What is Social Media Advertising?
Social media platforms are becoming monetized for brands and companies to promote their products, services, or business. Due to 3.6 billion people having their eyes on their social feeds or timeline daily, it is no surprise that social media advertising is becoming increasingly more popular than traditional advertising. Social media advertising can be defined as, “…a type of digital marketing that utilizes social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to deliver paid ads to connect to your target audience” (“Social Media Advertising”). An article published by Hootsuite explained that “Ad spending on social media is projected to reach over $173 billion in 2022.”
Social Media Advertising vs Organic Reach
Not all brands feel the need to spend their marketing budget on social media advertising, and would instead prefer to continue using organic posts to reach their target audience. This can still be an effective, and money-saving method for brands who choose to do so. Unfortunately, however, the algorithms of social media networks are not always on their side. While organic reach can be effective, it has to be done strategically. Brands will have to study the best time of day, the most effective content, the proper social media channels, and much more when posting on social media.
Social media advertising makes this process a bit more feasible for brands who are willing to dish out the money to participate. It can benefit brands by targeting a specific audience based on a variety of factors (ex. age, location, previous social media habits, interest, gender, etc.). Additionally, it will meet this audience where the traffic naturally occurs. The brand will not have to strategically develop a method for posting, as social media advertising takes care of that for them.
Author Basha Coleman explains, “Organic social media traffic can take days to build due to the algorithms at work behind the scenes of the most popular social media sites. If you’re running a short campaign, that ramp up time can cost you visibility and leads. With paid social media, your campaign can get started with an extra boost at a speed that organic posts just can’t match. In addition to sustaining views, traffic, and engagement for as long as your credit card can stand, you’ll have the benefit of retargeting your consumers with your ads to achieve an advertisement frequency that you can control.”
Pros of Social Media Advertising
There are several pros of social media advertising, and every brand can benefit from it in different ways based on its objectives and goals. First, social media advertisements meet users where they already are. As mentioned earlier in this article, billions of users have their eyeballs and attention glued to social media for at least some portion of their day. Sociallybuzz highlights the statistic, “49% of users say they are likely to purchase from brands they see advertised on social media.” (This is also an argument to highlight how social media effectively increases conversion rates!) In this sense, it is more valuable for brands to advertise on social media, where users are more likely to see the ads than through traditional advertising methods. Audiences are more likely to see and interact with an advertisement on social media than an ad in the local newspaper.
Also, most social media channels provide a source for analytics for brands to monitor their posts’ engagement, reach, interaction, and more. Author Sam Medlicott explains, “You are able to see, almost instantly, how well your campaigns are performing and how past campaigns performed. This allows you to tailor your future campaigns to ensure they are as successful as possible, as well as optimizing live campaigns and developing A/B tests to refine your social media advertising strategy.” Not only will the analytics from social media advertising provide brands with benefits for their current campaigns, but also insights into how to cultivate their campaigns in the future.
Finally, social media advertising allows for the development of a sense of loyalty and community surrounding a brand. Medlicott explains, “Engaging with your customers on social media can help your business develop a loyal customer base. Social media advertising is about more than promoting your products and services. It offers the opportunity to connect with your target audience and develop meaningful connections. Social media advertising can be a great demonstration of social proofing, which in turn, can improve brand loyalty and turn one-time visitors into lifelong customers.” This sense of community and brand loyalty can provide a multitude of benefits to a brand for a long period of time. Sometimes even longer than the brand campaign is active.
Cons of Social Media Advertising
Although there is a variety of benefits that accompany social media advertising, there are many disadvantages as well. First, social media advertising is not just for everyone. Although it has the potential to simplify the process of advertising, it does still require some expertise and existing knowledge to be done properly and effectively. Medlicott explains, “… it is not as easy as it looks so it can be overwhelming for some junior members of your marketing team. Developing successful social media advertising campaigns is a whole area of expertise, meaning you will want to make sure you put someone in charge who knows what they are doing.” It is essential that the individuals running the campaign are knowledgeable about what they are doing, so it is effective and does not shine your brand in a negative light.
Also, social media advertising can be expensive depending on brand budget, size, and frequency of campaigns. It can be very costly, and this is not feasible for all brands in the long run. And finally, social media advertising can be time-consuming. Author Jonas explains, “Social media advertising is a gradual process that requires a lot of consistency for the company to be known. In theory, this seems like an easy task. However, advertising on social media will take a lot of time and patience from the business owner, especially when it comes to social media management.” Developing an effective brand campaign will take a lot of time and effort. It is a living, breathing strategy. It cannot be sent out and forgotten about.
Examples of Successful Social Media Advertising
Starbucks is not only known for its coffee and recently its collection of cups that people are going crazy for, but also for its social media advertising. Remember the #UnicornFrappuccino? Starbucks committed to making its social media all things unicorn. According to PlannThat, some of their ad copy included, “Like its mythical namesake, the Unicorn Frappuccino blended with crème comes with a bit of magic, starting as a purple beverage with swirls of blue and a first taste that’s sweet and fruity. But give it a stir and its color changes to pink, and the flavor evolves to tangy and tart. The more swirl, the more the beverage’s color, and flavors transform.” Starbucks used platforms like Instagram and Facebook to showcase the mythical creation. Also, fans began to chime in and share their experiences with that drink under the hashtag #UnicornFrappuccino, after all, it is pretty Instagram-worthy, isn’t it?
I’m sure at one point in your life you’ve seen the Charmin bears family. The cute furry characters personify the brand and now, they are what most people associate the brand with. Not only do the bears appear on tv commercials, but also on social media as well through channels like Instagram and Twitter. Charmin tends to lean into the comedy of social media trends to increase engagement from its audience. One of their posts included copy that stated, “Go short tree, it’s your birthday! Here’s another Forest Fun Fact: did you know that we partner with the @arbordayfoundation to restore forests devastated by natural disasters, helping ensure they can thrive for everybooty to enjoy for years to come? #CharminProtectGrowRestore.”
Takeaways
There is no doubt that social media advertising can be a successful and effective technique. Before jumping into spending copious amounts of money on your brand’s campaign, be sure to conduct plenty of research to make sure it is right for you. Also, make sure you study! Knowing what you are doing when it comes to social media advertising is sometimes half the battle. Good luck out there!
Sources
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/paid-social-media
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