Paid social advertising
Why it matters
Paid search finds people who already typed a relevant phrase. Paid social finds people who fit a profile, before they know they have a problem. That makes it a tool for creating demand, mostly at the top of the funnel, where a buyer is not yet looking. It also makes the economics different: people are interrupted, so they click less often and need a gentler first step than "book a meeting". Retargeting is where costs often drop, because reaching someone who has already visited is cheaper than winning a stranger.
How to apply it
- Pick the platform where the buyers actually spend time, not the one competitors use loudest.
- Lead with a low-commitment offer, such as a checklist, a short guide or a recorded talk.
- Write three to five message angles around the same underlying pain point, and rotate the creative often, because audiences tire of an ad that they have seen many times.
- Install the platform's tracking so conversions are reported back, and use UTM tags so each click can be traced in analytics.
- Judge success by cost per qualified lead and by how many visitors later become customers, not by clicks alone.
What it is
On a social network, advertisers pay to put sponsored posts in front of selected audiences. Targeting is based on what the platform knows about its users: job title, company size, location, interests and behaviour. Advertisers can also upload a customer list, or reach people who have visited their own website, a tactic called retargeting. The main platforms are LinkedIn, Meta (Facebook and Instagram), TikTok, Reddit and X. Pricing is usually per thousand views or per click.
Common mistakes
- Asking a cold audience to buy straight away. Offer a checklist, a guide or a talk first.
- Running one ad until it stops working. Rotate three to five angles and retire the weakest each month.
- Targeting too broadly. If the audience is millions of people, the ad is seen by many who will never buy and your cost per qualified lead rises.
- Judging the campaign by clicks or cost per lead alone. Follow leads through to meetings and customers.
- Skipping UTM tags and conversion tracking, so nobody can tell afterwards which ad produced a customer.
- Cutting the campaign after one week. Platforms need time to learn, and a B2B sales cycle runs longer than a single reporting period.
