple of clicks.

1. Use organic data to plan your ads

If you are stuck on where to get started with your paid ads, look at your organic content. Social media adverts aim to seamlessly blend in.

What kinds of content does your audience prefer? Which posts have the most engagement? Use your social media marketing insights to create a picture of the perfect ad for your target audience, and then create it based on the findings.

1. Create ads that encourage interaction

These days social media is all about interaction and engagement. To give yourself a head start, you could buy Instagram likes to boost your brand name, but growing organically will need more commitment from you. You need to get people talking. This is the best way to get to know your audience and keep your brand in their minds.

For example, imagine that the fictional VoIP service provider we mentioned earlier now wants to highlight its online call tracking software in a new ad campaign. To discover which content type is most effective, it could request feedback from customers in a social media post. Then, it could use this feedback to create imagery to share across its platforms, with a CTA link to the website.

1. Make your advertising personable

Influencers have become a popular part of social media, not only because we as humans like to have a peek into other’s lives but also because we like to see real people. The same goes for advertising. Many companies are choosing to use user-generated content or branded content to boost their brand.

The more people can relate to your ads, the more they get immersed in your brand. For example, a quick look at remote support software from RealVNC shows that its potential customers are likely to be remote and hybrid workers or businesses with remote employees. A good ad would be a video showing how two real-world users, located in opposite parts of the world, can communicate seamlessly thanks to this solution.

1. Experiment and test

If you’re continuously running the same kind of ad campaigns your audience will get bored. Look at what other brands are doing and keep up-to-date with social media trends and commerce predictions.

Don’t be afraid to experiment: if things aren’t working out with one platform or content type, try out another one. With most consumers using multiple social media channels, you may want to focus on more than one.

It’s also important to test your ads before you run them. Most platforms have A/B testing options, allowing you to test two or more variants of your ad to see which works better. Whether you’re new to advertising on social media or have been creating ads for years, never underestimate the power of testing.

1. Optimize ads for mobile users

This is the final and possibly most important tip you need to remember before advertising on social media. Whether you are creating imagery or videos you must make sure you optimize your ads for mobile users. After all your hard work researching and creating ads, it will be a waste if users can’t see them properly.

Many people scroll through Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok on their way to work, on their break, or while they’re cooking. Almost 90% of YouTube users are viewing videos on a mobile device. So, make sure your ads are viewable on all devices.

Boost your brand name on social media

For a while, users have been rejecting impersonal ‘buy me’ advertising. They want relatable, engaging, and relevant content, whether it is organic or a paid advert – and that’s exactly what social media advertising can provide.

To nail your social media advertising strategy, it’s crucial that you do your research before you get started. You need to know your target audience inside out, from how they are shopping to what they eat for breakfast. Once you’re ready to begin, it’s a case of trial and error, experimenting and testing ads.

Don’t forget to use the data from your organic content, as it will give you a solid base to start from. And now, you’re all set to make the most of social media advertising for your brand!