Social Media Advertising | Using Social Media Marketing Tools
One of the biggest factors that determine the success of your business is the number of customers buying your products or services. In order to increase awareness and bring in more potential customers, using social media can be an incredible avenue to give yourself an advantageous position.
In this blog post, you will learn about how to use social media marketing tools to increase your consumer interest and awareness which you can then convert to revenue.
Overview
Google Ads
Overview
Google Ads is the first social media marketing tool that we will be going over. Google Ads is the paid advertising that appears on Google searches. If a search matches a keyword, your ad can appear at the top. For example, a bakery may choose keywords like “bakery”, “cake shop”, or “bakery near me."
Bid to Display Ad
Google determines which ads appear on each search result page from their advertiser’s bidding quotas. For example, if Example Company set a budget of $4 per ad, and their rival, Showy LLC, set a $2.50 per ad budget, the ad for Example Company would appear at the top of the page. However, just because the advertisement appears does not necessarily mean the advertiser will be charged yet.
Pricing Options
Option 1
Google ads have multiple bidding models, but the most common and intuitive is their pay-per-click (PPC) model. In other words, you will only be charged for your advertisement if and when an individual clicks on your ad.
Option 2
Google ads also offers a cost-per-mille (CPM) model, in which advertisers are charged a certain amount per 1000 users who view the ad. Even if no interaction with the ad occurs, advertisers will still be charged if it appears on their search results page.
Option 3
Cost-per-engagement (CPE) refers to the bidding model in which advertisers will only be charged if users perform a specific action after clicking on the ad, such as signing up for an email list or filling out a survey.
*The average Google Ad cost per click is between $1 - $2. However, more competitive keywords are more costly.
Creating Your Google Ad
Step 1: Setting Goals
Before you begin, it is a good idea to set up a daily budget you will be willing to spend on advertising, in addition to compiling a list of keywords you would like to most associate with your business. Having these in mind before setting up the ads will result in a better designed marketing strategy and budget
Next, go to ads.google.com and click Start now. Here you can choose your main advertising goal out of the following options. Please refer to the screenshot below for how this step will appear on the Google Ads platform as well as the exact verbiage utilize on the website. One of their propelling questions as you begin the process is “What’s your main advertising goal?” This question not only prompts discussion on overall goals, but directs the creation of short-term and long-term goals.
Step 2: Providing Business Information
The next step to using this social media marketing tool requires user input on your business's information. When prompted, provide your business name as you would like it to appear on your ad. Provide the website link that users will arrive at once they click your ad. Please refer to the screenshot below for how this step will appear on the Google Ads platform as well as the exact verbiage utilize on the website.
*The website provided doesn’t necessarily have to be your main page, especially if your business has multiple offerings that you would like to create different ads for.
Step 3: Creating the Ad
The advertisement must include at least one headline and one description about your business.
Further, the ability to customize items from the keywords for the business that matches your ad to searches. Selecting a zip code, city, or region narrows the search and highlights your target audience.
Step 4: Budget and Final Review
Select your budget option. Google recommends between $9 and $15 per day, but the decision is at your discretion and can be changed at any time. Next, input payment information and confirm!
Instagram Ads
Overview
Another social media marketing tool is Instagram. Instagram is an effective form of driving awareness, reaching a target audience, and sharing your story. Instagram ads are posts and stories that look like regular Instagram posts but identifiable via the label, “Sponsored”. Types of Instagram ads include stories, photos, videos, carousel, collection, explore, IGTV, and Instagram Shopping ads. Each ad serves a specific objective and contain distinct “call to action” buttons. This step-by-step guide to create ads will help navigate through the Instagram ad process, and provide additional resources to improve the effectiveness of your ads.
Given Facebook is the parent company of Instagram, you need to use Facebook Ads Manager to manage ads on Instagram. To start, connect your Instagram and Facebook account to Facebook Business Manager.
Step 1: Begin the Campaign Process
To begin, there are two creation processes to choose from. The default setting, Guided Creation, is helpful if you are new to marketing. In this mode, select the marketing objective that best aligns with your ad goals. Guided creation walks advertisers through the entire ad process. On the other hand, Quick Creation is useful if you have prior experience advertising and provides the user with more control. In this guide, we’ll focus on Guided Creation.
Step 2: Identify Your Audience
Instagram’s integration with Facebook Business Manager allows you to utilize all of the available targeting tools. You can add a list of customers, visitors, and leads as well as additional demographic information including location, age range, gender, etc.
Step 3: Choose Ad Placements
Here, you can select the social media platform (Facebook, Instagram, or Messenger) and the type of post. We recommend utilizing Instagram Story Ads to best engage with your target audience due to the lower costs and performance. Instagram stories cover the entire screen, offering fewer distractions to the audience as compared to feed ads.
Step 4: Budgeting and Scheduling
In this step, you’ll decide how much to allocate towards the ad’s budget and schedule. The Facebook Ads Manager features optimization and bid strategy options adjustable to your campaign goals. These features allow you to set daily/lifetime campaign budgets, bid caps, spend limits, and automated budget redistribution amongst your ads to maximize the value and effectiveness of your campaign.
