Social media advertising is revolutionizing how brands interact with customers. Being visible on the timelines of almost five billion people worldwide provides unprecedented access to your target audience.
Global ad spend on social media is expected to hit $276 billion by the end of 2025 – yet you don’t need a huge budget to get results. A well-planned social media ad campaign can deliver big returns on investment while building brand awareness and driving website traffic.
Ads remain a pivotal part of a brand’s marketing strategy on social media because they reach different audiences.
Whether you want to promote content on Facebook, run carousel ads on Instagram, or target professionals on LinkedIn, social ads let you connect with users where they already spend their time.
This guide is here to show you how social media advertising works and where to get started.
We’ll introduce you to the world of diverse ad formats that feel natural in users’ feeds. You can showcase products, share user-generated content (UGC), and engage directly with potential customers through comments and messages – creating meaningful connections that drive real business growth.
In this guide:
- What is social media advertising?
- The benefits of social media advertising
- Social media advertising platforms
- Types of social media ads
- Social media advertising costs
- Optimizing social media advertising campaigns
- The future of social media advertising
- Frequently asked questions about social media advertising
What is social media advertising?
Social media advertising relates to commercial activity on social media sites, where you effectively pay to get noticed. Paid promotions on social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn give brands access to billions of users.
Your digital marketing strategy may include a section on social media advertising. Here, you allocate a budget to display content to specific audiences. You can use ad tools to help target a particular audience and choose how your ads will appear.
Depending on the site, your ads can appear in users' feeds, stories, profiles, or sidebars to promote whatever you like.
How social media ads work
As with any form of advertising, social media ads are designed to attract attention and promote brands, products, or services. Get it right, and you should see a strong return on investment (ROI) when you pay for social media ads.
The hard part is how to “get it right,” though. Social media ads require brands to think hard about their campaign's end goals, research their target audience, and then create content they believe will resonate.
You also need to be aware of the budget constraints you might have before launching an ad campaign.
All these factors need to be woven into a social media marketing strategy that outlines:
- Your campaign objectives
- Your budget and schedule
- Your target audience
- Your content creation process
- Your ability to monitor and analyze performance
There is an extra layer to creating social media ads that you don’t have to deal with when launching a marketing campaign: the algorithm.
Each social media site has its own algorithm to display your ads to the most relevant users. You must master the algorithm to ensure your efforts reach the right people. This helps you get better results from your ad spend compared to traditional advertising methods.
The benefits of social media advertising
Social media is generally a free-to-use platform, which means brands can achieve recognition and awareness without paying for ads. However, very few actually succeed in deploying a 100 percent organic social media strategy.
Paid ads are all part of building your social media presence and improving your digital ROI. Ads deliver measurable results while helping you reach specific customer segments.
The two big benefits of ad campaigns are:
- Improving brand awareness
- Generating more audience engagement
1. Expanding brand awareness through social media ads
Social media ads let you showcase your brand to millions of potential customers. You can target ads based on demographics, interests, behaviors, and location to reach the right people at the right time.
Each platform has its own set of tools that help you create audience personas. If you want to save time, you can use a tool like Brandwatch to pinpoint specific audiences across all sites at once.
Doing this means you can start to build brand awareness by reaching people who otherwise wouldn’t see your content. Brand awareness is about ensuring people can recall and recognize your brand. Ads are a small slice of a bigger pie to achieve this mission.
Your ads appear in users' feeds, profiles, media, and alongside organic content. They blend into, rather than dominate, the screen. Over time, ads that are regularly seen help build trust and recognition with your audience.
Ads help build brand awareness through visual and audio elements, including:
- High-quality images
- Short, replicable videos
- Brand colors and logos
- Catchy jingles and sounds
- Clear calls-to-action
2. Boosting website traffic and engagement
If a social media user interacts with your ad – perhaps by clicking on it – then you can achieve something deeper than mere brand awareness. That click can lead them down a path to your website or social media profile, increasing engagement and potentially driving sales.
You can do this by setting targeting options in your ads to ensure you're reaching people most likely to be interested in your products or services.
It’s not about awareness here, it’s about conversions. You can track exactly how many clicks and conversions your ads generate. This data helps optimize your campaigns for better results over time – it’s vital if you plan to link your ad spend to sales targets.
Different ad formats serve different conversion goals. Here are some formats to get you thinking:
- Link ads to drive traffic to your website or other destination
- Video ads with comment options to boost engagement
- Lead generation forms to connect one-on-one
Achieving engagement from ads can be difficult, but it’s usually a better indication of ROI than awareness. If you can attract shoppers to your site via link ads, or spark a conversation with your video ad, then your brand should feel the benefit.
Social media advertising platforms
Each social media platform has its own advertising opportunities that enable brands to reach their intended audiences and achieve their marketing goals. Here’s a quick breakdown of the popular social sites:
Facebook remains the largest advertising platform with over 3 billion users. Meta owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, which makes it a really useful option for brands looking to cross-promote their messages. Facebook’s detailed targeting options let you reach users based on interests, behaviors, and demographics. Create text, image, and video ads with ease. You can even advertise in Messenger.
Around 2 billion people access Instagram every month. Owned by Meta, Instagram has upped its advertising game over the past decade. Instagram advertising naturally lends itself to visual content. Its Stories feature is the go-to option for advertisers who want to offer something more than a simple in-feed post. The platform is particularly helpful for businesses that want to showcase their products through photos, videos, and shopping features. You can also sell directly through Instagram.
TikTok
TikTok advertising has changed the game in recent years as both influencers and brands seek to monetize their presence on the platform. This video-forward site has a young audience, and its algorithm is perhaps the best in the business for keeping people engaged. Brands that create short, snappy ads can really thrive here.
LinkedIn suits B2B marketing with its professional user base. It’s a great place to grow brand awareness among other business professionals, making it ideal for service-led companies. You can target your ads by job title, company size, and industry. LinkedIn ads offer various formats such as sponsored content, message ads, display ads, and dynamic ads. You can also tailor job ads to reach those who are actively looking for work.
Pinterest remains one of the best visual social media sites out there. Users go to Pinterest to collect similar images and ideas. From home decor and DIY projects to fashion and art, Pinterest has an excellent and unique selling point. The visual format is great for brands who want to advertise their products and catch the eye of users as they’re scrolling.
X
X ads appear in peoples’ timelines and on the X sidebar. They are an effective way of triggering conversations with users you might not be able to organically reach. Auto-playing videos are really popular, especially for movie trailers and event promos.
YouTube
More than 2.5 billion people access YouTube every month, and its acquisition by Google means it’s never been easier to target the right audience. YouTube ads come in many forms. You can advertise before, during, and at the end of videos. You can place ads on YouTube’s search results. You can even put ads on the sidebar of a user’s page.
Reddit has an audience of almost 380 million weekly users who are there to be part of the conversation. Reddit Ads gives brands the freedom to start and join chats with a highly engaged user base. There are a lot of targeting options to choose from, including Interest, Community, and Keyword Targeting. If you're new to the platform, then read why Reddit should be part of your strategy.
Brandwatch Advertise
If your business has multiple social media accounts, then managing everything can get difficult. You might be able to publish the same post on Facebook and Instagram via the Meta Business Suite – but what about getting your content onto X, Pinterest, and LinkedIn?
Well, that’s where a social media advertising tool like Brandwatch can help. Use the Advertise platform to oversee your entire social ads strategy across multiple platforms – all on one dashboard.
Types of social media ads
Social media platforms offer a wide range of ad formats to help you reach customers the right way. A video ad for one demographic might be perfect but unsuitable for another demographic. In order to achieve your marketing goals it’s important to know what type of ads are out there. That way, you can determine what works best for different campaign objectives.
Here are the main types of social media ads you'll encounter:
Image ads
Image ads give you a simple way to showcase products with static visuals. They work well for direct response campaigns and highlighting specific items or services. Users will see image ads when scrolling down their feeds, so you need to ensure you use high-quality photos with minimal text to grab attention.
Best place for image ads:
- X
Video ads
Video ads aim to generate deeper engagement than image ads. Most social media users access platforms on their phones, and both movement and sound are more effective at grabbing attention. Short-form videos between five and 15 seconds long tend to perform best for ads. Few people are willing to watch a 30-second commercial. You can use video ads to tell product stories, demonstrate features, or build brand awareness. If you’re advertising on YouTube, be mindful that people want your ad to finish so they can watch their chosen show. You therefore need the ad to grab their attention and have a clear call-to-action.
Best place for video ads:
- YouTube
- TikTok
- X
Quick Tip: Image ads are usually cheaper to create and don’t cost as much to publish on social media sites, compared to video ads. If you’re on a low budget, then start with image ads.
Carousel ads
Carousel ads let you display up to ten images or videos in a single ad unit. They’re really effective at generating engagement because they give users control to swipe through multiple slides. This little slice of interaction is what can keep someone engaged with a carousel from start to finish.
You can use carousels to promote product features or tell small parts of a larger story. The format works especially well for e-commerce product catalogs, step-by-step tutorials, and before/after demonstrations.
Best place for carousel ads:
- X
Stories ads
Snapchat introduced the concept of social media stories in 2013, but the idea only truly took off when Instagram joined the game. Stories are short videos and images that sit atop social media apps. They’re an interactive alternative to your usual timeline and, over time, the algorithm learns which stories you prefer to see.
They take up the full vertical screen and feel native to how people already consume content. Stories create urgency through their temporary nature, which can be really effective for brands who want to make an instant impact with story ads.
Best place for stories:
Dynamic ads
Dynamic ads rely on algorithms and user preferences to automatically show relevant products to people based on their interests and actions. Google uses them all the time when you search for products online.
If you use dynamic ads on social media, an item from your product catalog will be pulled up and displayed to users. Depending on the user, they might see products:
- They viewed previously on your website
- They have added to a cart
- They previously purchased
Best place for dynamic ads:
- YouTube
Playable ads
Playable ads let users test games or interactive features directly within the ad. This level of engagement can prove really effective. They work particularly well for advertising:
- Mobile games
- App downloads
- Interactive product demos
- Virtual try-ons
The hands-on nature of playable ads helps drive higher engagement and qualified downloads.
Best place for playable ads:
- TikTok
Social media advertising costs
Social media advertising cost varies widely across platforms and industries, influenced by factors such as target audience, ad format, and overall marketing strategy. You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars just to keep up with your rivals. Companies typically allocate around 14% of their annual marketing budget to social advertising.
Platforms generally charge for cost per click (CPC) or cost per thousand impressions (CPM). Below are the average costs found on each platform, although this can vary greatly by industry.
Facebook charges $0.97 per click on average – the CPC rate on Facebook is usually aligned with traffic-generating ad strategies. For objectives like brand awareness, you might pay around $7.19 for 1000 impressions.
Instagram ads are generally more expensive than Facebook. Your CPC rate is around $3.56, so it's important to make sure each click counts. The CPM rate is a more modest $7.91 per 1000, which is closer to Facebook's rate. An Instagram ad strategy is more likely to focus on conversions, rather than brand awareness.
LinkedIn has a really high CPC rate of $5.26 but there's logic behind the cost. After all, a single click on your LinkedIn ad from the right businessperson might be your ticket to a big business deal. LinkedIn's CPM is around $6.59.
X
X has the cheapest average CPC rate, starting at $0.25, as well as the cheapest CPM ($6.46). There are fewer X users than the likes of Facebook and Instagram, but advertising on X still carries plenty of influence.
Factors affecting social media ads cost
Platform choice plays the most pivotal role in your ad costs. Each network has its own pricing structure and audience demographics. You need to make sure you use the right platform to speak to your target audience and also find the right price point.
Ad format impacts pricing significantly. After all, a video ad on YouTube that users can’t click away from is going to cost more than a text ad on LinkedIn.
Here are some quick tips for ad format costs:
- Video ads typically cost more than image ads
- Story ads often cost less than feed placements
- Carousel ads may have higher engagement rates
- Cost per click (CPC) or cost per thousand impressions (CPM) can differ greatly
Audience targeting affects your costs too. More specific targeting usually leads to higher costs but better conversion rates.
It’s also true that your industry and competition level influence prices. On Facebook, for example, the average CPC for retail ads is $0.70. However, the CPC for finance ads on Facebook is $3.77.
Cost-effective social media advertising strategies
If you want to keep track of your costs and ensure your advertising campaigns are efficient then you need a strategy to keep everything running smoothly. The first step is to experiment with social media ads and see what works for you.
You could start with a small daily budget of $5-10 to test different ad formats and audiences. Track performance closely on your site’s analytics platform to optimize spending.
Make sure you create highly targeted audience segments based on:
- Demographics
- Interests
- Behaviors
- Location
You should be able to use the targeting options on your platform’s ad software to do this.
Then test different ad styles and copy to find what works best. Small improvements can lead to big savings in ad spend.
Over time, you’ll start to see where you’re getting good ROI and where you’re struggling. Focus on one or two platforms that work to stay on top of your budget. Master those platforms before expanding to others.
This is a simple, cost-effective way to advertise on social media without going too big too soon. However, if you really want to excel here, then you’ll need to build a robust social media strategy.
Optimizing social media advertising campaigns
Advertising on social media as a one-off practice isn’t going to get you very far. Brands achieve greater success when they regularly advertise and develop campaigns over time. To do this, you’ll need a robust strategy to follow and also software to deliver and monitor your campaign.
It’s all about optimizing your ad strategy so you get the ROI you’re looking for.
Measure ad performance and analytics
It’s important you track your key metrics daily to understand what works in your ad account. Focus on click-through rates, cost per click, and conversion rates to gauge campaign effectiveness.
