Paid social advertising has become a vital part of digital marketing. With more people on social media than ever before it has become the perfect platform to promote your product. However, crafting top performing paid social ads can be a tricky task. With so many different factors to consider, how do you create the perfect combination that will work for your brand and your audience? Our marketing agency in Leeds shares top tips and things to avoid when you’re creating your paid social ads.
What are the four parts of a paid social ad?
There are four key elements of any paid social ad that you need to think about before you create yours.
1
Targeting
You need to make sure you reach the right audience with the right message.
2
Creative
The average human attention span is roughly eight seconds so you need strong, impactful creative that will grab people’s attention.
3
Landing page
Make sure the place you are directing users to is easy to navigate and use, otherwise you won’t gain that conversion.
4
Tracking
Having the right tracking means you can see how users respond to your ad and if you need to amend anything to drive better results.
Want to discover our top paid social tips? Keep reading!
Define Clear Objectives
Before diving into the ad creation process, it’s vital to establish clear objectives for your campaign. What are you looking to gain from your ad? Why are you directing users to the link on the ad? Are you aiming to increase brand awareness, drive website traffic, generate leads, or promote a specific product?
Defining your goals makes the rest of the ad variables like the creative, call to action (CTA), and copy much easier to develop and put together, as you have a clear idea of what is needed from the ad.
Understand Your Audience
Knowing your target audience is the foundation of successful advertising. Think carefully about the kind of people you want your ad to reach. Consider their demographics, interests, behaviours, and pain points so you can get your product in front of people who are more likely to be interested in what you are promoting.
Find your audience for paid social ads
Utilising social media analytics tools and audience insights to gain information about your audience will really help support with refining your audience. This will allow you to create paid social ads that resonate with specific users, and increase the likelihood of engagement and conversions.
Strong Copywriting
Creating persuasive and snappy ad copy is essential for capturing attention and driving results. Start with an attention-grabbing headline that captivates the reader’s attention and clearly communicates what the ad is about.
Also, think about whether your audience will respond better to less sales led messaging, could social caption style text options attract them more? Don’t be afraid to experiment with different variations to determine what resonates best with your audience. Be careful not to overdo it though, remember to keep the copy concise so it’s not overly wordy, otherwise this may confuse the messaging.
Eye-catching Visuals for Paid Social Ads
Strong images and videos play a crucial role in attracting attention in a crowded social media feed. Make sure your ads include high-quality creative that are visually appealing and relevant to your message. Ensure that the imagery fits with your brand identity and is instantly recognisable, as well as making sure it is something your target audience will find appealing.
Test which media works best for your brand, in our marketing agency we have found that video content works best for some brands, whereas other brands have audiences that prefer images or graphics. Try out different visual formats and optimise for each social media platform’s specifications to ensure you have the best display, to make your ad look clean and professional.
A/B Testing
One of the most effective ways to optimise your paid social ads is through A/B testing. Create multiple ad variations with slight differences in headlines, visuals, copy, or call-to-action, and test them against each other. Monitor the performance metrics such as click-through rate, conversion rate, and engagement rate to determine which version suits your audience best.
These insights gained from testing will allow you to continuously refine and improve your ads, and make them better and better each time!
Precise Targeting
Understanding your audience is one thing, but if you don’t make use of the targeting options to reach these people, your ads will never perform at the top of their game!
Paid social ads, specifically for who you want
Social media platforms offer targeting options that allow you to reach a specific audience based on various criteria. Utilise this feature to narrow down your audience and ensure your ads are seen by the right people. For example, if your ad is only intended for a specific area of the country, make use of the precise location setting to make sure you’re only reaching the audience that is relevant to what you’re promoting!
Combine demographic targeting with interest-based targeting, custom audiences, or lookalike audiences to maximise your reach and increase the chances of conversions.
Mobile Optimization
Did you know that most online consumers now purchase through their smartphone? Given the increasing number of users accessing social media on mobile devices, it’s crucial to optimise your ads for mobile viewing.
Ensure that your visuals and copy work just as well on mobile as they do on desktop, and are visually appealing on smaller screens. The best way to ensure your ads are seamless across the board is to test them on different devices to make sure the user experience is consistent.
Compelling Call-to-Action
Every effective ad needs a clear call-to-action that prompts users to take action and engage with the advert. Using action words and phrases that create a sense of urgency, such as “Shop Now,” “Learn More,” or “Book Now” are most effective for gaining clicks and conversions, as it is clear what the user has to do to access the product.
Place the CTA prominently within the ad, usually at the end of the copy, and make it visually distinct to attract attention.