Why Paid Social Media Advertising is Effective

by Fusion 360 Studios Digital Marketing Specialists

As online marketing is becoming the most prominent form of advertising, companies of all types are seeking new ways to differentiate themselves and stand out among competitors. There are numerous online platforms in which companies can post their content to be seen by the masses with hopes of converting them to consumers.

Social media platforms have been some of the most promising sites for all companies to gain exposure, as they are where the majority of vulnerable eyes are online. The initial attraction for companies to advertise on social media came from the fact that it's free. Anybody has the ability to create a company account on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter for no cost. If done strategically, you can gain a loyal following who genuinely appreciates the posted content.

The problem with merely posting through an account is that the content only reaches the company’s followers. Sure, users have the option to share media to their friends or followers if they manage to see the posts, but you’re still not reaching the maximum target demographic.

Facebook offers businesses the option to promote their posts so a larger demographic will see their content. When a post is promoted, it will stay higher up in the news feed for a longer period of time. There is also the option to reach mutual friends of users who have ‘liked’ your page. Promoted posts do cost a small amount, and the price varies depending on the size of the audience you intend to reach.

Similar to Facebook promoted posts, Twitter now offers a marketing strategy that is appealing to many companies across the globe. Promoted tweets are targeted toward users based off of gender, location or interests. There is no set cost to promoting tweets, as is the companies are charged every time a user clicks, retweets or favorites a tweet. Promoting tweets has proven to be a productive and cheap marketing strategy for all types of companies.

Advertising on Instagram is a little bit tougher unless you want to pay big bucks to reach all 300 million users. Instead, smaller companies are paying an affordable amount to automatically interact with users by having the company account ‘like’ certain photos under relevant hashtags. This gains recognition from users who would most likely be interested. This will also help build a following and make all future posts more effective.

Marketing on social media is a strategic game. If done too frequently and without taste, users are sure to unfollow the account. People tend to spend countless hours on social media platforms to be entertained, not to be sold products. Effective advertising is subtle and reaches consumers on a personal level.

Broc Waring is a writer for Fusion 360, an advertising agency in Utah. He writes for many other clients as well.

*Image Credit: Wikimedia