Traditional advertising is still important, but now it needs to work in harmony with social media and online advertising to successfully complete marketing goals. The different types of advertising have many things in common, but social media and online advertising have some unique aspects. Here are five tips for advertising on social media.
1. Select the Platforms Your Customers Use Most Frequently
Social media advertising is only successful if your customers or clients see the ads. Therefore, you need to be sure you’re targeting the social media platforms your target audience is using. For example, if most of your customer base is active on Facebook, then you might want to work with a Facebook ads agency to produce the most appropriate ads. You may need to conduct market research to determine the appropriate social media platforms to target.
2. Incorporate the Pareto Principle
The Pareto Principle is also known as the 80%/20% rule. Following this rule means your goal is for 20% of your ads to generate 80% of your results. When you use the Pareto Principle, you are avoiding spreading your advertising campaign too thin. Instead, your focus should be on precise targeting of specific metrics. Choose your metrics before you begin using this rule. Common metrics include ad types, conversions and target audiences.

3. Optimize All Your Ad Content
Optimizing your content is essential. However, the optimization you choose will depend on your advertising metrics. The most common choices are length, timing and quality. Look at average social media advertising and consumer trends and structure your ads accordingly. Most video ads are between thirty and sixty seconds while text posts should be less than 100 characters long. The shorter you can make your post and your hashtags, the better. Make sure your timing is precise and invest enough resources into your ads to ensure they are of high quality.
4. Focus on Video Content
Many of the most popular and memorable social media ads are videos. While these videos may be long-form or short-form, your ads should be in the format that makes the most sense for your business, customer base and product type. On social media, engagement drives visibility. Videos are more likely to receive engagement and be shared than other types of content. Most social media platforms include some type of media player, which means you should be able to upload your videos to multiple platforms without making too many changes.
5. Develop a Strong, Unique Brand and Voice
Ads can’t help you if you don’t have memorable branding and a strong voice for your brand. If your company isn’t memorable but your ads are, then potential customers may want a product and buy a similar one elsewhere. Depending on your company’s brand, the type of product you’re selling and your target audience, you may develop ads that are funny, serious, informative or punchy.
Social media advertising is only one part of a greater advertising strategy. Divert the necessary resources to your social media ad campaigns, but don’t neglect other marketing campaigns and types of advertising.