Social media marketing is more than posting eye-catching images on Instagram. It’s about creating real connections with your followers and turning them into business growth. And with the number of social media users expected to reach 5.85 billion by 2027, the opportunity is huge.

Social media marketing helps businesses reach people where they already spend time online. These platforms let brands share their story and build a community of followers.

In this guide, we’ll explore how to create a social media ads strategy. You’ll learn how to grow your following, engage your audience, and get results.

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What Is Social Media Marketing?

Social media marketing and advertising are about using social media platforms to promote your products and build brand awareness. The goal is to increase your sales by spreading the word about your business and creating a brand identity your followers relate to.

Social media marketing involves using platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. And each platform requires a clear, actionable strategy.

Some of the core aspects of a good social media marketing strategy include:

• Sharing updates about products and services
• Talking with customers in comments
• Answering questions and solving problems
• Posting pictures, videos, and stories
• Running contests and polls
• Sharing news about your brand

What Are the Benefits of Social Media Advertising?

Great social media marketing strategies give you several ways to get ahead of the competition. Some of the most impactful are:

Building Brand Awareness

Social media marketing helps more people learn about your business. Regular posts on platforms like Instagram and Facebook get your brand in front of new audiences. When people see your content often, they’re more likely to remember your business when they’re looking to hire for a job or buy what you sell.

Earning Customer Trust

Active social media accounts show customers your business is real and reliable. Posting updates, answering comments, and sharing helpful content builds trust with your followers.

That said, if your content is low-quality, you don’t post enough, or followers don’t like the way you engage with your target audience, your image can take a nosedive. Empty profiles or hastily written responses make potential customers think twice. Make sure your strategy involves staying friendly and present online. 

Tracking What Works

Social media platforms give you clear data about how well your posts perform. Some of the metrics you can track are:

• How many people view your content
• Which content drives the most engagement
• Who engages with your posts
• What times work best for posting
• How your social media strategy performs compared to competitors

All this empowers you to make smarter, data-driven decisions about what to post (and what to stop posting).

Boosting Revenue

After all, every business with a social media strategy is chasing one thing: more revenue. Done well, your posts will drive people to your website or online store.

Many platforms now let customers buy directly through social media. These include major players like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Features like appointment booking buttons and shop links can turn followers into customers without even having to leave the platform.

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How To Create a Social Media Marketing Strategy

A well-crafted social media strategy helps you stand out in crowded feeds. Here’s how to build a social media marketing strategy that works:

1. Set Clear Goals

Every good social media strategy starts with clear goals. A useful trick is using the SMART framework, which says your posts should be:

• Specific. “Get more followers” is too vague. “Gain 1,000 new Instagram followers” is better.
• Measurable. Choose goals you can track quantitatively.
• Attainable. Be realistic about what you can achieve.
• Relevant. Pick goals that help your business grow.
• Time-bound. Set deadlines for your goals.

Many businesses focus on a few key areas. You might aim to increase brand awareness by posting three times a week. Or maybe you want 50 new followers each month. Some brands even focus on engagement, promising to respond to all comments within two hours. Whatever it is, make sure your goal aligns with broader business objectives.

2. Know Your Audience

Success on social media means understanding exactly who you’re trying to reach. Your target audience has:

• Problems they need to solve
• Social media platforms they prefer
• Times when they’re most active online
• Types of content they engage with

Tailor your content to what they want to see.

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3. Choose Your Platforms Wisely

Don’t try to be everywhere at once. It’s better to do great on two platforms than to do poorly on five. Pick the ones that best match your audience and the type of content you create.

Facebook works well for local businesses looking to build community. Instagram shines when you’re selling visual products or building a lifestyle brand. LinkedIn is the top choice for B2B companies and professional services. And TikTok helps you reach younger audiences with fun video content.

4. Create Engaging Content

The most successful brands share content their followers actually want to see. Data shows that short videos get 2.5 times more engagement than longer ones. That explains why TikTok videos and Instagram Reels have become so popular.

