Why invest in paid social?
To understand the power of paid social, let’s use a real example. Learn from Zac Fromson, Co-Founder and COO of Lilo Social, as he walks through his process for transforming his client, Lil Helper’s, social media strategy.
Step 1: Determine where to focus your ad spend
Now that you understand why paid advertising is impactful, your next question is likely: How do I implement a successful strategy?
This all starts by knowing where to invest, who you are targeting, and what the best practices are for each channel. Let’s run through a few of the top social platforms for paid ads, specifically those that help you acquire new leads and drive awareness for your brand.
Note: Klaviyo specifically integrates with Meta (i.e., Facebook and Instagram), TikTok, and Pinterest. For more information on how to enable these integrations, review our help documentation.
Meta
What is it:
Meta (formerly “Facebook”) is a social media sharing website that allows users to update their status to a larger network, create and publish original content, as well as browse and re-share content in a feed of results.
Note: The larger parent company, called Meta, also owns Instagram, Threads, Messenger, and WhatsApp.
Primary audience:
Male users aged 25-34; moreover, the app has a higher proportion of older users than other social media apps (29% of Millennials and Baby Boomers use the app weekly; Source: Marketing Charts).
Learn more about Meta’s (Facebook) common demographics from Hootsuite.
Types of lead ads:
- Lead ads with forms
- Lead ads that prompt someone to message your brand
- Lead ads that prompt someone to call your business
What is it:
Instagram is a subsidiary of Meta, and is an image and video editing, posting, and sharing app. As with Facebook, users can scroll through a live feed; however, Instagram stories and reels have become more and more popular over time, in which video content is the main focus.
Primary audience:
Users between the ages of 18-24, and a higher number of men than women with accounts.
Learn more about Instagram’s demographics from Hootsuite.
Types of lead ads:
- In-platform lead ads with forms
- Website lead ads (that direct users to a landing page)
- Lead purchase ads (product and conversion-focused)
TikTok
What is it:
TikTok allows users to create, share, and watch engaging, short-form videos. As with Instagram and Facebook, its feed will surface videos based on a user’s engagement and interests.
Primary audience:
Users primarily between the ages 18-34 (with a higher percentage of Gen Z users), who specifically expect engaging and entertaining video content.
Learn more about TikTok’s demographics from Hootsuite.
Types of lead ads:
- In-feed lead ads (which link to a lead ad form)
- TopView ads (which appear at the top of a TikTok feed and gain high visibility)
What is it:
Pinterest is a social platform with a very distinct purpose: people go to their feed to find inspiration, shop products, and “pin” images and videos into themed collections called "boards.” The main purpose of these boards is usually project-based (e.g., home decorating, cooking, crafting, event planning, etc.).
Primary audience:
Female users between the ages of 25-49, usually with a specific need in mind, but not a brand.
Learn more about Pinterest’s demographics from Hootsuite.
Types of lead ads:
- Standard image or carousel (multi-image) ads (that link to a form)
Step 2: Build lead ads to acquire new customers on social
At the acquisition stage of the marketing funnel, your main goal is to gain new customers. With paid social media, the main “ad type” for this goal is lead ads.
A lead ad is a type of social media advertisement that collects a prospect’s contact information and their consent to receive marketing messages, so you can follow up and encourage them to shop.
To build your lead ad, you must:
- Identify where to host your lead ad
Choose the platform where you'll host your ad (for assistance, review the gallery above). - Create your target audience
Determine who you will target your ads toward. You can refine who should see your ad based on qualities about them (e.g., demographics, interests, behaviors, and whether or not they’ve shopped before). You can even create a “lookalike audience” that resembles your top shoppers to get lead ads in front of those most likely to engage with them. - Determine your “lead magnet”
Identify what “lead magnet” to feature in your content; in other words, what tangible incentive will capture someone’s attention and spur them to sign up for more information (e.g., a unique deal, downloadable ebook, consultation, etc.). - Prepare a lead ad automation
Build an automation that follows up with anyone who signs up via your lead ad. This message (e.g., email or text) should also help them access the incentive offered in your ad. - Set your ad live
Follow the exact steps to build and publish lead ads based on the hosted platform:
Invest in additional social strategies to expand your reach
Beyond advertisements, you may have also seen sponsored ad placements and brand collaborations on your social feeds. Read the dropdowns below to learn how your brand can carve this into your existing social strategy.
Sponsored ads (influencer marketing)
Sponsored ads, also known as influencer marketing, are advertisements shared by someone with a large following in which they recommend your brand, product, or service to their network of followers.
How to begin the process of generating sponsored ads:
- Find the right influencers
Look for individuals who have a significant social media following and who are either already part of your brand community or frequently share content that aligns with your brand. - Conduct outreach
Reach out to these individuals (i.e., influencers) to partner with you, say hiring them to produce a specific number of posts within a set timeframe. - Create a promotion plan
Work together to build a strategy for promoting your product or service to their audience in a way that feels natural and authentic, and gives a clear call-to-action (e.g., try this product yourself, learn more here, sign up for more information, etc.). Often, sponsored ads have a unique incentive attached to them; for example, a coupon code that is specifically tied to this influencer (e.g., “Get 10% off your first order with code: [Influencer’s name]-10”). - Track engagement
Track the engagement of these sponsored ads (e.g., using UTM parameters) to observe any traffic spikes from these ads, and identify whether or not this strategy actually moves your bottom line. Moreover, by tracking this engagement, you can tailor your follow-up communications according to what content someone specifically engaged with.
Brand collaboration or placement
Brand collaboration or placement refers to partnerships between your brand and other brands or entities for mutual promotion.
Brand collaborations can come in many shapes or forms, including:
- Co-creating and sharing of social media posts to reach a wider audience.
- Featured product placement in their social media promotions.
- Re-sharing each other's content across social platforms.
- Platform-specific “takeovers” with engaging video and social media stories.
Get creative with this, as you network with like-minded brands and work together to build a marketing campaign strategy.
To get started, you can:
- Find the right brand partner
Research brands that are similar in size to your own, share a common audience demographic, and offer a product that is complementary to your own. - Conduct outreach
Reach out to that brand, starting a conversation to see if they are interested in partnering with you on this content. In doing so, be clear that this will benefit both of your brands and drive awareness to each of your websites. - Create a promotion plan
Work together to build a strategy that adequately features and promotes both of your brands. As you post content, make sure it is shared across both profiles, so you cast as wide a net as possible to raise awareness. - Track engagement
Track the engagement of these posts to see how impactful your collaboration was. As with sponsored ads, you can track engagement with specific UTM parameters attached to your links. That way, you can tailor your follow-up communications according to what content someone specifically engaged with.
Measure and track success
The most important metric when it comes to paid social is ROAS, or return on ad spend. This indicates how you are performing, not only in regard to engagement but also helps you identify whether or not you are actually profiting from this channel instead of wasting money.
To calculate ROAS, you must divide your ad-specific revenue by its cost, as shown below:
ROAS = (Revenue Generated by Advertising / Cost of Advertising) x 100%
For example, if you spend $100 on ads and generate $500 in revenue, your ROAS would be: ($500 / $100) x 100% = 500% or a 5:1 ratio of revenue vs. attributed cost.
As you kick off your own paid ad strategy, make sure to:
- Document your goals (what is your ideal ROAS, and how much revenue do you anticipate making?).
- Track results over time, say, month over month, in the first calendar year.
- Note what strategies lead to the highest ROAS, repeat what works, and consistently try new strategies.
Keep in mind that a “good” ROAS benchmark to strive for is typically a 4:1 ratio (Source: BigCommerce). That means that, for every $4 in revenue you gain, you’ll likely need to spend $1 on those ads. To access ROAS data on the social media platforms we went through in this lesson, head to their analytics documentation: