Should you still invest in paid social media promotion and advertising for your brand?
When I posed the question to experts in marketing, the responses were almost unanimous:
“Yes, but …”
Some view it as a necessary evil given the limited organic reach on social today. Others say that although social platforms are crowded with content, they’re still valuable for marketing. Others qualify their replies with “It depends.”
Let’s explore the nuances behind those answers. (If you’re already sold on paid and want advice on how and where, skip to this section for tips on improving your social media planning and budgeting.)
How should you play the paid social game?
First, the experts presenting at Content Marketing World share their thoughts on what you should consider before paying Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube, or any other social media platform.
Consider it required
Paid social is likely an unspoken requirement now if you want other organic content to surface on networks. Understanding what social channels drive demand for your brand or company is critical so you can strategically prioritize where you’re spending on paid versus blanket paid efforts across all social channels. — Jenn VandeZande, editor-in-chief, SAP CX + Industries
Go for reach
I strongly believe in the collaboration of paid, owned, and earned channels. When you start with content marketing, you need to invest in paid channels to achieve reach. If you do this correctly, your organic and earned reach will grow. Over time, you will need less paid investment. — Pauline Lannoo, head of digital strategy, The Fat Lady
Integrate strategically
Investing in paid social can be effective if it’s part of a multichannel strategy. The spray-and-pray approach to pushing a ton of content to your target audience is a Hail Mary, not a sound strategy. Instead, marketers should create user journeys based on persona, engagement, and cross-channel targeting to deliver value to their target audience. — Royna Sharifi, senior marketing campaign manager, Amazon Web Services
Reach your audience where they are
It’s another channel that people can find you on. It’s important to make sure you are relevant on any channel that users might be searching on. — Zack Kadish, senior SEO strategy director, Conductor
Accommodate social-first audiences
Of course! There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to your marketing strategy. The way people see and absorb content varies by demographic and geographics. For example, someone at one age may only purchase products or services via paid ads on social. Someone in Japan may only be interested in validating their purchase journey on a social ad. Not only that, with AI built into most ad platforms these days, you stand to win more than lose. — Michael Bonfils, global managing director, Digital International Group
See if social is a habit
It depends on your audiences. If your audience is predominantly found on social media, then indeed, it becomes an indispensable channel for connecting with them effectively.
Ultimately, the key factor in determining the relevance of social media marketing is your target audience and their online habits. It’s all about your audience. — Pam Didner, vice president of marketing, Relentless Pursuit LLC
Start small and test
Paid social is still a good channel for brand building and getting your brand in front of new audiences. To see success with paid social in driving a more specific action or conversion, try it on a small scale and see what works.
For example, at my last company, we saw a return on investment using paid social to increase visibility and registration for marquee digital events. It was one of our strongest paid methods for driving traffic to our event web page. — Monica Norton, vice president of communications and content, Nextiva
Make quality choices
It still makes sense to invest in paid social media. The question is where, to whom, and when. Understanding the days of cheap paid campaigns driving high-yield results in the form of clicks, impressions, views, etc., which are quantitative, has changed significantly. — Troy Sandidge, founder, Strategy Hackers
Let return on ad spend guide you
If it did before, then it probably still does now. It’s just another paid channel. All paid channels should be evaluated by return on ad spend (ROAS) and other impact measures and not on a priori channel bias. — Tony Byrne, founder, Real Story Group
Do an audit first
Whether content-rich advertising or boosting posts, paid social is still one of the best ways to increase your social reach. Channels like Facebook have limited organic reach, so paid posts are often necessary if you hope to reach any audiences — even those who follow your page. Luckily, that can be done cost-effectively on that channel. LinkedIn, on the other hand, can require a significant investment to acquire individual leads.
The best way to understand your opportunities on social media is to perform a social media audit. Review your recent performance on every channel where your brand has a presence, and research your competitor channels to understand the size of the audience for your content, what opportunities you may be missing, and where you’re already standing out. — Erika Heald, founder and chief content officer, Erika Heald Marketing Consulting
Proceed with caution (and creativity)
The part of me that loves social media wants to say, “Yes, it’s still a powerful tool when wielded correctly.” But I also recognize how many caveats come with that statement. Paid social offers precise targeting options and can significantly amplify your reach, leading to higher engagement rates and a better return on investment compared to traditional advertising methods.
However, the costs can be high, especially in competitive industries, and users experience ad fatigue, so your content must be exceptionally creative to stand out. But if your budget and audience are there, then yes, paid ads can still be impactful. — Ashley Baker, founder and chief marketing officer, Coastline Marketing LLC
Pay for influencers, not advertisements
It depends on what type of paid social you’re talking about. Do I believe companies should pay for ads to appear on sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter? Not really. They don’t deliver enough for what’s put into them. However, I would consider working with influencers as a form of paid social (when goods or money is exchanged), and that form of promotion has only continued to grow. — Beth Elderkin, content marketing manager, Informa Connect
Lower the friction for higher conversion
LinkedIn Ads work well for B2B businesses looking to generate qualified leads. The targeting abilities are good, and LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms allow you to capture conversions native to the LinkedIn platform. Lower friction results in higher conversion rates. — Dennis Shiao, founder, Attention Retention
Return to branding
With search engines using generative AI to summarize results, branding is coming back, and paying to remain visible is becoming more important every day. — Jim Sterne, president, Target Marketing of Santa Barbara
How much should you invest in paid social media?
If you buy into the premise that brands should make social media buys, you likely want to know the how and how much. Marketers who responded to my query through the Qwoted platform have some thoughts. (Spoiler alert: They don’t all agree.)
