Chances are that if you use social media you will have been targeted by business advertising.
If you were to scroll through your feed on any social media application you will notice adds in all kinds of places: in posts, videos and other add-ons, at any time of day.
If you are new to this whole social media advertisement thing, than here’s a good way to look at it: Video ads are like TV ads, Post ads are like newspaper ads and sideline ads are like billboards.
In many of these cases, just like in the ‘real world’, a company has paid to have their advertisements on social media sites.
Other kinds of advertising are the kinds that are unpaid and include a business creating a social media profile and continuously updating and posting to audiences (otherwise known a social media management…).
You may notice that on Instagram (if you have an open account) businesses will follow you, like your pictures or even comment on them in order to garner your attention.
This is especially true if you use relevant hashtags or tag a business in your posts #cliqmc
The X-Files...
*whistles*
For some users of social media, advertisements can be a little annoying and sometimes even downright creepy.
“Didn’t I just Google that and now its on my Facebook?”
Extreme kinds of advertising can be very obtrusive, but let me clarify.
If I go online and shop on SheIn, it is likely that Shein adds will appear on the sidebar on my Facebook. Don’t freak out… yet.
According to Facebook “when you share information like your phone number or email address with a business, they might add it to a customer list that can be matched to your Facebook profile.”
Shock horror – the site you just visited is controlling everything you are seeing, and how you are seeing it, and how much information you gave the site you were just on directly affects this.
The good (minus the bad and the ugly)
There are endless benefits to advertising on social media. Just to name a few, here are some benefits of social media advertising:
- You don’t always have to pay on social media but can increase your earnings #cha-ching
- It is great for attracting and building up customer bases especially when considering social media campaigns, promotions or giveaways.
- It will increase your brand recognition and if done right increase customer loyalty. Co Schedule states “consumers want to buy brands they recognize.”
- You can watch your customers and read their feedback through social media #stalkathon.
- One of the major benefits of advertising on a social site, is that advertisers can take advantage of user’s demographic information and target their ads appropriately. Sites such as Facebook give that information to match businesses with a user’s interests.
- Promote your company and let the world know your story.
- Give feedback without having to be face-to-face with customers (particularly good for the negative err… reviews) #keyboardwarrior.
Although social media is great to use, people generally do not log on to social media to buy things.
Neil Patel states that social media ads “are more like display ads than search ads. They should be used to generate demand, not fulfil it.”
So, don’t get caught up in exclusively social media management and posting and forget to advertise where people will be looking for businesses.
The pick of the litter
According to Big Commerce the “Six Best Social Networks for Ecommerce Advertising” are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Snapchat.
Big Commerce also states that ‘which social media network you choose will depend on three very important factors:
- Where your target customers are most concentrated (usage, groups, etc.)
- How your target customers are most accessible (preferred media, ad targeting, etc.)
- When your target customers most actively engage with ads (testing required)”
The "Suckerburg" effect
Facebook is considered the ‘must-have’ of social media for all businesses, in fact according to Word Stream there are more than two million active advertisers on Facebook.
Word Stream continues to state that, “the popularity, impact, and cost-effectiveness of Facebook ads has made the site one of the most popular online advertising platforms in the world…”
Facebook sits high on the wall of recommendations for businesses. The social media giant’s user base grows by eight people per second.
That’s 7,246 people every 15 minutes! If you don’t like using Facebook than you need to change your mind. With all the positives of using Facebook for advertising it would be silly not to use it.
At CLIQ Marketing Content we specialise in advertising. Whether your business needs Google Ads Management or SEO, we can help.
