By: Cate Boller
Paid media is a broad term that refers to the external marketing a company allocates a portion of its budget to. Examples of this are pay-per-click advertisements, branded content, and display ads on social media channels or the internet in general. Paid media/advertisements aren’t limited to a company’s social media feed and can be utilized as a tool for marketing beyond the follower base already established. Google, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and Twitter are all platforms that a brand can utilize paid ads on.
Building brand awareness is one of the most significant benefits a company can expect after investing in paid media. This tool expands a company’s visibility by reaching a larger audience and can increase traffic to your business. Reaching the screens of people who can be persuaded and are not already involved with the company is one of the ways that paid media and advertisements can be seen as strategic. It can also promote your brand’s latest developments and products or retarget your current followers.
As of December 2022, Meta released a feature that allows companies to target their Instagram ads more specifically than ever before. This was already a feature that could be utilized on Facebook but has now expanded to new horizons. For example, a company can specifically target people who just recently followed the account, everyone who has engaged with the account, anyone who has engaged with a post or ad, etc. This specification allows ads to target the exact audience a company is trying to reach rather than casting a wide net in hopes of reeling in people who “might” be interested. These analytics give them a head start for targeting people who have shown somewhat of a vested interest already.
Investing in a social media marketing strategy is vital for brands in today’s digital world. Taking the next step and putting money behind specific content (ads) will allow a brand to reach people who are more likely to be persuaded. Having a particular posting cadence and thought-out campaigns can separate your brand from the others by actively fostering community management and customer engagement. Taking it to the next level by putting money behind your campaigns will expand the brand’s overall visibility, influence those who need the extra push, and allows you to see which ads are working and which are not. Measuring engagement is critical when it comes to paid media. Having analytics to give you real-time data will allow your brand to make the necessary changes to generate more leads and create conversions.
Paid media doesn’t have to be as ambiguous as it sounds. It gives more specific results than any standard social media strategy. While having a digital presence is the first step, targeting specific consumers and putting money behind campaigns is a definitive difference maker. Therefore, it’s essential to integrate paid media into your marketing strategy if you want to see measurable results.