2017. It seems so far away, doesn’t it? By the time the new year comes, the election will be behind us, the holidays will be over, and we’ll even have a new Star Wars film! It seems like a distant future. Yet in truth, it’s only a few short months away and businesses need to be ready. This is the time to prepare your marketing budgets for next year. Is social media incorporated into your plans?
You may be wondering what you have to pay for when it comes to social media. It’s free to sign up, right? While this is true, those in charge of these platforms will only let a company’s reach go so far until they get a cut of the action. This is where social media advertising comes into play. A post’s organic growth is limited thanks to algorithms that are aimed to deliver specific content to users. Advertising has become an essential element of any social media marketing campaign’s success.
Each platform has created advertising opportunities that delivers advantages to your business’s profile. While these tools come with a price tag, they have the potential to deliver serious results. Here are the best ways to harness the advertising of social media, categorized by your platform of choice:
Facebook- Undoubtedly the most popular social media platform in the US, Facebook has a wide variety of advertising options. One of the most popular methods is Boosted Posts. If you notice a post is gaining some popularity on its own, you can boost it so your engaging content will really take off. When setting up online ads through Facebook, they provide you with many demographic-based options so your brand is being noticed by exactly who would buy your product, or invest in your service.
Twitter- If you spend any time on Twitter, you have seen their effective advertising efforts in action. Promoted Tweets are prominently placed inside news feeds in prime spots. If your company signs up to be a Promoted Account, your profile will show up in non-followers’ “Who To Follow” lists.
LinkedIn- The social media platform that is meant for professional networking also offers great advertising options. This is very helpful, especially for B2B companies. Sponsored Content will be visibly seen on all devices, but only to whom you want to see your content. You can also create a Text Ad which will be visible in a user’s sidebar, right near their most explored links.
Instagram- Facebook’s sister site, Instagram, is beginning to take itself seriously as an avenue for marketing. You can create your own special advertisement with their Power Editor so it’s eye-catching to everyone browsing the image and video focused site. You will need to connect your Facebook page in order to get the job done, but it’s well worth it. Instagram has recently tweaked its algorithm in marketers’ favor, so your content will be displayed alongside Instagramers’ favorite pics and videos.
Social media advertising is an important issue since online marketing is becoming increasingly popular on all fronts, especially through the avenues of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. This is the beginning of a series about why you need to incorporate social media into your 2017 marketing budget, so be sure to look out for the next installment!
