Five Reasons to Advertise on Social Media
Did you know that, as of 2020, 74% of global marketers are using social media advertising to reach their target audiences? With up to 3 billion people using social media around the globe, and users spending an average of 2 and a half hours on social media every day, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter are valuable resources for any small or medium business – no matter what you services you offer.
If you haven’t already dipped your toe into paid social media advertising, or haven’t quite got to grips with how to use it effectively, it can be difficult to understand the benefits. So to help you out, here are my favourite 10 things about advertising on social media.
1. It’s where your customers are
In the UK, there are approximately 45 million social media users – that’s roughly 67% of the population. Facebook is the most-used social media platform, followed by YouTube (a Google product) and Instagram. Not only that, Facebook and Google both have external website and app advertising networks that cover 90% of the web, expanding your reach even further. Although it’s unlikely you’ll be marketing to every single user, social media advertising gives you the opportunity to reach thousands, if not millions, of people – and tailoring your adverts to your target audience means you are able to put your product or service right in front of their eyes. There are very few other marketing strategies that give you such a direct and immediate connection with your customers.
2. Remarketing opportunities
Facebook (and thereby Instagram) and Google both give the option for remarketing. By inserting a pixel onto your website, you are able to track the activity of anyone who visits, including what they view and when they click off your site. Using this information, you can then create adverts aimed at getting them back onto the site and converting – perhaps by offering a discount code, imbuing a sense of urgency, or simply reminding them of what they’re missing out on. Facebook also has the option of creating a customer list using email addresses, phone numbers or FB user IDs. The best part? Visitors that are targeted with remarketing ads are 70% more likely to convert, and remarketing ads on Facebook get 3 times more engagement than regular ads.
3. Varied placements and formats
Facebook and Instagram have integrated advertising platforms, with options for appearing in homepage feeds, stories, messenger inbox and in-stream videos – and Facebook also offers advertising on its partner websites and apps via the Audience Network. With Google, you can advertise on the search engine results page, or on its Display Network which spans over two million websites as well as YouTube. LinkedIn offers advertising in the form of sponsored messages, job ads, follower ads and placements on its homepage feed. While the placements alone give you a huge variety of options, you can customise your adverts even further by choosing between single images, carousels, videos, collections and more. There are so many choices, designed to allow you to get creative and ensure your brand’s voice is clear across in your messaging and imagery.
4. Cost effective
One of the things that puts people off social media advertising is the idea that it’s high-cost and high-risk, with a low chance of return. This couldn’t be further from the truth. All social media advertising platforms give you full control over your budget and cost strategy, allowing you to be as strict or lenient as needed. The average cost-per-click (CPC) across all industries is £1.37 on Facebook and £1.59 or below on Google, but this varies massively depending on the type of business you’re running, the quality of your ads and the specificity of your audience targeting. While not every campaign will deliver a massive ROI, what makes it more feasible is learning more about both the platform and your audience by A/B testing placements, formats and content, then using your results to implement the most effective campaign possible.
5. Drive traffic and increase conversions
All of the above points work together to create a cohesive, low-cost campaign strategy aimed at increasing your website traffic and encouraging conversions and high-quality leads. But what does that mean in layman’s terms? An increase of traffic to your site can be beneficial for many reasons; it will improve your SEO and SERP ranking, promote social sharing of your services or products, and improve your brand authority, reach and awareness. By directing ads at your target audience, you are improving your chance at receiving new orders, bookings and query emails. According to Hootsuite, the average Facebook user has clicked at least 12 ads in the last 30 days, and 27% of internet users say they find new products through paid social ads.
If you’d like to learn more about social media advertising, I’m currently offering one-to-one training for small businesses and sole traders. I’m also available for full campaign management for those who would prefer an external source to look after their social media. Get in touch using the form below and I’ll get back to you within 48 hours!