Are You Maximizing Consumer Engagement Through Social Media Advertising?

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Social media advertising can be a powerful tool if utilized correctly. Unfortunately, many brands have a hard time getting consumers to engage with their ads. This can result in wasted resources, money and time.

So how can we efficiently use social media to advertise our products? The efficacy of social media from a marketing standpoint cannot be understated — but it often requires a certain amount of finesse to figure out how to use certain platforms efficiently. Here are some of the strategies we implement at our company. 

Identify Which Platforms Are Right For Your Brand

Social media advertising takes many forms — from banner ads on YouTube videos to videos on Instagram to tweets on Twitter. It’s very important to research the social media platforms that you'll be advertising on in order to understand who your advertisements are likely to reach.

When developing an advertisement, take some time to research the demographics of each social media platform. If your brand is aimed at younger people, for example, Instagram might be a good option for you. There are more young people on Instagram, while a large percentage of people of all ages are on Facebook.

Also consider which platform offers the best format for your advertisements. If your product calls for a thorough explanation, a video might work better than a picture, so YouTube may be a better option for you.

Once you've published some ads on the social media platforms you've identified as best for your brand, take some time to study the results: Who's engaged with your ads? Are you getting the results you wanted? This can help you pinpoint which platforms you should put more effort into and which might not be generating the engagement you want.

It can be difficult to get consumers to engage with ads on social media because users don’t want to be taken out of their experience. Seamless integration into the already defined user experience can be integral — seamless as in not interrupting the functionality of the interface but also seamlessly recreating the viewing habits of consumers. Users are more likely to check out a brand if it doesn’t interrupt their experience. Advertising shouldn’t interrupt; it should integrate and become a part of the experience. Research what type of posts are more likely to be popular with the specific demographic you're trying to appeal to, and try to recreate specific elements and motifs of those posts when you're creating your ads.

Instagram is doing great work with seamless advertising integration by not only making ads look like regular posts a viewer would see in their feed but also allowing brands to add to their posts a shopping tag, which, when clicked, takes users to your website, where they can purchase the item. 

Using established social media influencer prowess is another thing that brands can do to boost engagement. In order to integrate into their demographic's feeds, a brand might look for an influencer that a lot of people within their demographic already follow and use their influence to reach a lot of people. If an advertising message is from someone who consumers already follow and trust, rather than a more traditional advertisement, they may be more likely to engage with the ad and buy the product.

Don’t Be Afraid to Reach For Engagement

I've noticed that some brands tend to shy away from utilizing the tools social media has already put in place to help boost user engagement. Most social media platforms have adopted the hashtag, for example, as a way for users to find posts about things that they're interested in. If you’re able to successfully utilize hashtags, your brand can grow exponentially. Researching which hashtags are popular among your demographic and using those in your posts can help you make your posts visible to more people. Also consider conducting a social media campaign to encourage customers to post images of themselves with your product and the company hashtag to raise brand awareness and increase engagement.

Sponsored advertisements are another way to get more eyes on your posts and boost engagement. However, it's important to note that sponsoring an advertisement can become very expensive very quickly. You're able to see how many people engage with your sponsored ad through social media analytics, so if after a while it's not generating the engagement you want, you can stop the sponsorship and try something else.

Social media is a wonderful tool for brands to maximize consumer engagement, but it’s important to know the tactics to make platforms work for your brand. With these tips in mind, you can make social media advertising easy and effective, as well as fun for users, which can bolster their confidence in your brand.

Social media advertising can be a powerful tool if utilized correctly. Unfortunately, many brands have a hard time getting consumers to engage with their ads. This can result in wasted resources, money and time.

So how can we efficiently use social media to advertise our products? The efficacy of social media from a marketing standpoint cannot be understated — but it often requires a certain amount of finesse to figure out how to use certain platforms efficiently. Here are some of the strategies we implement at our company. 

Identify Which Platforms Are Right For Your Brand

Social media advertising takes many forms — from banner ads on YouTube videos to videos on Instagram to tweets on Twitter. It’s very important to research the social media platforms that you'll be advertising on in order to understand who your advertisements are likely to reach.

When developing an advertisement, take some time to research the demographics of each social media platform. If your brand is aimed at younger people, for example, Instagram might be a good option for you. There are more young people on Instagram, while a large percentage of people of all ages are on Facebook.

Also consider which platform offers the best format for your advertisements. If your product calls for a thorough explanation, a video might work better than a picture, so YouTube may be a better option for you.

Once you've published some ads on the social media platforms you've identified as best for your brand, take some time to study the results: Who's engaged with your ads? Are you getting the results you wanted? This can help you pinpoint which platforms you should put more effort into and which might not be generating the engagement you want.

It can be difficult to get consumers to engage with ads on social media because users don’t want to be taken out of their experience. Seamless integration into the already defined user experience can be integral — seamless as in not interrupting the functionality of the interface but also seamlessly recreating the viewing habits of consumers. Users are more likely to check out a brand if it doesn’t interrupt their experience. Advertising shouldn’t interrupt; it should integrate and become a part of the experience. Research what type of posts are more likely to be popular with the specific demographic you're trying to appeal to, and try to recreate specific elements and motifs of those posts when you're creating your ads.

Instagram is doing great work with seamless advertising integration by not only making ads look like regular posts a viewer would see in their feed but also allowing brands to add to their posts a shopping tag, which, when clicked, takes users to your website, where they can purchase the item. 

Using established social media influencer prowess is another thing that brands can do to boost engagement. In order to integrate into their demographic's feeds, a brand might look for an influencer that a lot of people within their demographic already follow and use their influence to reach a lot of people. If an advertising message is from someone who consumers already follow and trust, rather than a more traditional advertisement, they may be more likely to engage with the ad and buy the product.

Don’t Be Afraid to Reach For Engagement

I've noticed that some brands tend to shy away from utilizing the tools social media has already put in place to help boost user engagement. Most social media platforms have adopted the hashtag, for example, as a way for users to find posts about things that they're interested in. If you’re able to successfully utilize hashtags, your brand can grow exponentially. Researching which hashtags are popular among your demographic and using those in your posts can help you make your posts visible to more people. Also consider conducting a social media campaign to encourage customers to post images of themselves with your product and the company hashtag to raise brand awareness and increase engagement.

Sponsored advertisements are another way to get more eyes on your posts and boost engagement. However, it's important to note that sponsoring an advertisement can become very expensive very quickly. You're able to see how many people engage with your sponsored ad through social media analytics, so if after a while it's not generating the engagement you want, you can stop the sponsorship and try something else.

Social media is a wonderful tool for brands to maximize consumer engagement, but it’s important to know the tactics to make platforms work for your brand. With these tips in mind, you can make social media advertising easy and effective, as well as fun for users, which can bolster their confidence in your brand.