Master Paid Advertising in Social Media Reach People Interested in Your Services Guide
Introduction There is a plethora of marketing options within social media. Think your budget and business isn t big enough? Many platforms offer hypertargeted advertising, allowing you to better allocate marketing dollars and reach the people who are most likely interested in your services. We ve compiled a breakdown of the most popular options and their best uses. Social Media Advertising Do s and Don ts 1. Don t assume a one size fits all strategy. A smart marketer will have modified content on each platform to address audience differentiation. 2. Don t feel the need to adopt all platforms at once. Research and select the ones that best meet your customers. B2B firms typically start with LinkedIn and Twitter. 3. Do make sure your content is updated and engaging while advertising. Just sending your followers back to a homepage won t cut it. Send to a landing page with content related to post. 4. Do have an end goal in mind. Is it to receive more followers? Increase website traffic? Gain brand exposure? All of these goals are achievable, just set clear outcomes. Master Paid Advertising in Social Media: Reach people interested in your services // www.bopdesign.com 2
I LinkedIn LinkedIn Most known as the central hub for networking and business development, LinkedIn is a strong choice for B2B marketers looking to reach decision makers and potential strategic partners. By taking advantage of its core audience mindset - professionals interested in business solutions - LinkedIn s Sponsored Updates is an opportunity for a marketing team to amplify useful content or business news to people they want to do business with. Sponsored Updates With Sponsored Updates, businesses pay to push their post onto an individual s LinkedIn feed. This pay-per-click or pay per 1,000 impression feature offers demographics similar to other social platforms (location, gender and age), but one key differentiation is the ability to customize based on company name, job title, job function, skills, schools and groups. Users can target interested industries, without competing against the noise of other irrelevant companies and messages. A sponsored update can be an excellent way to promote content useful primarily to the targeted audience with a strong call to action. Thought leadership content leading to a provided service Specific sales pitches and call to action Lead generation and connection building LinkedIn Targeting Options for B2B Companies Many B2B companies think social media advertising is reserved for B2C audiences. To avoid missing an opportunity, Bop Design s clients are encouraged to explore LinkedIn s success in combining networking, pitching and advertising all on a social platform. Here are some examples of how a B2B accounting firm that provides services to manufacturing companies can expand their business using Sponsored Updates ad specifics: 1. Locations: The accounting firm just opened up a new branch in a new state. By leveraging LinkedIn s location feature, the firm can reach this new audience by metro area, zip code, etc. To receive even better results, narrowing the reach to industries they already do business in allows them to leverage their current portfolio. 2. Companies: If a new manufacturing facility opened in the area or the accounting firm is seeking new companies, they can utilize LinkedIn s company name, industry and company size specifics. Targeting job title, function and seniority can complement the sales teams pitches to executives and add a virtual element to their follow up. The sales team can also be alerted of a new hire or job change at a targeted company. 3. Groups: Another way to test the waters for new business is targeting interest groups on LinkedIn. By finding groups based on name, location and function, the accounting firm can market to individuals subscribing to groups such as B2B California CFOs or Sony Electronics Manufacturers. Master Paid Advertising in Social Media: Reach people interested in your services // www.bopdesign.com 3
F Facebook Facebook At almost a decade old, Facebook could be considered the granddaddy of social media. Don t let its age fool you, with 1.15 billion monthly active users this platform is best known for its diverse demographic growth. With so many audiences to choose from, Facebook also has a large advertising portfolio, including Facebook Ads, Sponsored Stories and Promoted Posts. Here we ll touch on the two newer options for B2B firms: Sponsored Stories and Promoted Posts. Sponsored Stories Sponsored Stories take advantage of word-of-mouth and fan interaction with a business. When fans interact, companies can pay to promote that action to a larger fan base using the same demographics as a Facebook Ad. Stories to sponsor include commented posts, posts with multiple likes, a link to an outside domain or an event page. Promoted Posts Promoted Posts provide two audience options: location targeting for users in a specific country, city or region or friends and their friends. With the latter option, businesses utilize their established fan base so the Promoted Post appears in the News Feed of their followers and the followers friends. While both sound very similar, there are key differences between the two offerings that will impact a marketing strategy: With 1.15 billion monthly active users this platform is best known for its diverse demographic growth. 1. Sponsored Stories are still an advertisement, therefore placement pricing needs to be considered. Appearing on the right hand side, a News Feed or Logout Page will impact your visibility and cost. Promoted Posts will always appear in a user s News Feed and is already folded into the cost per click. 2. Sponsored Stories give a business all the same demographic customization options as a Facebook Ad, such as gender, age, location and interests. Promoted Posts only provide two options for customization: location and friends and their friends. Social and casual messages, not always geared toward selling Ensure your firm is top of mind when need arises Master Paid Advertising in Social Media: Reach people interested in your services // www.bopdesign.com 4
T Twitter Twitter Breaking Facebook s social stronghold in 2006, Twitter s character-limited sound bites and trackable keywords work for businesses looking to expand their thought leadership. Twitter is the second most popular B2B social media tool behind LinkedIn. Twitter also follows the pay-per pricing based on number of followers, retweets, replies or favorites. Promoted Accounts Promoted Accounts places a company s Twitter account in front of engaged users based on location, interests and gender. Promoted Accounts is a useful method for businesses looking to grow their fan base, resulting in more followers listening to future messaging. If your business receives many referrals from strategic partners, promoting your Twitter feed to people/ organizations with interests that match your current strategic partners is an excellent way to uncover new referral relationships. Promoted Tweets Similar to Promoted Accounts, Promoted Tweets insert a company s tweet in users timelines and search results. Based on keywords, interests, gender, location and device used, businesses only pay when a user engages with the tweet (through retweets, replies and favorites). Twitter is the second most popular B2B social media tool behind LinkedIn. Time sensitive news relating to your service offering Product promotions Meaningful quotes and insights related to your industry Hashtag promotion Master Paid Advertising in Social Media: Reach people interested in your services // www.bopdesign.com 5
X YouTube YouTube While television advertising was originally reserved for national brands with multi-million dollar budgets, YouTube combines familiar advertising concepts with social targeting. This method works best when videos are kept short, to the point, entertaining and informative. While videos may require a larger budget for production needs, the low cost per view and audience segmentation makes YouTube a viable option. YouTube Ads Pricing can vary based on placement of ads, which can either appear before the start of another video or above video search results. Audience customization is similar to previous social platforms, including location, gender, age and keyword interests. Finally, YouTube only charges companies when a user chooses to watch the ad (not skip over), ensuring only individuals interested in your business are getting the message. Visually illustrate a problem and solution Storytelling of a client s possible situation Theatrical promotion, with comedic or dramatic call to action While each social media platform has similarities in advertising methodology, key differences in user demographics will greatly affect the success of a paid advertising campaign. The type of social platform you choose should be based on the campaign goal, target audience and type of message. By knowing each offerings strength, ad dollars are spent effectively and yield the highest results. Master Paid Advertising in Social Media: Reach people interested in your services // www.bopdesign.com 6