Whether you’re sitting in a cubicle or on your sofa, chances are you have a digital device within reach. Since the average adult spends nearly 11 hours in front of a screen, it should come as no surprise that we’re exposed to 6,000 to 10,000 online advertisements every day. From work-related research to scrolling your Instagram feed, you’re consciously and subconsciously picking up on images, logos, and tag lines from thousands of brands. As a business owner, how do you toss a social media advertisement out into the sea of colors and catchy campaigns and make an impact?
Advertising on social media comes with several perks. For small- to medium-sized businesses, it’s especially luring because it’s relatively inexpensive compared to other methods of advertising, and within a couple of hours, you can have a complete advertising campaign up and running on multiple platforms. Despite the ease of launching an ad, you also want your content to be effective. So, hold the $100 you were planning to toss toward a targeted zip code and run through our dos and don’ts of social media advertising to be sure you’re making the biggest splash possible in your pool of potential customers.
Social Media Advertising Tips
For your social media ads to be effective, you must have a plan. Create an overarching goal that clearly defines your purpose. Will your conversion goal be adding more followers, clicks to your website, or a purchase made from the social platform? Once you’ve decided on your goal, it’s time to follow our “dos” for creating your campaign.
DO: Create a clear Call-To-Action
A call-to-action (CTA) needs to be clear and serve as the focal point of an ad. Some social media platforms, like Facebook, allow you to choose what your CTA button will say. With options like “Call Now,” “Book Now,” and “Watch Video,” you can customize your message with a clear next step for customers. Plus, consumers are savvier and more protective of their information than ever, so telling them exactly what they can expect when they click the button is a way to create transparency and build trust.
DO: Incorporate video
Marketing research proves video is your best bet to catch someone’s attention and get them to take action (like making a purchase). Don’t think it’s true of all platforms? Check out these statistics:
- Video generates more engagement than any other content type on Instagram.
- Videos on LinkedIn are 20x more likely to be shared than any other type of post.
- Pinterest users are 2.6x more likely to purchase after viewing a video on the platform.
- Tweets with video receive 10x more engagement than those without and promoted tweets with videos save more than 50% on cost-per-engagement.
Video is an easy way for potential customers to digest your message, and it’s 60% more effective at generating a click-through on your ad.
DO: Complement the ad with other marketing aspects
A brand cannot survive on social media advertisements alone. When you plan your ad for Facebook, Instagram, or other platforms, incorporate complementary elements. A vanity phone number from 800.com allows you to expand your potential reach and eliminate the “local-only” feel a number with a specific area code can create. Think of an easy-to-remember custom phone number that will catch the attention of people scrolling through their social feeds.
Avoid These Social Media Advertising Issues
Each part of your social media ad needs to adhere to your brand voice. As you build out your campaign, review your content for any of these conversion-killing elements.
DON’T: Try to mimic another brand
Keeping an eye on your competition is totally acceptable, but copying their creatives is not. Use your brand voice boldly. Whether you decide on a still image, graphic, or video, make it your own. Your customers come to you for your brand’s unique strengths, so make them prominent in your social ads.
DON’T: Be more sales-driven than you are helpful
Yes, you have a goal and your desired conversion may include a sale, but to get the best results, you need to be helpful. No one likes being “sold” to, but when you explain how your product or service solves a problem or makes an everyday task easier, people start to listen. Demonstrate to customers that you understand their needs and problems. Once you have their attention, you can introduce your product as the solution.
DON’T: Forget about the data
Collect all the data possible on engagement with your ad. Knowing how many people viewed the video, clicked the CTA button, or abandoned a digital shopping cart will help you understand how you can modify the social media advertisement moving forward. If you’re getting a lot of views but very few clicks, perhaps your CTA isn’t clear enough. If a large percentage of users are clicking through to your website but not completing the purchase, revisit your eCommerce experience, and ensure the checkout process is safe and simple. Use your engagement information to make modifications to further tailor your ad to your target audience.
Supplement Social Media Ads
Create a complete marketing campaign, not just a single ad. You want your target audience to experience and connect with your brand, not scroll past it on their journey to post their latest vacation photos. Explore the different plan options from 800.com and learn how we can support you with a vanity phone number, SMS marketing, and more. Adding our marketing suite to your social ads will expand your reach and increase your conversion rate.
