The Benefits of Social Media Advertising
February 2025
Social ads are a highly effective way to make conversions and, in this day and age, businesses have no excuse for not using them.
The benefits of social media marketing far outweigh any of the disadvantages. Social ads are highly targeted, linked to your company's profile, and can be used to satisfy a variety of marketing goals, like generating brand recognition and increasing sales.
Perhaps you or your company are interested in advertising on these platforms, or perhaps you still have doubts about whether you truly need to do so. Either way, read on to learn about the benefits of social media marketing!
Social ads are any advertisements on social media platforms. Generally speaking, they contain a title and a description, and are accompanied by some sort of multimedia element (a picture, video, clickable product item, etc.). Effective social media ads also contain a “call to action,” which grabs the user's attention and invites them to interact with the ad, business, product, or service.
Depending on the social media platform where an ad is posted, a social ad can be published in many different formats. Though there are many different ways to create an ad, social media advertising isn't too different from ads found on search engines like Google. The primary difference is that social media marketing can be much more targeted, more visually dynamic, and can be done on a variety of different platforms with different tactics.
The number of businesses and entrepreneurs implementing social media marketing strategies increases yearly. That being said, there are still some companies who resist. This is likely due to the fact that these businesses don’t realize the advantages of social media. Let's take a closer look at what these are.
Social media advertising is a cost-effective way to reach a large audience. You can set your budget and target your ads to specific demographics, interests, and even behaviors. This means that your ads are more likely to be seen by people who are actually interested in what you have to offer.
Social media platforms provide detailed analytics about your ads, so you can see how well they are performing. This information can be used to improve future campaigns and get the most out of your advertising budget.
Social media advertising allows you to target your ads to specific demographics, interests, and even behaviors. This means that your ads are more likely to be seen by people who are actually interested in what you have to offer.
Social media ads can help raise awareness of your brand and your products or services. When people see your ads, they are more likely to remember your brand and to consider doing business with you in the future.
Social media ads allow you to connect with your followers and potential customers. You can create a positive customer experience on an entirely new platform by creating new content, or targeted discounts and offers. Additionally, a company can create a dedicated customer service account, thus bettering the public’s opinion of your brand and making themselves more available to customers and potential customers who have questions.
Social media ads can be used to generate leads for your business. You can create ads that direct users to your website or landing pages, where they can learn more about your business and its products or services.
Social media ads can be a great way to engage with your target audience. You can use them to ask questions, start conversations, and get feedback on your products or services.
You can create ads that promote your products or services, offer discounts or promotions, signups, and/or leads. Social ads are an ideal method for getting conversions. When a user is given what they’re looking for and clicks on your call to action, this can drive conversions.
Another benefit of social media advertising is collecting a wealth of data about your users. This data can be used to improve your social media marketing campaigns and your overall business strategy, as it helps you understand your current target audience and can even help you create new ones.
Social media ads can drive traffic to your website, improving visibility and attracting potential customers who may not have discovered your brand otherwise. You can also include links in your ads that lead directly to specific landing pages, encouraging visitors to explore your offerings further.
Social media allows for real-time engagement with your audience. Customers can ask questions, provide feedback, or share their opinions instantly, which can help businesses adapt and improve their products or services on the fly.
Social media advertising allows businesses to keep an eye on competitors and adjust strategies accordingly. By tracking competitors’ ad performance and audience reactions, businesses can stay ahead of the curve and use social media to differentiate themselves.
Through consistent engagement and authentic content, businesses can build a loyal community around their brand. Social media provides a space for brands to connect personally with customers through UGC and other means, creating trust, and long-term relationships.
Social media platforms offer a variety of ad formats, such as images, videos, stories, carousels, and more. This flexibility allows businesses to choose the ad type that best suits their goals and resonates with their target audience.
With social media ads, you can retarget users who have already interacted with your brand but didn’t convert. Retargeting ads keep your business top of mind and encourage previous visitors to return and complete a purchase.
