Identifying the right paid social platform

“Content is king.” Chances are, if you’re in marketing or PR, you’ve heard that phrase before, as it’s been imbibed by numerous marketers for years. Now, with all the different channels and platforms available to market on, a heavier emphasis now lies on getting that content in front of the right audience – and to reach the right audience, paid social campaigns are where brands can strike gold.

Think about it this way: How important is a brand’s content if the right people aren’t seeing it? How effective is your campaign for dog food if cat people are seeing your ads? A paid social campaign can drive desired outcomes; it’s the bridge successfully connecting engaging content with an active audience in the most targeted way possible, and it starts with choosing the right platform in which to invest.

There are two things to consider when choosing a social marketing platform:

 Who is my company’s audience?

It’s important to choose a platform for your campaign that your consumers are actively using. To pick a platform, analyze the demographics of your consumer base. What is your average customer’s age, gender, location, ethnicity, job types, interests and more? This information will help guide you to the platform you should be marketing on.

For example, LinkedIn is a platform heavily used by professionals – making it ideal for B2B campaigns. When creating a paid campaign on LinkedIn, the platform allows you to finely select your audience by targeting basic demographics, right down to selecting people by the length of their careers and the LinkedIn groups to which they belong.

Every business is different. What works on LinkedIn for some would be better suited on Facebook or Twitter for others. Do your research, analyze your customers and find out on which platform they are most active.

 What is my campaign’s goal?

It’s also important to consider what your company is trying to achieve through its campaign while choosing a social platform. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn each have several different ad types to choose from while building a targeted campaign.

For instance, with its vast user base and precise targeting functionality, Facebook is excellent for generating awareness or brand recognition. However, if you’re in the B2B space looking to drive downloads of a whitepaper, Facebook will likely get eyeballs on ads, but not conversions – try LinkedIn for your more professional, in-depth content-seeking crew. If you have news to share or want to drive event attendees to your booth? Check out paid Twitter options.

Whether your goal is to drive traffic to your website, or gain followers, or promote certain content and raise brand awareness – there is most likely an ad type that fits to your call-to-action.

Paid social is the bridge from content to audience

Effective marketing comes from both sides of the equation – content and audience – which come together to create a big picture. Paid social media campaigns are one of the best tools your company can use to bring unique content to the right audience in an effective, memorable way.

Learn more about Corporate Ink’s recommendations for Facebook B2B marketing, and contact us to learn how we can help your brand succeed with an impactful paid social campaign.