Module 5 – Understanding Paid Media Tactics on Social Media
This article will explore the various types of paid media tactics available on each social media platform to help you expand your reach, build engagement, and generate leads.
All of these platforms also have their own variation of a Pixel to track campaign success.
About This Article
Format: Article
Facebook and Instagram
Facebook and Instagram are both owned by Meta, and Ads Manager allows you to run, manage and track ads on both platforms. Set up your campaigns by identifying your geo location, target audience and interest-based targeting specifications, as well as creating lookalike and custom email audiences.
Ads Manager also enables you to add a piece of code (Meta Pixel) on your website to measure the effectiveness of your advertising by tracking the actions people take on when they get there. A meta pixel also allows you to gather a pool of audiences to re-target in your next campaign.
Best Practices:
- Use vertical videos. Most people hold their phones vertically, so you’ll cover more of their screen.
- Use less text on images. Research shows that images with less than 20% text perform best. Keep text short, clear and concise to get your message across.
- Add movement with videos and gifs to stand out in people’s newsfeed.
- Target your ads to a specific audience. Audience quality is more important than audience size when driving conversions.
- Include a clear call to action (CTA) to encourage people to click on your ad now.
Learn More and Continue Learning.
KPIs:
- Followers
- Impressions
- Engagement Rate
- Link Clicks
- Click Through Rate (CTR)
- Revenue
- Transactions
- Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
Types of Ads:
- FB/IG Static video on Feed
- FB/IG Carousel (min of 2 panels, max 10)
- FB In-stream Video
- IG Stories (2-10s max video, 3 panels max)
- IG Explore Page
- Audience Network
- Messenger Inbox/Stories
- Boosting (only for feed posts, not stories or carousels)
Learn More and Continue Learning.
LinkedIn can be a good platform to showcase your corporate initiatives, and to market yourself to companies searching for a unique corporate retreat, exciting meetings and events spaces, and unforgettable team building activities. LinkedIn also allows you to target audiences by company size, company, job title, education, etc. Compared to other social platforms, advertising is much more expensive, so it’s typically only used for larger campaigns. Learn More.
Best Practices:
- Determine your target audience, and A/B test your campaigns using different targeting criteria to learn which audiences connect better with your ads.
- Include a clear call to action (CTA) to encourage people to click on your ad now.
- Use video, audio or other rich media elements in your ads.
- Video ads that are under 30 seconds long perform best—most viewers drop off after 10 seconds. Learn More.
KPIs:
- Link Clicks
- Impressions
- Click Through Rate (CTR)
- Lead Generation
- Revenue
- Transactions
- Return On Ad Spend (ROAS)
Types of Ads:
- Traffic Ads
- Sponsored InMail
- Sponsored (Boosted) Posts
- Sponsored Job Listings
- Dynamic Ads
Learn More and Continue Learning
Pinterest can be a highly effective marketing channel for businesses, with 96% of all Pinterest users regularly researching product information on the platform, and 87% of users who have purchased a product they saw on Pinterest. Tourism businesses in particular benefit by using this platform to promote their offerings and experiences.
Best Practices:
- Use a vertical image to ensure your ad stands out in people’s feeds.
- Make your brand the focal point by including your logo.
- Add text overlay and keep it short and concise.
- For video ads, 6-15 second videos perform best
- Ensure your video ad works with and without audio. Most Pinterest users have their audio turned off.
- Include a clear call to action (CTA) that encourages people to click on your ad now.
KPIs:
- Awareness
- Impressions
- Engagement
- Saves (Repins)
- Pin Clicks
- Link Clicks
- Revenue
- Transactions
- Return On Ad Spend (ROAS)
Types of Ads:
- Idea Pins (short video segments)
- Try on product Pins (think virtual fitting room)
- Collection ads (mobile-only ads)
- Carousel ads (a group of images users can swipe through)
- Promoted Pins (boosting an existing Pin)
- Shopping ads (for shoppable products)
- Itineraries
Snapchat
The 18- to 24-year-old age group continues to be drawn to Snapchat, so if you are trying to advertise to this younger demographic, start here.
Best Practices
- Make your ad content fun and shareable.
- Ads between 3-5 seconds perform best.
- Showcase your product front and center in your ad creative.
- A/B test your ads to improve your performance.
- Include a clear call to action (CTA) to encourage people to click on your ad now.
- Design for sound on. 64% of Snapchat ads are viewed with the sound on.
KPIs:
- Awareness
- Video Views
- Engagement
- Lead Generation
- App Downloads
- Link Clicks
- Revenue
- Transactions
- Return On Ad Spend (ROAS)
Types of Ads:
- Single image or video
- Collection ads (four tappable tiles that let users browse and buy products)
- Story ads
- Lenses (interactive augmented reality (AR) ads)
- Branded filters
- Commercials (unskippable)
- Dynamic ads (ads served to people based on their actions or page views on your website)
TikTok
TikTok is another platform that can help you reach younger demographics looking for fun, interesting content. The number of TikTok users has surpassed 1 billion, and ads can now reach an estimated audience of 825 million people worldwide.
Best Practices:
- Prioritize Vertical Videos.
- Ads between 21-34 seconds perform best.
- Center important elements, as TikTok typically obscures the outer margins of frames.
- Use background music. TikTok requires audio settings to be turned on.
- Include a clear call to action (CTA) that encourages people to click on your ad now.
- Use captions (subtitles). TikToks that employ closed captioning have a 55.7% lift in impressions.
KPIs:
- Awareness
- Engagement
- Video views
- Link Clicks
- App Downloads
- Revenue
- Transactions
- Return On Ad Spend (ROAS)
Types of Ads:
- In-feed ads
- Image ads
- Video ads
- Spark ads (boosting organic content)
- Pangle ads (Ads placed through the TikTok Audience Network)
- Carousel ads (can include up to 10 images)
- TopView ads (full screen takeover triggered when users open the app)
- Branded Hashtag Challenge
- Branded Effects and Filters
Last updated: August, 2024
