Social media was a game changer for the modern web. It modernized the way we talk, live, communicate and work – even the way we take photos. And for a lot of businesses, from small to enterprise level, it has become a true silver bullet due to its ability to boost online marketing.
But what benefits can social media advertising bring? How should a marketer use it to get conversions? Take a look at this recap of our recent SEMrush Twitter Chat with WordStream founder Larry Kim @larrykim and our other chat participants to find answers.
Let’s begin with question #1.
So, why even care about social media if your paid advertisements are already working? First of all, social media provides you with an additional advertising channel. Secondly, it’s a great way to build an online community around your brand. Our participants told us about some other benefits of social media advertising.
A1: Social ads use ad targeting options to target PEOPLE not keywords: demographic/interest/behavior/identity/remarketing #semrushchat 1/3
— Larry Kim (@larrykim) December 16, 2015
Larry also added that social ads are “more native-looking,” consists of mobile users on +80% and also lower commercial intent, but cost much less per click. Social ads also generate direct responses and help to build brand awareness, especially when marketers use videos and image-rich ad formats.
@semrush A1: Targeting: specific, personal and easy re-marketing. Analytics: Flexible, detailed & responsive #semrushchat
— Sarah Little (@sarahsmall) December 16, 2015
Social media advertisements are also more easily tweaked than traditional paid formats like AdWords or banner ads.
A1 Social holds opportunities for your BEST ads - huge database of real people, real platform for human interaction #semrushchat
— Julia McCoy (@JuliaEMcCoy) December 16, 2015
Human interaction is another huge benefit of social media, since feedback arrives as soon as possible. Your customers could become your coworkers if you take advantage of this opportunity.
a1) Well, you can immediately define a custom audience but have to take a more 'entertain' and 'engage' approach over sales #semrushchat
— Dawn Anderson (@dawnieando) December 16, 2015
LinkedIn is one example of a social media platform that can be used for direct sales. Sometimes, even potential B2B customers who would typically never even open your emails are more likely to share a word or two here or there.
A1: Social media advertising allows you to have a bit more creativity bc you are trying to catch people in their spare time #semrushchat
— Blue Fountain Media (@BFMweb) December 16, 2015
Yes: social media is more about creativity than traditional paid platforms. People get on social media to chill and laugh. Give them a chance to do that and you’ll gain a loyal audience.
A1. Be careful on the ad front for social though - the ads have to make sense. Sometimes organic can do more. #semrushchat
— Reva Minkoff (@revaminkoff) December 16, 2015
Dagmar Gatell @DagmarGatell also shared an interesting point: social ads pop up in front of your target audience like a visit from a friend; paid ads show up as a result of a search query.
To summarize all these opinions, social media ads can be described as a channel with great targeting possibilities and detailed, flexible analytics – plus, more creativity is involved.
It’s time to get down to the basics of social media advertising. If you encounter a good example, how do you recognize it? We asked our participants to share their tips for creating an epic social media ad.
The critical moment for each marketer is to decide what type of content to promote through social media. Larry suggests dealing only with “unicorns.”
Q2: Only Promote Your Top Posts (Unicorns!) ??? HIGHER Engagement Rates = Lower CPC! ??? #semrushchat pic.twitter.com/GBBQBTqyPs
— Larry Kim (@larrykim) December 16, 2015
Creating an epic social media ad is always about creating epic content that appears at the right time and in the right place. And your content must resonate with your audience if you want to achieve success.
A2: Clear and engaging story that provides value people benefit from. Oh, and don't forget the keywords! #semrushchat
— Express Writers (@ExpWriters) December 16, 2015
Straight and clear calls to action are another mark of a well-crafted advertisement, and, of course, your conversion rates are a good judge of your ads’ effectiveness.
A2b Consider visuals that tell stories, ad copy that resonates the same message without being too aggressive, and CTA #semrushchat
— Janil Jean (@JanilJean) December 16, 2015
Robert Katai shared his version of a step-by-step guide for creating epic social media ads.
@semrush A2 1 step - your audience. 2 step - create a professional ad (you can use @bannersnack ) 3 step - measure & test #semrushchat
— Robert Katai (@katairobi) December 16, 2015
Overall, to create cost-effective social media advertisements, your post should be engaging, and it should include a great image and call to action. It should also encourage your audience to respond to it and share it.
A lot of marketers attempt social media marketing, but only a few hundred of them are truly successful. It seems as though others make too many mistakes that interfere with their ads’ performance. What are the most common social media landmines? Let’s ask our participants.
Remember that the quality of your content is the main criteria for evaluating an ad. Companies that promote junk updates will always struggle to get users’ attention.
A3: Biggest Social Media Ads Mistake is Promoting Junk #semrushchat ??? pic.twitter.com/Nhm2P68vHy
— Larry Kim (@larrykim) December 16, 2015
No one goes on social media to read; people come to share photos of kittens and chat with friends about their boss. Keep your text content to an average level.
