Paid Social Media - is it worth the money?

Today’s blog post is about paid social media! We will be focusing on why businesses should invest in paid social, different tools and some businesses who do paid social well. If you missed my last post about organic social media check it out here!

What is paid social media?

Paid social media refers to posts or special placements on social media platforms that are supported by advertising budgets, as opposed to organic or free content.

While using both organic and paid social media are beneficial, more brands have started investing in paid social advertisement. Just like many other aspects of marketing, it is important to set clear objectives and decide on your KPIs for your ads.

When targeting an audience using paid social it is important to be able to identify what audience you are trying to reach. Sendible does a great job explaining three Facebook tools: core audiences, custom audiences, and lookalike audiences.

• Core Audiences: Define your audience for smarter ad targeting. You are able to set the rules for where your ads are delivered, as well as adjusting your target audience to be as broad or well-defined as your brand would like.
• Custom Audiences: Get in touch with people who already know your business. This tool allows you to connect with people who have shown prior interest in your brand. These people can be both loyal customers or people who have used your website or app.
• Lookalike Audiences: Reach new people who are like your current customers. This tool is a fast and effective way to connect with people who are likely to respond to your ads. You just need to create an audience of people you know, and your ads with reach people who share common interests and traits.

These three tools are very useful for businesses, Facebook will automatically show your ads to those individuals who are more likely to find your ad relevant. By engaging in core, custom, and lookalike audiences, you can enhance your ad delivery.

Why should businesses invest in paid social media?

Social media use has been increasing greatly over the past few years and has many great opportunities for brands to grow. In just the United States alone, 82% of the population 12 years and older, use social media. So why wouldn’t you want to use it?

More money is being spent on social media advertising every year, and many businesses are allocating more of their advertising budgets to paid social media.?Paid social media is becoming so popular, it would seem odd not to use it. Some advantages of paid social -

• Raise brand awareness and attract new followers
• Promote their newest deal, content, event, etc.
• Generate leads
• Drive conversions

So whether you're a small business or a multi-million dollar company, paid social media can provide benefits for you and your brand. It is important to understand that not all posts need to be paid ads, use a balance of organic and paid social media to grow your company.

Who does paid social well?

Many companies are successfully using paid social media to promote their brand. One company that does paid social very well is Hello Fresh.?Hello Fresh is a meal delivery service that provides customers with the necessary ingredient to make healthy meals at home.

Hello Fresh felt that in order to market their brand they would take to social media. While they use things like text and banner ads to promote themselves, a large majority of their paid social media is using influencers to showcase their meals and plans.

They use a variety of different sponsored influencer posts on platforms like:

• Instagram
• Twitter
• Youtube, etc.

And they work! By using social media influencers to promote your brand, you are reaching audiences you may not have been able to before. When influencers make these posts, they are likely to make the post fit their own personality and profiles. This will also help draw their audience in to your product(s) since someone they follow and trust is telling them how great it is. Hello Fresh invests heavily in the influencer marketing space, by doing so the company is gaining a leg up on the competition in the digital space.

Final Thoughts

Long story short, is paid social media worth it? Yes! Help your business grow on your own budget! Investing in paid social media will help your brand gain awareness and traction and is extremely important to stay relevant. Technology changes quickly, make sure you're ready to get the most out of it for your business!

For more information on paid social media, check out some of the links below!