Author: Sarah Lukemire, Founder & Lead Strategist, Brindle Digital Marketing
Social Media. It’s a love-hate relationship for most people, and many marketers as well. Things change fast and every couple of years there seems to be a ‘new kid in town’ competing for our screen time.
In the post below, we’re taking a dive into a handful of common questions we get asked at Brindle Digital Marketing regarding social media, including: What platforms should I be on? Do I have to advertise to reach my audience? And what pitfalls or mistakes do you commonly see others making with their social media ads?
Let’s dive in!
Which social platforms do you see small businesses having the most success with, and how do you recommend using each?
This can vary by market and target audience; however, as we move into 2022, with most of our clients we still find Facebook and Instagram as the leaders. For those targeting a slightly younger demographic (though not as young as you may assume!), there’s companies and brand jumping on the TikTok trend and seeing significant reach. If you largely target a B2B audience, consider LinkedIn but ensure you rally behind the company page and get engagement from team members, too, as often company page reach can be difficult.
What trends do you see in the type of ad content that connects with audiences?
At Brindle, we switch our ad content up seasonally, to (1) keep things fresh and (2) adjust to seasonality. We primarily focus on multifamily marketing, running ads for clients the apartment industry as well as service-based businesses. And then on an ongoing basis, we’re looking at the performance to optimize the ad campaigns. A great, short-form video focusing on your services/offerings can perform great. Whereas with others, a classic scrolling carousel tends to outperform static ads. But remember, you only have a few seconds or less to capture their attention.
Does organic social marketing have a place, or do you need paid ads to stand out?
Definitely – organic has its place, but we always recommend pairing that with paid ads! With the constant algorithm updates, it’s difficult to reach your audience – even if they ‘like’ your page or follow your account – so to get the most bang for your buck of creating content, we recommend ongoing ads as well. As mentioned, most of the multifamily communities we market for at Brindle are larger luxury communities, so therefore have a larger resident audience along with constantly seeking to reach new prospects, but a blend of organic and paid ads results in a winning strategy.
Are there certain mistakes you commonly see people making when it comes to social ads?
Yes, a few mistakes we commonly notice in ads include:
Mistake #1 – Not being concise in your message. One thing that’s super important with social ads is relevancy and being concise in your messaging as opposed to using overly descriptive marketing copy. This is key.
Ad copy tip: keep it under 3 lines & add emojis
Mistake #2 – Not including the location in your ad copy for targeting colder audiences. If you’re a hair salon in Greeley, make sure to include that in the caption of your ads! I.e. “Hey, Greeley! Ready for a fresh color, haircut? Schedule your appointment with one of our stylists before the 31st and save $20”.
Mistake #3 – Not using a landing page. A landing page is simply a webpage where you’re sending people after they click on your ads. Make sure you tell your audience what action you want them to take! I.e. Call us, fill out the form, etc.
Mistake #4 – Not adjusting the ad copy to serve different audiences (cold audiences vs retargeting) – If you’re serving ads to your customer list, this messaging should be warmer and differ from ads that you’re serving to new potential customers who have never heard about your business. Work your audience through the marketing funnel, from discovery to ‘purchase’.
Hopefully these marketing tips for your paid advertising campaigns were helpful.
– Sarah Lukemire, Founder & Lead Strategist, Brindle Digital Marketing
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