You’re putting your money on the line with social media ads so you’ll want a return on investment! This month’s learning slot is all about social media ads. Fran and Danni are breaking down the pros and cons of running social media ads and why they’re worth it. What you’ll learn: 💡 Why you should consider running social media ads 💡 Some of the most common mistakes made with social ads and how to overcome them 💡 A few recommendations for people starting out

1. Why you
should be
doing social
media ads

2. Over 82% of the UK’s
population uses social media
Source: Meltwater

3. Raise brand
awareness
1
The targeting
capabilities
2
Drive traffic to
your website
3
There are plenty of
reasons why you
should consider
running an ad
campaign, but as
we’ve only got 20
mins, we’ll stick to 3.

4. If you do it right, it gives you
a return on investment.

5. What are the most common
mistakes when running ads?

6. Common Mistakes
A lack of
planning
1

7. “A goal
without a plan
is just a wish”
What is the objective?
What will you track?
Which platform will you use?
Do you have an established following?
Do you understand what you are doing?
Have you planned in time to assess and
evaluate your ads?
Have you looked at your competitors’
content for inspiration?
Have you considered your audience?

9. Don’t forget to check the data!

10. People often forget this, but you have
access to a wealth of data on your
Google Analytics which is full of
information about your audience.

11. Common Mistakes
They don’t
consider the
sales funnel
2

12. Hands up.
Would you propose on
a first date?

13. At least take them
on a few dates first...
You need to work your customers
down the funnel gently by using
awareness ads first, such as case
studies, user-generated content,
and company intro videos.

14. Retargeting ads are great for reaching
customers who have already interacted
with your website. These are great for
abandoned basket customers.
You should consider offering a promo
to these audiences.

15. Common Mistakes
They use the
wrong ad type
3

18. Be mindful of using video ads if your
audience is mainly on mobile.
Think about vertical viewing and how
your video will look when it’s amended
from landscape.

19. Common Mistakes
They don’t
consider
aesthetics
4

20. People make up their
minds within the first 30
seconds of their first
interaction with a person
or a product.
About 62-90% base their
assessment on colours
alone and smiling faces
evoke positive feelings.
Consider its layout, readability and any
imagery you use
Focus on how the ad blends into the
feed
Consider how you’re going to stop the
scroll
When using stock images, you need to
make sure that it is both relevant to you
and the offer in the ad

21. Common Mistakes
They ignore the
landing page
5

22. If you’re
directing the
viewer to a page
on your website,
we’d suggest:
It flows – don’t make them re-read
everything
The ad content reflected the page
content
The landing page is a continuation of
the ad’s aesthetics… Do they represent
the same brand?
Make sure the URL is correct.

23. Common Mistakes
They don’t
monitor, analyse
or amend
6

25. Sometimes during the testing phase,
we like to run two separate ads with
slightly different content to see which
works best!
But don’t forget to turn off the ad that
isn’t performing as well and you’ll end
up paying to have two ads running.

26. Get your cameras ready...

27. Do not use audience expansion
Aim for a 0.4% or above CTR
Aim for a 0.7% or above
engagement rate
Avoid brand awareness objective if
possible
Single image or video tend to have
best results
Work on a customer lifetime value -
IF your budget is less than this, then
LI is not for you
Always ‘exclude’ targeting attributes
as well
Add the Meta pixel to your
website
Aim for a 1.51% CTR
Aim for a 1.22% engagement rate
Ensure your creative fits into the
ad types (Meta has a lot of sizes!)
Make use of audience-targeting
capabilities
Make sure your audience isn’t too
narrow
Be aware of trends and
subcultures
Aim for a 0.84% CTR
Aim for a 5-16% engagement rate
Avoid using content that looks
too professional. You want your
ad to fit into your audience’s for
you page
Keep your ad under 15 seconds
Create ads in verticle
Make use of UGC

28. Our recommendations

29. Recommendations
Use user-
generated
content
1

30. Recommendations
Repurpose top-
performing
organic content
2

31. Recommendations
Always check
your content
3

33. Recommendations
Organic and paid
content should
work together
and complement
each other
4

34. Organic Paid
Brand awareness
Customer service
Relationship building
Gain new
customers and
followers
Promote quality
content
Research your
target audience
Reach a larger
audience
Target ideal
customers
Drive leads and
conversions

35. TLDR
Social media advertising can raise awareness,
increase sales and convert customers into
brand advocates when it’s done right.
Social advertising allows businesses to find
their ideal audience and target them directly
with relevant messages, and create
conversations that appeal to them.
You need to have an understanding of your
audience before you can make any targeting
decisions, or you risk running ads to the
wrong audience.

36. Follow us
/XpandMarketing
@Xpand_Marketing
/company/xpand-marketing
/xpandmarketing
Let's connect
www.xpandmarketing.co.uk

37. 80 minutes networking
20 minutes learning
#8020