Social media trends change rapidly, and it is important to find engaging and interactive ways to keep your page growing. If you’ve been considering running paid ad campaigns on your social media platforms, now is a great time to start.

Prioritizing paid ads is one of the easiest ways to increase your return on investment (ROI). Considering that 28% of consumers discover new products directly through social media—and that number skews higher for millennials and Gen Z—adding paid ads to your marketing strategy can be the extra push your platforms are missing. 

In addition to boosting ROI, paid ads also build brand awareness and generate client leads, which sets you up for continued success.

How are paid ads different from boosting posts?

If you have some experience boosting organic posts, you may wonder how paid ads are different. 

“Boosting” takes a post that has been performing well on its own and puts some money behind it to increase its reach and engagement. The result is usually more awareness of your brand within your current audience or similar audiences, more “buzz,” more people interacting with your post, and the potential to increase your followers on social media. Those “clickbait” Facebook posts that ask a question readers are tempted to answer, like “Bet you can’t think of a dog’s name that starts with G!”, are prime examples of boosted posts with off-the-charts engagement that increases their reach without specifically asking users to do anything with or for your business.

A paid ad is designed to target a specific audience, and typically supports distinct goals that the business is prioritizing—like getting viewers to click through to a website, subscribe to a service, order food, or purchase tickets to an event. While paid ads also boost brand awareness, they directly contribute to ROI by spurring actions that drive measurable results. 

Three ways paid ads pay off

Now that you know a little about the difference between paid social media ads and boosted organic posts, let’s look deeper into three ways that paid ads really put your money to work for you. 

1. Reach the right audience

Strategic paid ads reach users who normally would not fall into your organic range. 

When we craft a paid ad strategy, we can target users with similar interests, or users who live in your community and are likely to be attracted to your brand—when they know about it. For example, a deli might run a strategic paid ad that invites users to order online and skip the lunch rush. By targeting new customers with strong keywords like “order ahead,” “small business,” “fresh market,”and  “easy to go,” we’re filtering your ad down to the users most likely to order and boost your bottom line. 

Geotagging, or targeting customers based on their location, is another way you can present your ad only to the people you want to reach. It’s a great way to advertise specials, offers, and promotions within your community, to the people you most want to know about your business and the people most likely to patronize your business.

2. Maximize ROI with metrics

Paid ads allow you to see exactly where your money is going: See who is clicking, how many times, and through which specific campaigns. If one ad doesn’t perform as well as others, you can use that data to improve the imagery, copy, or CTA for the next month. All of the major social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, feature robust ad reporting to refine your message. 

3. Boost brand awareness

Well-planned strategic ads create a solid foundation of brand awareness within your community. Brand awareness is the process whereby your target audience not only comes to instantly recognize your brand, but where that recognition creates positive association and customer loyalty. By broadcasting a consistent, polished brand image (through well-designed ads), every time your audience associates with your brand they come to trust you as helpful, reliable, and professional. 

Ready to start running paid social media ads?

No matter how great your product or service, your business can’t fly until the right audience knows about you. Paid ads get you noticed and build your customer base in a targeted way—and they may be just the key to reaching deeper into your community. Many businesses stand to benefit from making the investment.  

We know that social media trends and algorithms can change quickly. If starting off feels like a big step, partnering with a digital marketing agency that specializes in paid social media ads can help you quickly and easily grow your audience and see a return on investment.  

We specialize in thinking about all those little details so you don’t have to. Schedule a no cost, no obligation call with us to explore an individualized, strategic plan that lets you sit back and watch your social media investment pay off.