There
are a ton of choices in social advertising. Which is best for you? How do they
work? Why should you bother?
We’ll
delve into the various options and how they work later in this post. For now,
here are some stats to convince you that social advertising is not an option,
it’s a MUST.
Social
networks have vast amounts of users. More importantly, they have high
engagement and attractive demographics; according to Business Insider, as of
July 2012, Americans were spending an average of
12 hours per month on social networks with 18-24 year olds averaging 20 hours. And, BIA/Kelsey
recently forecasted $11 billion of social ad
spending in 2017, up from $4.7 billion last year.
This
is not a phenomenon and it’s not going away. It’s time to cut the newspaper ad
cord and log on!
For
starters, think about whom you are targeting for your ads. Facebook and Twitter
make it simple; they both have programs that allow you to hone in
on users by location, demographic and interests.
Second,
choose your platform and complete your ad (that part’s coming next). Finally,
optimize for mobile; your main points need to be made in the first 90
characters, and all photos and videos must look good on a mobile device.
So,
what’s right for your business? Facebook and Twitter are definitely the most
prevalent at the moment, but there are several others, such as YouTube,
LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest, that are catching up quickly. Here’s some
detailed information on each of those options.
Facebook:
Number
of Users: More than one billion
Advertising
Tools Available:
·
Facebook Ad – These ads show up in users' news feeds or
to the right of their news feeds on desktop and/or mobile, and can be designed
for one of eight campaign objectives: page likes, page post engagement, clicks
to website, website conversations, app installs, app engagement, event
responses or offer claims.
·
Facebook Sponsored Story – This is a post
that shows an action of a user’s friend(s). The filtered news feed only shows
users the most important posts about their friends. But, if someone Likes your
business, checks in at your business, uses your app or shares your link, you
can pay to boost that action’s visibility in the feed or have it appear in
sidebar ads.
·
Facebook
Exchange – Allows you to reach users based on their browsing history elsewhere
on the web. Cookies track users' movements, so that when someone checks out your
website you can show ads to the person in the future.
Twitter:
Number
of Users: 232 million
Advertising
Tools Available:
·
Sponsored/Promoted Twitter Account – This is when your
account shows up at the top of the “Who to Follow” box. Typically used to gain
exposure for your company and increase your followers.
·
Sponsored/Promoted Tweet – This is a tweet
that you have paid Twitter to tweet out frequently. You create a tweet that you
believe will be very engaging and it will be displayed at the top of your
followers’ timelines and to users who don't follow you.
YouTube:
Number
of Users: More than one billion
Advertising
Tools Available:
·
YouTube
Homepage Redzone: This is a 24 hour opportunity for advertisers to use a large
space on the Youtube homepage for any purpose. Most advertisers use a large
banner with mixed media options.
·
TrueView
In-Stream: These 30 to 60 ads are played before the video a user has chosen to
watch. These campaigns must be highly targeted, but if the are done right, can
be very effective at a low cost.
·
TrueView
In-Search: These are similar to text ads in a Google search. Campaigns are
created by adding and bidding on keywords that will attract users to click on
your video on your brand channel.
LinkedIn:
Number
of Users: 225 million
Advertising
Tools Available:
·
LinkedIn Ad – These are the ads that show up on the
right-hand side of your LinkedIn page. You can set them to be viewed by users
with specific job titles or you can target relevant groups.
·
LinkedIn Sponsored Status Update – Similar to a
Facebook sponsored post, this is a status update a person or business has paid
to have show up more frequently.
Instagram
Number
of Users: 150 million
Advertising
Tools Available:
·
Sponsored
Photos/Videos – Videos or photos that have been paid for will have a
"Sponsored" label where the time stamp normally would be. Currently,
Instagram is only offering ads to brand that are already great members of the
Instagram community.
Pinterest:
Number
of Users: 70 million
Advertising
Tools Available:
·
Promoted
Pins – These are just like magazine clippings, and are perfect for images you
want users to see (such as model home beauty shots). The ads take into account
what users follow. Basically, you can pay to show certain pins at the top of
search results and category feeds.
Whichever
site you choose, you’ll be charged per click or impression, so have specific
goals set before you start. Your best bet is to start with a small budget and
test a few of the platforms to see what works best for your ad goals. Once you
figure that out, go for it! It’s the future of advertising and it’s smart and
effective. Embrace it and you won’t be sorry.
For
more information on social media advertising, make sure to ASK Carol! East
Coast Carol (aka Carol Morgan) can be reached
at http://www.CarolMorgan.net or http://www.mRELEVANCE.com. West Coast Carol
(aka Carol Ruiz) can be reached at http://www.newgroundco.com.