Social media advertising has come a long way in the last decade, perhaps more than any other channel. In the right circumstances, it can deliver on a par with paid search, and even outperform it.
The true power comes in the accuracy of the audience targeting. Whenever search intent could be ambiguous, CPCs in search are particularly high, or you simply have a really clear audience in mind, social advertising can really come into its own.
Social plays by very different rules to those in search, so it’s vital when managing social activity that you don’t simply try and transpose your learnings and approach from search.
Our typical approach involves identifying a few key personas, and building audience targeting groups around them. This is also where we consider the best channels to use, with Meta or LinkedIn usually forming the backbone, and supported where relevant by other native channels, TikTok, X etc.
Depending on the purchase cycle we may also look to build out a funnel-based approach to our campaigns; engaging with audiences at different stages with different messaging, objectives and targeting. The more robust nature of audiences within social media compared to other channels can make this a particularly effective strategy.
The other cornerstone of social advertising is messaging and creativity. As with any channel getting the connection between the audience, ad and landing page is paramount.
The increased flexibility with social creative, the importance of capturing attention, and differences between what works on different platforms make this a much more significant success factor than on other channels.
The variation in what can work for one client vs another is also huge, so using our experience of what has worked in the past is an important shortcut. From here we rely on a close relationship with the client and a thorough understanding of their business and product, alongside a thorough and dynamic testing plan.
Marshall Court, Marshall Street,
Leeds LS11 9YP
"*" indicates required fields
