The 4 Best Ways Small Businesses Can Improve their Social Media Advertising Results

If you are looking to reach new customers and do it quickly, social media advertising is something you need to add to your marketing strategy.

In this blog, we have consistently maintained that an organic (non-paid) social strategy is the best way for many new small businesses to start when first approaching social media marketing. 

That opinion has not changed, but as many of you have undoubtedly experienced, broadening your organic reach is getting much harder. Many third-party studies (and even Facebook itself) confirms that organic reach is (largely) on the decline.

So in this article, let’s explore the best ways your business can start using paid social media ads to your advantage – without breaking the bank. 

1. Learn from your organic posts

If you are considering social media ads, most likely you or your social media agency are already posting content on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, or other social media platforms.

If you aren’t sure who your target audience is from organic posts, try creating a buyer persona to help you target your ideal customer.

Next, identify your posts that are getting the most traction (clicked, shared, liked etc.) as these are the ones resonating with your audience. These are likely candidates which you can “boost” or convert into paid ads.

2. Be clear about your ad objectives

Most marketers focus on running lead generation and sales ads. Not only are these ads considered “pushy”, but they’re also one of the most expensive ad types to run.

If you are unsure of your objective (besides just “getting more customers”), you should consult with your social media marketing professional to review the business objectives each type of social media ad can achieve and determine which platform and ad type meet your goals. 

For example, Facebook provides a dizzying variety of objectives for each type of ad you can place. Choosing the right one based on your goals is critical to the success of your campaign. 

3. Build Trust and Credibility BEFORE asking for ANYTHING

You need to plot your customer’s journey before expecting them to commit to you. This includes asking for an email address and definitely before asking to buy something from you.

The question you need to ask is “Is this customer ready to buy from me?”. In social marketing terms, this means offering them content in a way that is best for them, not you. You need to provide valuable content to connect with them BEFORE you ask for anything. This builds trust and credibility with your audience regardless of what products or services you are selling.

By setting the correct path (a.k.a customer journey) for your audience with the right content and type of ad, you will avoid costly mistakes that can quickly deplete your advertising budget.

The right ads-based sales sequence will give your audience the opportunity to engage with your targeted content, interact at their own “urgency” level, and then be ready (and willing) to buy from you.

4. Test Your Ads and Measure the Results

Paid ads offer one important benefit that organic posts cannot – immediate feedback. Your social media marketing professional can track key metrics with analytic reports provided by social media platforms and other independent tools.

Testing one ad against another (called “A/B testing”) can help determine what works best and then enable you to refine your strategy based on the results of that ad. It’s a critical part of your social media advertising efforts that should not be overlooked.

Measuring your results and having concrete data about the ROI of your investment in social media ads will guide you in determining how best to invest your marketing dollars in social media advertising. 
Social media ads are a relatively inexpensive way to increase your brand awareness. Although a viewer of your ad may not need what you’re selling right now, when the need does arise and they do a search, they may click on you because they remembered seeing your valuable content.

In conclusion, social platforms like Facebook and YouTube utilize their enormous database of user information to serve highly relevant advertisements based on interactions within a specific platform. Small businesses can leverage this data by placing social media ads which provide massive increases in reach, engagement, conversions and sales with a lower cost of acquisition than many other forms of paid marketing efforts.