Not sure how to allocate your marketing budget? Social media advertising is a cost-effective and targeted way to reach your desired audience. And, with a million new users “born” every year, it’s time to start using these powerful platforms to grow your small business.
Social Media Advertising by the Numbers
Approximately 31.9 million Canadians actively use social media. As of December 2023, approximately 69 percent of these users access their account(s) daily. It’s no wonder, then, that marketers are allocating most of their marketing budgets toward social media advertising.
Another part of the increase in social media ad spending is because it’s ad-blocker proof. And, the use of highly sophisticated targeting tools has made it easier than ever to customize, execute, and measure your digital marketing strategy. All you need is a little imagination.
Finding the Right Social Media Platform for Your Business
Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter (X), and TikTok all offer robust advertising options, but they may not all be a good fit for your business. At this point, you should take a step back and consider your target demographic and what platform they’re most active on. Take a look at Pew Research Centre’s Demographics of Social Media Users for more information.
Social Media Platform Benefits
Now, let’s take a look at the benefits of using some of these social media platforms:
- Demographic and behavioural targeting – You can target users based on location, gender, age, interests, language, and even connections on Facebook.
- Remarketing campaigns – You can remarket to users who have already visited your site, used your app, or given you their email address.
- Split ads across platforms – Since Facebook and Instagram are linked, you’re able to post ads on both platforms, depending on where your target demographic is most present.
- Highly-targeted advertising – Using Facebook’s targeting algorithm, Instagram ads can be tailored to reach particular segments of users based on their demographics, interests, behaviours, and more.
- Visual appeal – Since Instagram is an inherently visual platform, it’s the ideal space for you to showcase eye-catching content in any format, whether it be images, graphics, or videos.
Twitter (X)
- Advertising is low-cost – Twitter ads can be set to run on a performance basis, which means you’ll only pay when you’ve achieved your marketing campaign’s objective. This could be based on a certain number of page impressions, follows, or app installs.
- Develop your brand voice and personality – Depending on your industry, you can give your tweets more personality, making them more likely to go viral if they’re funny, relatable, or newsworthy. The great thing about Twitter is that anyone can go viral, as tweets spread fast.
- Target businesses and professionals – Since LinkedIn is catered towards the business-to-business world, ads can target users with certain professional qualifications, job titles, or levels of seniority.
- Higher level of credibility – Where someone sees your ad can affect how they perceive your business. LinkedIn is known for being a more trustworthy platform, so users are more likely to trust your brand or think of it positively.
TikTok
- More engaging ads – TikTok formats ads to encourage user engagement. There are several formats to choose from, which can help drive traffic to your account and website.
- Simple process – The most popular videos don’t involve slick production. All you need is your cellphone, a great idea, and a couple of minutes. That’s how the most viral videos are often made.
Is Social Media Advertising Right for Your Business?
“What’s incredibly important about paid social media advertising is that you make sure that it’s right for your business,” says Gabby Dickert, Founder and Owner of e-commerce experts Good Commerce.
“If you have a new product that makes people’s lives easier, the best way to spread that message is through paid social media advertising. Make sure you pay close attention to your analytics and always, always, always optimize. If you’re not looking at your data and changing ads regularly, you’re not optimizing your ads and thus, you’re wasting money. Paid social media marketing can definitely pay off when done well, you just have to be willing to put in the time,” Gabby says.
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