Getting started with social media advertising

The lines between browsing and buying are blurring on social media, with people turning to platforms like TikTok and Instagram to discover new products, from the latest fitness tracker to that perfect pair of jeans.

While this is great for eCommerce brands who want to get their products in front of potential customers who are ready to buy, there’s a catch. Reaching those potential customers organically (for free) is getting tougher.

Nowadays, most social platforms operate on a pay-to-play model for brands, meaning that brands need to pay for advertising space to stand out. That’s where social media ads come in. This article will explain everything you need to know: what they are, why they're essential for your business, the different types, and some pro tips to get you started.

What is social media advertising?

Social media advertising is basically when companies pay to show their message to specific groups of people on platforms like Facebook or Instagram. These messages, which might be posts or Stories, pop up in your feed alongside regular content, but they'll usually have a label like "sponsored" or "promoted" to let you know it's an ad.

The clever part is that these ads can target specific people based on their age, interests, or even what they've been browsing online. This way, brands can send targeted promotions to people who might be interested in what they're selling or remind people who previously visited their website about their products.

The 5 elements of social media advertising

Before you start creating your social media ads, it’s important to understand the key steps in setting up a campaign. While the specific setup process might vary slightly depending on the platform (Meta’s Business Ads Manager works differently than TikTok Ads for instance), some core elements stay consistent across most social media channels.

1. Campaign objectives

Your campaign objective is the goal of your ad campaign. There are three main types of campaign objectives:

• Awareness: Choose this objective to increase brand awareness among your target audience and drive product discoverability among potential customers.
• Engagement: This objective is designed to encourage interaction with your brand and products to build interest and loyalty.
• Conversions: Select this objective to drive sales and encourage website visitors to complete desired actions like adding items to cart or making a purchase.

While conversions are the primary goal for most eCommerce brands, engagement objectives can be valuable for specific campaigns. Take contests or giveaways, for example, where the desired action is user interaction like following your account, liking a post, or tagging a friend.

2. Target audience

Unlike organic posts that rely on algorithms, audience targeting allows you to reach your ideal customers. All you need to do is define specific criteria for who sees your ad. This can include:

• Demographics: This includes criteria like age, location, income, and education level.
• Interests: Do they love dogs, cooking, or gaming? Reach them based on their passions.
• Behaviors: Are they frequent online shoppers or follow specific influencers? Target them based on their online activity.
• Lookalike audiences: If you have a list of existing customers, platforms can find similar people to show your ads to.

You can also choose retargeting which allows you to reach people who have previously interacted with your brand online. This can be a website visit, an ad click, or a previous purchase.

3. Ad creative

Ad creative is arguably the most important aspect of your social media advertising campaign, and usually includes three things:

1. The visual element of an ad, such as an image, video, or GIF.
2. The copy of an ad: the headline, description, and caption.
3. The call to action, such as "Shop Now" or "Get Offer".

Nowadays, many platforms allow you to upload multiple ad variations. This lets the platform automatically test different combinations of images, videos, headlines, and descriptions to see which resonate best with your target audience.

4. Ad budget

Figuring out how much to spend on each platform can feel tricky, but there's no one-size-fits-all answer. The key is to invest enough to get results. This helps the platform understand who's most likely to purchase your products. The perfect ad budget depends on a few things: your overall marketing budget, the platform you're using, and how competitive your industry is.

Most platforms allow you to choose between cost per click (CPC) and cost per impression (CPM). This graphic by WebFX details how much social media advertising costs in 2024. For TikTok, the average CPM is $10, and the minimum cost per click is $0.50.

5. Ad analytics

To make sure your ads are reaching the right people, it’s important to keep an eye on their performance. Every social network gives you insights into how your campaigns are doing. Some key things to monitor are click-through rate (how many people click your ad after seeing it), impressions (how many times your ad is seen), and cost per click (how much you pay each time someone clicks).

6 types of social media ads

Now, let's explore the six most common ad formats you'll find across most social networks, along with some ideas on how to use them.

1. Image ads

Image ads are the most popular ad format for a reason: a single, powerful image can grab viewers' attention as they scroll through websites and apps. You can use image ads to showcase your products or highlight special offers like promo codes.

2. Video ads

Video ads are supported by most social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and X (formerly Twitter). Compared to static images, video offers a more immersive experience. You can showcase product features, seasonal campaigns, or even feature customers reviewing your product.

3. Carousel ads

Carousel ads allow you to display a series of images or videos within a single ad. This format is ideal for showcasing a product line, highlighting different product features, or presenting before and after shots. Carousel ads can also create a mini-narrative, guiding viewers through a product's benefits or the story behind your brand.

4. Collection ads

Collection ads, primarily used on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, offer a convenient way for users to discover and explore products directly within the ad. Clicking on a collection ad opens a curated product catalog within the platform where users can purchase your products directly.

5. Story ads

Story ads seamlessly blend into a user’s story feed. Story ads leverage full-screen, vertical video or images to create an engaging experience for viewers. This format is ideal for time-sensitive promotions like sales, behind-the-scenes glimpses, or creating a sense of urgency.

6. Messaging ads

Messaging ads, available on platforms like Facebook Messenger, allow you to send a targeted message to your audience’s inbox. On Facebook, for instance, people will see these ads in the Chats tab in their Messenger app. Messaging ads not only enable you to remind potential customers about your products, but they also encourage users to begin a conversation with your brand.

Best practices for social media ads

Sure, you can master the ad formats and components, but success goes beyond that. The good news is, that with a few key best practices, you can get started on the right foot, even if you're a beginner. Let's dive into some tips to make your social media ads shine.

1. Embrace automation

Instead of spending hours crafting and testing countless ad variations, most social media advertising platforms offer a range of automation tools designed to streamline the process and drive results.

For example, Meta's dynamic creative option removes the guesswork from choosing the right ad format and messaging. It automatically tests different combinations of your creatives (images, videos, headlines, descriptions) with your target audience, showing the best-performing options to each user.

2. Experiment with UGC content

Instead of flashy product ads, authentic user-generated content (UGC) could be the key to driving conversions for eCommerce brands in 2024. Think of genuine customer reviews, testimonials, and everyday people enjoying your products. Since it comes straight from real fans, UGC feels authentic, trustworthy, and more persuasive than traditional ads. You can experiment with different formats like product demos, before-and-afters, and customer stories.

3. Tailor your ad to the platform

The key to successful social media advertising lies in understanding each platform’s purpose. People use different platforms for different reasons. Your ad needs to fit the vibe and expectations of each platform's audience. For Pinterest, you might want to opt for high-quality photos and videos that showcase your product in a sleek and aspirational way. TikTok, on the other hand, is less about polish and more about catching attention. So it would be a good idea to embrace trends, humor, and quick cuts to grab viewers in the first few seconds.

Create social media ads that convert with Channable

Did you know you can create eye-catching visuals for your ad campaigns at scale with Channable's Dynamic Image Editor? With our tool, you can generate countless variations featuring real-time sale prices, special discounts, or new stock notifications - all directly from your product data. With the image editor, you can eliminate manual editing and save valuable time while creating multiple ad variations for your social media campaigns.

Want to learn more about Channable? Sign up for a free trial account.