Use a mixture of content types to keep it fresh. Here are some ideas:

• Share how-to posts that solve common problems
• Give followers a behind-the-scenes look at your business
• Tell customer success stories
• Share product updates and announcements

The key is staying authentic. Your followers can tell when you’re trying too hard.

5. Plan Your Posts

Creating good content takes time. A content calendar helps you stay organized and maintain the same voice across posts. Plan most of your content in advance, but leave room for timely updates or trending topics.

Consider when your followers are most active. Posting at the right time can make a big difference in how many people see your content. And don’t forget to make time for engaging with your community.

6. Track and Improve

Pay attention to how your posts perform. Ask straightforward questions you can answer and act on easily, like:

• Which posts get the most likes and comments?
• When are your followers most active?
• Do certain hashtags work better than others?
• Is your follower count growing steadily?

Use what you learn to improve your digital marketing strategy. If your how-to content gets lots of engagement, make more of those. If nobody’s seeing your 8 p.m. posts, try posting at lunchtime instead.

Different Types of Social Media Ads Strategies

For any advertising, there are two main options: paid and organic. When you boost ads on social media, you have to pay a fee. The platform then shows your content to users that match your audience. 

With organic advertising, you make posts that customers find naturally. For example, someone searching for web designers on Instagram might find your account from a hashtag. When they see your portfolio, they might choose to hire you for a project. 

Both paid and organic advertising are important to a strong marketing strategy. Some customers will see your promotions, while others find your account naturally.

Each social media platform has its types of content you can choose from. For most formats, you can choose to pay to promote the content as an ad. First, let’s look at the main types of ads you’re likely to encounter:

Common Ad Formats

• Image Ads. These are simple photo ads that appear in the feed.
• Video Ads. These are short videos that play as users scroll.
• Carousel Ads. These are sets of photos users can swipe through.
• Stories Ads. These appear between users’ stories as full-screen content.
• Shopping Ads. These let users buy products directly through the platform.

Now, let’s drill down into each platform’s specific options:

Facebook Ads

Facebook has a variety of ad types to choose from. You get access to:

• Image ads
• Video ads
• Carousel ads
• Stories ads
• Shopping ads
• Messenger ads, which start a conversation with your business account when users click on them

Instagram Ads

Instagram focuses on visual content that blends with regular posts. Here are your options:

• Image ads
• Video ads
• Carousel ads
• Stories ads
• Shopping ads
• Reels ads, which are displayed between short-form videos

LinkedIn Ads

LinkedIn’s professional focus is ideal for B2B social media marketing. This platform has some options others don’t. These include:

• Sponsored content, which refers to regular posts boosted to reach more people
• Display ads, which are banner ads on the side of the feed
• Dynamic ads, which are automatically personalized with user info

TikTok Ads

TikTok’s creative platform also offers some unique ways to advertise:

• Feed ads
• Branded hashtag challenges, which are competitions using custom hashtags for user-generated content, like using a product or performing a dance
• Dynamic ads, which allow you to automatically personalize ads for different demographics

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Best 3 Tips for Social Media Marketing Success

If you’re looking to optimize your social media strategy, here are three ways to do it:

• Mix Up Content Types. Your followers want variety in their feeds. Posting the same type of content over and over gets boring fast, which hurts your engagement. Using different formats like images, videos, or live streams keeps things fresh and interesting.
• Stay Consistent. Your brand should feel the same across all social media platforms. This means using the same voice and visual style whether you’re posting on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. When followers see your content, they should know it’s you before they even see your name.
• Use Hashtags Wisely. Hashtags help people find your content, but they only work if you use them right. Research which hashtags your industry uses most often. Choose hashtags that match your content and track which ones bring the most engagement.

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Stay On Brand, Look Professional

Your stellar social media strategy deserves stellar invoices to match.

Our estimate and invoice templates are fully brandable to your business. We never add our own watermarks so your invoices always look professional and match your brand. Start with one of our clean, modern template designs, then simply add your logo.