Get your platform mix right
One of the keys to a successful paid social strategy is finding the right platform mix. It’s crucial to not only be presentwhere your personas spend the most time but also where they’re most likely to engage with your brand.
Interestingly, some of the most successful B2B lead-generation campaigns I’ve managed have seen platforms like Facebook and Instagram significantly outperform traditional choices like LinkedIn and even Google paid.
Selecting the right ad unit formats is key to driving the success of your paid social campaign. It’s important to explore all available ad units and understand how users engage with them. While video often outperforms static images, including a mix allows platforms to optimize content delivery based on their algorithms. Continuously monitor performance, pause inefficient ad units, test new formats, and iterate to achieve the best results. Ultimately, the chosen ad formats should align closely with your campaign’s objectives to ensure maximum impact. — Justin Eveloff, vice president of performance marketing, OBI Creative
Take advantage of retargeting
While consumers have become more ad savvy, well-crafted paid social campaigns can still yield significant results. Successful strategies often involve targeted remarketing or leveraging influential voices within specific niches.
In B2B, a more targeted strategy is often beneficial. Utilizing LinkedIn to reach specific job titles within target companies can be highly effective. Retargeting these professionals on Meta platforms can further reinforce brand messaging, as business decision-makers are also active consumers on these networks.
While still valuable, B2C paid social on platforms like Meta requires a more nuanced approach. Unsolicited ads may be less effective, necessitating strategic planning and execution. — Kim Bode, owner, 8thirtyfour
Combine video and text
LinkedIn’s thought leader ads are a powerful tool. When combined with retargeting site visitors (and coordinated with YouTube videos diving deeper into the same content), they can amplify credibility and trust on a fast timetable.
Tactically, the best success comes from creating long-form content on YouTube with a link to download resources from your website. Now, write an article (no links) on LinkedIn with a short native video introducing the topic. Have a teammate comment a link to the YouTube video on the article and a link to the website to download the resources. Use a small ad budget to amplify the article on LinkedIn and the video on YouTube. Retarget site visitors who haven’t downloaded the resources on both LinkedIn and YouTube. Follow up with downloaders to offer a conversation on putting the recommended strategy into use. — Mark Osborne, founder, Modern Revenue Strategies
Budget for competition
For small businesses, starting at $5,000 per month is enough to get started. This has been my starting budget for most brands for a few years. Of course, that depends on what you sell. I’ve had an e-bike company that had an average order value of $5,000, and $4,000 per month was not enough to run ads as it’s highly competitive, and it takes a long time for a new customer to purchase a new e-bike. But let’s say you’re selling a T-shirt for $25 per unit. Then, $4,000 is enough since it takes less than seven days to make a purchase decision. — Erika Castro, co-founder, CMO, Croia
Ramp up the budget and retain the data
Compared to organic marketing, which demands substantial time and resources in AI, systems, automation, and team development, paid marketing requires a significant upfront financial commitment but less time, making it particularly attractive for established businesses. For brands generating over $50,000 to $100,000 monthly, paid strategies offer more predictability and scalability.
For starting out, a modest daily budget of $20 to $50 allows you to test and refine your approach using the feedback and profits to gradually increase your investment. It’s crucial to choose a platform that resonates most with your target demographic to maximize engagement and conversion rates. Consider an increase if your initial results are promising and aligned with your scaling strategy.
Lastly, when engaging professionals to manage your paid campaigns, opt for experts who collaborate under your ad accounts. This ensures you retain your data and insights, which are crucial for ongoing strategy adjustments. Avoid agencies that retain control over your analytics and data. — Sophie Musumeci, CEO and founder, Real Entrepreneur Women
Exercise spending flex
Budget levels may change throughout the year depending on the client for a few reasons. Factors such as seasonality, competition, and fatigue can cause CPMs (cost per thousand) to increase, meaning you have to spend more to reach your audience. Clients selling a product may want to increase budgets around key periods such as Black Friday and Christmas or to drive sales and ensure you are visible more than your competition. Making sure you plan for those more expensive periods will allow you to be more efficient with the budget and remain competitive. — Helena Taylor, paid social team lead, Space & Time Media
Spend more with more competition
At Kimberfire, which bridges the gap between online and offline diamond jewelry retail, we’ve consistently leveraged paid social media to reach our target audience. We’ve seen the need to slightly increase our spend to maintain visibility as competition grows. However, the key is to continually test and optimize — focusing on what delivers the best ROI rather than just increasing spend blindly. — Jonathan Goldberg, founder, president and CEO, Kimberfire
Budget based on goals
I recommend brands allocate 10% to 30% of their expected annual revenue toward marketing, depending on how aggressively they want to drive results. Of that, 60% to 70% should go toward lead generation in a B2B context, and the remaining 30% to 40% toward branding and awareness. It’s important to note that LinkedIn is not cheap, so serious results require serious investment.
After about three months of A/B testing different content types and ensuring other marketing touchpoints are aligned, most marketers should have a clear understanding of whether paid social is a channel worth continuing, stopping, or increasing investment in. — Belinda Conde, head of marketing, Datos
Say yes and figure out the specifics
The resounding answer is that paid social media can work for your brand. “While there is a myriad of options for organically growing your audience and reach, the brass tacks are that paid plays a major role in converting that audience growth into actual customers. Fun in organic, to the point in paid,” says Ted Harrison, founder and CEO of neuemotion and former head of production at Twitter (X).
But how (and how well) it works depends on your brand’s goals and audiences. As always, pick the most relevant advice for your scenario, see if it delivers what you want, and adjust accordingly.
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Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute