Social media advertising can be daunting to understand, execute and measure, especially for small business owners navigating an ever-changing digital landscape. To ensure you get the most out of your hard-earned dollars, it’s essential to grasp the fundamentals before advertising on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or any other digital space.
So, let’s discuss the fundamentals of social media advertising, especially Boosted vs Paid Ads comparison. AZ Media Maven receives questions often on which is better. So, whether this is your first foray into social media ads, or even if you’re experienced in digital marketing, these insights will help. Our blog will unravel the complexities of advertising and provide actionable suggestions on when and how to deploy different types of advertising strategies.
So, how can you achieve social media advertising success?
Social Media Advertising Overview
In the vast realm of digital marketing, social media advertising stands as a powerful force, offering businesses of all sizes unprecedented access to their target audiences. For relatively small budgets, business owners can create geographic and demographic specific campaigns that deliver an excellent ROI.
Before we delve into the specifics of boosted and paid ads, let’s take a moment to understand the broader landscape of social media advertising.
What is Social Media Advertising?
At its core, social media advertising involves using various social media platforms to promote products, services, or content to a specific audience.
With social media now more popular than ever, advertising leverages the immense user base and rich user data available on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, and Pinterest. These platforms provide businesses with the tools to create and customize hyper-targeted ads for a specific audience, which, as we all know, is crucial for having a positive conversion-rate.
Types of Social Media Ads
Boosted Ads
Boosted posts are often the first attempt many small business owners make in social media advertising. These ads offer a straightforward and accessible way to increase the visibility of content among existing followers and their extended networks.
Boosted ads, also known as promoted posts, are a form of paid advertising that takes one of your organic (unpaid) social media posts and amplifies its reach. Boosted posts appear on users’ timelines, just like regular posts. However, boosted posts come with a significant advantage: they can reach a broader and more targeted audience.
An example of this could be a small, local restaurant boosting a Facebook post with a tempting image of their weekly Happy Hour special. They post this weekly and have never boosted this post before. They set the boost to target locals aged 25-55 within a 10-mile radius, resulting in increased diners on Tuesday evenings. Simple!
Benefits of Boosted Ads
- Cost-Effective
- Increased Visibility
- Engagement with Current Followers
- Audience Targeting
- Quick and Easy
When to use Boosted Ads
Boosted ads are particularly effective in the following scenarios:
Promoting Important Updates: Use boosted ads to ensure that critical updates, such as product launches, events, or announcements, reach a broader audience.
Engaging with Local Communities: If you’re a local business aiming to connect with the local community, boosting posts can help increase your visibility among potential customers in your area.
Testing Content: Boosting allows you to test the performance of different types of content or messaging before investing in more extensive ad campaigns.
Building Brand Awareness: Boosted ads are excellent for building brand awareness and generating buzz around your business or cause.
One of our favorite scenarios for boosted ads is if you have a post that is already performing well. For example, imagine you’ve posted a killer image that perfectly encaptures everything your business is about. This post is starting to gain some traction… a couple hundred likes, some comments and even a couple shares.This is the perfect time to pull the trigger and implement a boosted ad into your strategy!
If you’re unsure on the best time to deploy boosted ads, don’t hesitate to get in touch & schedule a meeting!
Paid Ads
While boosted ads are an excellent starting point for many small businesses, the world of social media advertising offers even more advanced and highly customizable options. Paid ads provide a comprehensive toolkit to help you achieve specific marketing objectives. They are tailored campaigns created from scratch within the advertising platform of your chosen social media network. Unlike boosted posts, these campaigns allow for more extensive customization, precise targeting, and a wider range of ad formats.
Benefits of Paid Ads
- Precise Targeting
- Varied Ad Formats
- Specific Objectives
- Ad Scheduling
- Budget Control
When to Use Paid Ads
Paid ads are particularly beneficial when:
Driving Conversions: If your goal is to convert leads into customers, paid ads can be highly effective in guiding users through the sales funnel.
Launching New Products: Use paid ads to create buzz around new product launches, reaching a broader audience than boosted posts alone.
Scaling Campaigns: When you need to expand the reach of successful campaigns and increase your return on investment (ROI).
Competing Aggressively: In competitive markets or during key seasons, paid ads can help you stand out and maintain a strong online presence.
Maximizing ROI: For businesses with more extensive advertising budgets, paid ads can provide detailed performance metrics, allowing for precise ROI analysis and optimization.
Paid vs Boosted
Let’s recap the key differences between boosted and paid ads and when it’s best to utilize each strategy.
Boosted Ads: These are ideal when you want to engage your existing audience, increase visibility among your current followers, and promote important updates or events. Boosted ads are cost-effective and user-friendly, making them a solid choice for small businesses with limited budgets. Use them for building brand awareness, strengthening organic reach, and testing content.
Paid Ads: Paid ads offer a more advanced and versatile toolkit. They excel when you require precise targeting, specific marketing objectives (e.g., conversions, leads, or sales), and more extensive ad format options. Paid ads are suitable for businesses looking to scale campaigns, launch new products, compete aggressively, or maximize ROI through detailed analytics.
The choice between boosted and paid ads hinges on your unique goals and budget. Consider your objectives, target audience, and available resources when making your decision.
In many cases, a combination of both strategies can yield the most effective results. Start with boosted ads to engage your current followers and then transition to paid ads to expand your reach and achieve specific business objectives
Ultimately, there’s no exact science to Social Media Advertising. What works for one small business, may not work for the next. If you’re looking for some help with your social media advertising, reach out to AZ Media Maven today.
AZ Media Maven is based in Laveen, AZ, a suburban village in the greater Phoenix area. Owner Rose Tring has more than 30 years of journalism experience as an editor and writer, many of those years in business news. She created AZ Media Maven in 2012 to help other business owners succeed by effectively telling their stories through public relations and social media. Reach AZ Media Maven at azmediamaven@azmediamaven.com or call (602) 373-8371.