Even if you are already familiar with paid ads on social media, the way an ad appears depends on the social network you select for a campaign. To better understand the benefits of social media, let's delve into the most popular platforms.
Meta/Facebook: Advertising on Facebook provides access to a vast community of users across its platforms, including Facebook itself, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and the Audience Network (which includes third-party apps and websites). Facebook refers to its Ads Manager as the central hub for managing all ads across its platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. The ad formats the platform offers are text ads, image ads, video ads, and carousel ads. Additionally, Facebook has added interactive ad formats, such as Collection ads, Slideshow ads, and Playable ads, giving businesses more creative options. Metrics and tracking have also evolved with Facebook Ads Manager offering a wide range of tracking options like reach, engagement, and conversion tracking. Through Facebook Ads, businesses can set specific campaign objectives, such as brand awareness, lead generation, or app installs, to align their advertising efforts with their overall goals.
Instagram: Instagram ads are managed through Meta Ads Manager, which allows businesses to create ads for both Facebook and Instagram. Ads on Instagram appear as "Sponsored" but have become more integrated into the feed, often resembling organic posts to provide a smoother user experience. These ads have different call-to-actions (CTA) on them, such as "Learn More," "Shop Now," "Sign Up," and "Contact Us," depending on the type of campaign. Instagram has increasingly focused on Shopping Ads, which allow businesses to drive direct product purchases through the platform, as well as Reels Ads, Instagram's short-form video ad format.
TikTok: TikTok has become a major platform for reaching Gen Z, offering unique advertising formats and a highly engaged audience. Businesses on TikTok can create a variety of ad types, including In-Feed Ads, Branded Hashtag Challenges, Branded Effects, and TopView ads. These options have become popular among brands looking to connect with TikTok’s creative and viral community. Additionally, TikTok provides more self-serve advertising tools for businesses, enabling advertisers to directly manage their campaigns, alongside the option to work with a TikTok Account Manager for more tailored support. TikTok’s ad targeting capabilities have also expanded to offer more granular targeting based on user interests, behaviors, and demographics, allowing businesses to reach their desired audience more effectively.
LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a powerful platform for targeting professionals and businesses, with various ad formats such as text ads, image ads, and video ads available for promoting content to specific audiences. The platform is increasingly positioning itself as a tool for social selling. It not only allows businesses to advertise, but also enables them to engage with potential customers through content, posts, and direct interactions. LinkedIn has introduced ad formats such as Sponsored InMail (personalized messages sent directly to users’ inboxes), Dynamic Ads, and Carousel Ads. The platform has also expanded its ad targeting options, allowing businesses to refine their audience based on factors like company size, job titles, and skills, making it an ideal platform for B2B marketing.
X: Businesses leverage this platform to expand the reach of their posts and increase engagement. Companies can use a cost-per-engagement (CPE) model, where they are only charged when users interact with their content (like, repost, reply, or click on a link). X also offers other bidding models, such as cost-per-click (CPC) and cost-per-impression (CPM), depending on the campaign goal. X provides various campaign types to meet different business objectives, including brand awareness, website traffic, lead generation, engagement, and app promotion. These options help companies align their campaigns with their specific goals and target audience more effectively.
Micro-Segmentations: Social media platforms allow businesses to target their ads to very specific groups. Those specific connections create micro-segmentations that allow you to launch advertising campaigns based on concrete actions. This level of targeting can be very effective in reaching the right people with the right message.
Organic Diffusion: Social ads can be shared by users, which can help spread an ad's reach without the business having to pay anything extra. Not only can people click on something, but they can also “like” or “share” something with their personal network. These “likes” and “shares” can organically diffuse an ad without costing the advertiser. This can be a very effective way to reach a large audience.
Familiarity: People are more likely to pay attention to ads they see from businesses they are familiar with. Social ads can help businesses to build familiarity with their products and services.
Now that you have a solid base of knowledge, we encourage you to take the plunge and create your own social ads campaign! If you’ve already done so, make sure to put the above advice into practice so that you can increase your conversion rate!
