Expanding Horizons: Understanding Paid Marketing Beyond Google Ads –The Power of Diverse Social Media Channels

Paid marketing is often considered synonymous with Google Ads. But that’s more
fiction than fact.

There’s a better alternative to paid marketing—aka social media. Using diverse social
media channels is ushering in an age of paid marketing that is results-driven and
gives you better bang for your buck.

With ad spending in social media advertising projected to reach $207.1 billion in
2023, it makes sense to understand how you can leverage new channels to drive
organic growth and expand brand awareness.

In fact, social media-centric ad spending is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.31%,
leading to a projected market volume of $255.8bn by 2028.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore how you can leverage a cocktail of social
media channels to improve your paid marketing efforts. Let’s go!

But First, What Is a Paid Social Media Marketing Strategy?

Paid social is a form of digital advertising that falls under the umbrella of social
media marketing. Think of it as a ‘plan’ to understand how you’ll spend money and
target customers using social media channels.

Here’s how this concept works: in a paid social media marketing strategy, you
actively invest in promoting your business through paid advertising on social media
platforms such as YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok, Meta, X, and more.

In this setup, you pay for sponsored content and ads to target specific customer
segments (such as ones with a shared interest, similar behavior, common
demographics, etc.).

Remember, your paid social media marketing strategy will differ from platform to
platform—there’s a ‘no one-size-fits-all’ approach that you can apply blindfoldedly.

5 Common Social Media Paid Advertising Options — Other Than Google Ads

If you don’t want to use Google ads due to budget constraints, intense competition,
or lack of technical know-how, don’t worry!

In some cases, an increased dependency on Google AdWords can also dent your
advertising strategy’s effectiveness, control, and flexibility.

Luckily, there are other social media alternatives you can use to your brand’s
advantage and enhance your digital campaign’s ROI:

1. Paid Social on X for Scalable Brand Awareness

If you want to win over audiences who have no inkling of your brand, consider X
(previously Twitter) as a great platform.

Here’s a promotional ad by Lazada that talks about an upcoming Christmas sale:

Source: SS from the writer’s Twitter account

According to experts, using a channel such as Twitter can empower your brand to
connect with your ideal audience at scale and build awareness—irrespective of the
stage in which your customer might be within the sales funnel.

Here are a few tips to remember when engaging in paid marketing on X:

• Outline your marketing goals before you get started on your paid campaign for Twitter. Whether it’s building brand awareness, driving website traffic, engaging in lead generation, or conversions, having specific goals will guide your strategy right from the get-go.
• Deep dive into your target audience on Twitter by leveraging Twitter Analytics. These ‘intelligent’ tools will help you to gather insights into your target base’ key demographics, interests, and behaviors.
• Keep your tweets concise and engaging with a clear call-to-action (CTA). You must highlight the value proposition of your product/service to keep your audience coming back for more.
• Research and use relevant hashtags to increase the discoverability of your tweets. However, a word of caution: do not overload your tweets with too many hashtags, which can negatively impact your campaign.

2. LinkedIn Paid Advertising for Quality Lead Generation

Want to generate quality leads without breaking the bank?

Trust LinkedIn to be your platform of choice.

Take a look at the following ‘promoted’ post by Workforce Singapore:

Source: SS from the writer’s LinkedIn account

This simple yet powerful post is direct, to the point, and effective in getting out-ofjob candidates to sign up so that they can take the next step toward a rewarding
career.

When promoting on a channel like LinkedIn, make sure to:

• Understand if your ‘ideal’ target base is frequenting the platform—generally speaking, B2B brands perform better on professional social channels such as LinkedIn
• Align your post’s creatives according to the channel’s overarching tonality and aesthetics
• Do your homework to understand the best time and day of the week to post to get maximum traction

3. Instagram Social Advertising for Driving On-point Sales

Instagram is a vehicle for all things visually driven.

So, if you want to present your brand’s products in a more appealing light, give this
social media platform a go.

For instance, here’s a ‘sponsored’ ad by the brand “Westside Stores” that promotes
its new winter collection with creative messaging and great photography:

Source: SS from the writer’s Instagram account

Using Instagram as a paid social channel, you can target more customers who share
a common interest or specific purchasing behavior.

