We say it every time paid media is mentioned, yet it bears repeating. The social media landscape is a pay-to-play world. (Not sure what that means? Hop on over to our blog post about social media buzzwords.) If you haven’t placed paid social media ads, what is holding you back? Perhaps you’re unsure of the what, where and how much of it all? That’s what we’re here for. Keep reading to see our recommended starting point for a simple social paid media placement.

With as little as $100, you can reach your target audience and gain impressive results. We start at $100 because it allows for widespread reach without overspending on a disinterested audience. Anything less than this budget may not give you the most actionable and obvious results. Once you’ve analyzed and tested the results of your initial spend, you can move on to bigger and better placements – or remain at that budget!

Now that you’ve set aside your one hundred dollar bill, ask yourself where you’re going to spend it. What is your primary platform? This is the social platform you want to focus on for growth and/or the one that has the highest quality content. The goal is to dedicate money to a platform you are consistently active on and don’t have any plans to abandon. For example, if Brand A wants to focus on growing their audience of creative, millennial customers, they would choose to spend their budget on Instagram, rather than Facebook.

If you have specific goals to achieve, tie these directly to the objectives most ad platforms provide. For example, if you need leads and contact information for building an email list, run Lead Generation Ads. If you wish to increase the views on a blog post or webpage, run Website Ads. If you just want to try ads out in general, a great starting point would be creating Promoted Posts. If you have a new business and/or have just launched a new social media account for your current business, Follower Ads are a great way to build a credible audience from the onset.

The most important factor in all of this paid media equation – even more important than the $100 – is your targeting. We do not recommend simply boosting a Facebook post with no distinct customer targeting set in stone. Facebook will gladly take your $100, but who they choose to show your brand’s message to may not be at all someone who will consume your product. Don’t throw your hard-earned cash away!

Many variables go into a successful paid media campaign including strength of content, targeting and your overall business goals. While this is just a generic suggestion, your paid media strategy will depend on your unique business.

If you’re ready to spend your $100, but you’re still unsure of where to start, we’re here for you. Contact us today about custom paid media strategy and management.

Header Photo by Marc Schäfer on Unsplash