Step 5: Create Content
Finally, create your ad content by selecting the format, choosing photos or videos, paying, editing any final details, and then confirming.
Facebook Ads
Overview
The best formatting of an advertisement on Facebook is directly through a business Facebook page. Attached below, within additional resources, is a step-by-step on how to create a Facebook business page and how to create an advertisement on Facebook. Once the business page has been created, we would highly recommend adding some content available on your Facebook page.
Step 1: Starting the Ad Process
Open the business page and click the blue button on the lower left. Then, please choose the overall objective of the advertising. For instance, some objectives include boosting a Facebook post, increasing website traffic, obtaining more leads, promoting a business page.
Step 2: Add Images and Text to the Advertisement
Facebook may suggest photos and text, but feel free to upload a new photo or any marketing material you have prepared.
Step #3: Target Audience
Select the audience or the target demographic for your business. Selections will provide options to select an age range and a location for the customers. Due to the cost and lead time associated with shipping, it is better to advertise to an audience in closer proximity to provide more affordable shipping options and lower lead times.
Step 4: Ad Logistics
Next, plan a budget that is affordable for your business. Facebook will the user to input the time frame of the ad and the cost of the advertisement. Further, on Facebook Ad Manager, there should be an estimate given for the number of people the advertisement reaches on a daily basis. Please keep in mind is that you will never be charged more than your budget.
Please refer to the screenshot which identifies options for the overall advertising budget and duration. The total budget and duration for the advertisement are open to customization as seen from the drop-down and fill in the blank section.
Step 5: Approval Process
Once the advertisement undergoes the review process and the ad is automatically approved, therefore, it will be uploaded right away. The advertisement can always be edited and paused if it is not performing well, or if revisions need to be made.
Additional Resources
Etsy Ads
Overview
Finally, the last social media marketing tool we will be covering is Etsy. Etsy is an online marketplace primarily utilized for the sale of handmade or vintage items and unique art and craft supplies that are typically not found in other popular marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. The goods bought and sold on Etsy are produced or curated by small businesses and individuals working on niche passion projects.
Etsy Ads
Sellers can purchase advertisements to display a few or all of their product listings and shops across Etsy’s website and app. Sellers are charged for their advertisements on a cost-per-click basis which means the seller pays the ad fee only if their ad is clicked on and not if it is just displayed online. The cost-per-click is not a stagnant amount i.e. this fee will change from one day to another as per Etsy’s competitive ad space bidding amongst different sellers with similar target audiences for a particular day.
Below we have noted a step-by-step guide on Etsy advertisements as the business explores advertising on Etsy.
Step 1: Set Up Etsy Merchant Account
Create an Etsy account using your business email address, Google, or Facebook account. On Etsy.com, click the Your Account icon in the top-right corner, then click Sell on Etsy.
Then, review the Sell on Etsy page for details on seller fees, tools, and testimonials. Once you are familiar with the details, scroll down and click on Open your Etsy shop. The Open your Etsy shop feature allows you to modify shop preferences such as shop location, shop name, product listing details, and billing method
Within the Stock Your Shop page, be as robust as possible with the Listing Details by adding multiple keywords to the title and entering details for the optional questions as well. This will lead to maximum engagement from the website visitors.
Step 2: Advertising Preferences
On Etsy.com, click on the Shop Manager icon in the top-right corner, then click on Marketing, click on Etsy Ads, and select Get Started on the newly opened screen
Enter your advertising purpose in the pop-up box. If your business is just starting to establish a presence on Etsy, the Promote new products and Bring more traffic to my shop options are ideal for now. Then click Next, set your budget. Enter a daily advertising budget between $1-$50 in the pop-up box. This can be as low as $1 for the initial month as you get comfortable with Etsy and its advertising methods. Click on Start Advertising once you are satisfied with the settings
Step 3: Managing advertisements
Refer to the Etsy Ads page to adjust the advertising budget, the selected product listings, and to pause or end the advertisements
These adjustments should be based on the advertisement analytics present on the Etsy Ads page as displayed below. The first row of analytics provides an overview of all advertisements for your shop while the filters and analytics in the second row provide a narrowed down vision of individual product listings and their advertisements performance
The Shop Manager icon on the top-right corner of the Etsy homepage should be used as a hub for managing everything from listings and advertisements to order shipments and payments.
Offsite Ads
Etsy buys offsite advertising space from providers such as Facebook, Google, Pinterest, Instagram, and Bing to advertise products from its own platform. While Etsy covers all upfront advertising costs with these external providers, if a buyer clicks on an Etsy seller’s listing on these platforms and purchases the product within 30 days of that click, the seller is charged an advertising fee by Etsy against that order.
Sellers automatically get enrolled in the Offsite Ads program, but if they have made less than $10,000 USD on Etsy in the past 12 months, they have the option to opt-out of this program.
More information on Offsite Ads can be accessed here.
Additional Resources
Using one or more of these strategies will help your business gather the customers that are vital for your business's success. Regardless of which social media marketing tool your business relies on most, it's important to make sure you are trying new variations and learning which ones have the most impact in terms of interest and conversion to customers. To learn more about marketing basics, click here to learn about the 5 Ps of marketing.
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