If you’re working across multiple social media accounts then you should create custom dashboards to monitor your most important metrics from each one. You could do this on a spreadsheet, use each platform’s built-in analytics, or use software like Brandwatch to keep everything in one place.
It’s also important to set up conversion tracking to measure actions like purchases, sign-ups, and downloads.
Maintain best practices for social media ad optimization
The other way to ensure your social media ad campaigns are optimized is to maintain high standards and best practices. There’s no value in running an ad campaign, sitting back, and hoping you get some engagement. Successful brands track their campaigns from start to finish.
Start by setting clear campaign objectives and define your goals. This could be increasing website traffic or generating leads. Make sure you set realistic targets before launching your ads.
Then, when you create your ads, make sure they align with your goals and your brand’s overall guidelines. You need to stay on message and accurately reflect your brand – make sure others in your company are looped in, so your content is definitely aligned.
From there, be sure to maximize your use of data. Whether you’re using a tool like Brandwatch or software from a social media site, it’s worth getting a full picture of your ad campaign. Be proactive and get to know what’s working and what isn’t. Only then you'll be able to enact change and improve your campaigns.
The future of social media advertising
Brands are expected to spend 19% of their marketing budgets on social media advertising by 2029. There is a lot of money being spent on platforms like Facebook and TikTok, while the emergence of AI technology and different forms of video content are transforming how brands connect with their audiences.
Trends and innovations in social ads
Indeed, AI is making social media ads more personal and effective. You'll see smarter targeting that matches ads to the right people at the right time. Machine learning helps predict which ads will work best for your campaigns.
In fact, you already use AI if you use certain functions on the Meta Business Suite and tools like Brandwatch. AI was the future, but now it’s here.
Virtual and augmented reality ads are also becoming more common. These immersive formats let customers try products virtually before buying. It’s a really great way of selling products online that would traditionally require someone to go into a store to try them on. Opticians and apparel stores, for example, benefit greatly from virtual ads.
The growth of video ads and stories ads
Meanwhile, short-form video ads are taking over social feeds. TikTok-style vertical videos get more engagement than traditional ad formats. Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts are popular places to run video campaigns.
The rise of social media influencers and the blurred lines between organic and sponsored content online means video ads are becoming more common.
Stories ads appear between user stories on Instagram and Facebook.
Interactive elements make ads even more engaging. Polls, quizzes, and mini-games encourage users to spend time with your brand. These are particularly valuable on Stories, where users are already scrolling through looking for something to engage with.
Frequently asked questions about social media advertising
What strategies can be used to enhance content marketing effectiveness on social media?
There are a few strategies you can use here. You can create content that speaks directly to your target audience's needs and interests. Make sure you research your audience and understand what they want to see on their chosen social media platforms.
If you don’t know your target audience too well, you could try posting different content types like videos, images, and stories to keep your feed fresh and engaging. Then you can see which posts resonate most.
You can also launch a social media ad strategy to target specific demographics who don’t currently follow you. This way you expand your reach and can set a cost level that matches your budget.
What factors contribute to the cost of advertising on social media platforms?
Ad placement and format affect costs significantly. Stories and feed posts have different price points across platforms. You might find a text ad on LinkedIn is a lot cheaper than a 15-second video clip on YouTube. However, you also need to weigh up which ad type is most effective for your brand.
Your target audience size and competition for that audience also impact bid prices. Broader targeting usually costs less than specific audience segments.
Campaign objectives influence pricing, too. Brand awareness campaigns often cost less than direct conversion campaigns. As an example, your average cost-per-click rate on Instagram might be around $3.56, while your average cost per thousand impressions could settle at around $7.91.
How can social media advertising benefit businesses?
Businesses can target precise audiences through social media advertising. This lets you reach potential customers based on demographics, interests, and behaviors.
Real-time analytics help track campaign performance and adjust strategies quickly. This way you can oversee everything in far more detail than traditional advertising on TV or radio.
The ability to start with small budgets and scale up makes social advertising accessible to businesses of all sizes. You can set spend limits and target certain ads to certain people to boost ROI.
What are the pros and cons of using social media for advertising?
Some great things about using social media for advertising include detailed targeting options, measurable results, and the ability to engage directly with customers. There are more than five billion social media users, so you should find a suitable audience.
Social ads can be created and launched quickly, with the flexibility to adjust campaigns based on performance.
As for cons, ad costs can increase during competitive seasons. Algorithm changes may also affect campaign performance unexpectedly. However, if you keep an eye on these and factor changes into your strategy then you can ride out any negatives that come your way.