A3) Too much text, not direct enough w/benefit, poor targeting, bad image. #semrushchat
— Ryan Johnson (@rsj8000) December 16, 2015
Banham @Berngaming added focusing too much on ROI while neglecting community engagement, likes and follows to our list of mistakes.
A3) Blanketing your strategy across EVERY network. How I engage on FB is not what I do on Twitter or Snapchat. #semrushchat
— Jose Watson (@Josewats) December 16, 2015
Each particular social media post requires a different approach. For example, Twitter audiences actually like chats and images, while Facebook audiences are moved more with text content.
A3 part II: Trying to be relevant for real-time news by capitalizing on serious disasters. Saw a lot of that last year #semrushchat @semrush
— Laurel Marcus (@ljmarcus) December 16, 2015
Disasters are not the best topics for engaging your audience. Give them a pleasant, uplifting environment instead. Choose trends that don’t include negative messages.
A3: Sell, sell, sell. Instead, make a connection, a friendship & cherish it. Connections like that will support you & be loyal #semrushchat
— WildShark SEO (@wildsharkseo) December 16, 2015
7thingsmedia @7thingsmedia noted that setting a campaign objective that doesn’t work with the content/image of the advertisement could be the worst mistake ever. We completely agree with that.
A3b) #semrushchat 4) Wrong targeting 5) Not tied into a bigger overall "same messaging" marketing mix 6) Not using buttons 7) Not enough CTA
— Tony Dimmock (@Tony_DWM) December 16, 2015
So, the biggest social media mistakes are lack of long-term strategy, poor ad copies, focusing too much on a single channel and faulty targeting. 
The next question appeals to the experience of our participants. Facebook gets larger and larger year after year, and with the development of increased functionality, there are more advertising opportunities than ever before. What are the benefits of using Facebook?
Facebook tends to be more conservative than other platforms and considered to have tough audience. What should you be aware of when promoting your content on Facebook? This question brings us back to the benefits of social media that Larry kindly pointed out.
#A4: Social Ads do 2 Things GREAT: (1) Content Promotion (2) Converting Visitors to Leads/Sales #semrushchat pic.twitter.com/6vltmTpC6c
— Larry Kim (@larrykim) December 16, 2015
Altos @altos advised aligning your Facebook ads with your goals and KPIs. If you aren’t planning to use the medium effectively, then don’t bother.
@semrush A4: enhanced audience targeting, creatinh buyer persona on facebook insights, increased customer loyalty #semrushchat
— Sameera Khan (@Sameerakkhan) December 16, 2015
Victoria Gundersen @torriegundersen pointed out that Facebook ads provide great targeting opportunities. If you’re looking to grow your community you can target them with similar interests.
To summarize these answers, we can add that Facebook also provides the best opportunities for A/B testing your landing pages and set the “important” mark on rich targeting options that are definitely worth testing.
If you’re not ready for Facebook yet or you’re looking for other channels and different audiences, you should definitely do some research. We asked our participants to list the best social platforms for beginners. 
Obed M. @MrClics began with Facebook and Twitter. They’re both good for promoting content, branding and showcasing new products or services for start-ups.
#a5 Facebook (includes Instagram, Whatsapp, messenger, etc) has/will kill them all... #semrushchat pic.twitter.com/dVqRxY8hHX
— Larry Kim (@larrykim) December 16, 2015
Thanks, Larry, for sharing your infographic! It seems that Facebook is on top of everything and that its golden age is only beginning. In general, defining a good advertising channel always depends on your objectives, goals, and KPIs – and your target audience.
New Year’s Day is nearly upon us and many predictions about the future for the web are already being published.* We bet that our participants constantly monitor trends and correlations and can also share some insights for social media advertising in 2016.
Have you heard about Facebook Messenger? Sure you have. But do you also know that 2016 is the year that it will be opened up to the business community?
A6: Social Media Trend #1: Facebook Messenger opening up as a Business Service. So you can order stuff by messaging them. #semrushchat
— Larry Kim (@larrykim) December 16, 2015
Peter Nikolow @PeterNikolow predicts new ad formats along with new types of ads; he also thinks that Facebook’s reach will getting lower and lower, so new ways to segment and target will be developed.
A6 1) Way more use of FB by brands...ads, investment, strategy 2) G+ may decrease even more 3) Live streaming =hot #semrushchat
— Julia McCoy (@JuliaEMcCoy) December 16, 2015
Blue Fountain Media @BFMweb expects more ad relevancy. For example, if you could target the consumer based on the exact product they have searched for on your site, your marketing would be much more effective.
A6) Much, much, much more personalisation, and predictive personalisation too based on patterns and habits #semrushchat
— Dawn Anderson (@dawnieando) December 16, 2015
Let’s recap this question. In 2016, marketers should expect to see more video advertising, new ways to interact with mobile, further development of Instagram advertising, new ad formats and more personalization from different platforms.
That’s it for today!
Thanks to our special guest Larry Kim @larrykim for sharing his expertise, and to all SEMrush Chat participants.
We’ll be back on Christmas Eve! Be sure not to miss it!