That said, there are a few best practices you need to keep in mind when leveraging
Instagram as a paid marketing channel:

• Use eye-catching imagery, videos, GIFs, and more
• Include a Call to Action button that is strategically “in-your-face”—meaning it should be instantly visible and should encourage people to take action (like making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, etc.)
• Make good use of Instagram features such as Stories and Reels to deliver a more immersive and interactive experience for your viewers. In the end, you want your paid marketing campaign to be as dynamic and engaging as possible.
• Partner with influencers relevant to your industry (and target audience) to amplify your brand message. Remember, using the right set of influencers can empower your brand with authentic and relatable content. An influencer that resonates with their (and by extension) your followers.
• Take advantage of Instagram’s shoppable posts to create a seamless shopping experience for users. For instance, you can tag products in your posts and allow users to click and make purchases directly through the platform.

4. Meta (Facebook) Paid Advertising for Increased Brand Reach

Do you know that the brand, “The Farmer’s Dog” was able to increase their online
sales by 57% with their Facebook ad strategy? The brand’s “Shop Now” button drove
organic traffic directly to their website’s order page.

“Facebook has been a core growth driver for The Farmer’s Dog,” says Hannah Theurer,
Acquisition Manager at The Farmer’s Dog:

Source

Engaging in paid marketing on Facebook allows you to:

• Connect with a like-minded community of customers
• Leverage unique niches and forums to drive brand publicity
• Integrate SEO into your content marketing and skyrocket sales

But the real question remains: “Is there a right way to spend your dollars and
advertise on Facebook?”

The short answer? Yes.

Here are a few best practices to note when advertising on Facebook using a paid
strategy:

• Make sure to research your target audience beyond the buyer persona—you want to drive surveys, polls, interviews, etc., and get invaluable, genuine data right from the source
• Create multiple audience segments and personalize your paid ads for each. For example, you can use Meta’s Dynamic Ads feature to personalize your ads based on your user’s behavior and interests. Dynamic Ads automatically show different products (and content) to users based on their past interactions with your website or app, offering a highly personalized experience.
• Utilize Messenger Ads to engage with users in a more direct and conversational manner (much like a chatbot). You can:
  1. Answer customer inquiries
  2. Offer 24×7 support
  3. Provide personalized product recommendations to the t
• Implement the Meta Pixel feature on your website to track user interactions and gather valuable data. With this data, you can:
  1. Optimize your ad delivery
  2. Measure the effectiveness of your campaigns
  3. Retarget users who have shown interest

5. Snapchat Paid Social is Ideal for a Younger Target Audience

If your brand wants to target Gen Z (and even millennials to some extent), look no
further than Snapchat as a viable medium of communication:

Source

In fact, research indicates that “YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok remain the
most widely used online platforms among U.S. teens.”

And according to Snapchat’s own report, about 75% of 13-to-34-year-olds in 20+
countries are active on Snapchat! This means that if your target audience lies in this
age bracket, you’ve just hit gold!

Snapchat allows you to target customers at the right moment using the right channel
and, of course, the right messaging.

However, advertising on Snapchat is a different ballgame altogether. You must keep
the following tips in mind when carving out a full-fledged paid strategy:

• Try to showcase your brand’s real self to resonate better with Snapchat users.
• Play with diverse ad formats (such as Snap Ads, Filters, Lenses, and Story Ads) to capture your audience’s attention and make your business shine:

  Source

• Note: Snapchat is designed for vertical video, so create content that fits the platform’s format seamlessly and offers a more immersive experience for users.
• Leverage the platform’s AR features, such as sponsored Lenses and Filters, tocreate interactive and engaging ad experiences.
• If applicable to your business, use Snap Map to engage with users based on their location. You can share location-specific promotions, events, etc., to connect with users in specific geographical areas.

Paid Social Can Inspire Your Customers to Take the Desired Action

A mindfully, data-backed paid social strategy can encourage your customers to take
the desired action throughout the funnel.

If you are looking for a marketing partner who can curate a strategy and implement
it, keeping your brand objectives and vision in mind, connect with the team at
Lead Experts.

Let’s chat and give you the paid campaign your brand deserves.