Unlike organic marketing, paid ads allow you to place your message in front of potential customers when and where it matters. They drive targeted traffic and increase brand awareness helping you achieve your marketing goals.
Best Platforms for Paid Ads
Google Ads:
With Google Ads you can create ads that appear in search results, on YouTube, or across Google.
Here’s how you can create Google Ads:
Log in to your Google Ads account or create one if you don’t have it.
Create a New Campaign” Click “+ New Campaign” to start.
Choose your goal (e.g., website traffic, brand awareness).
Pick where your ads will appear (e.g., Search Network, Display Network, YouTube).
Set your daily budget and choose your bidding option: Cost-per-click (CPC): Pay per click, Cost-per-mille (CPM): Pay per 1,000 impressions and Cost-per-engagement (CPE): Pay per specific action.
Add keywords that trigger your ads.
Add headlines, descriptions, and URLs.
Check all settings and click “Save and Continue” to launch your campaign.
8 crucial pillars of a successful Google Ads campaign by the Google Ads expert, Miles McNair.
Meta Ads:
Meta ads allow you to create campaigns that target specific audience segments through Instagram and Facebook.
Here’s how you can create Meta ads:
Decide what you want to achieve (e.g., website visits, sales).
Log in to Facebook and access Ads Manager.
Click “Create” to start a new campaign.
Define the audience by age, interests, and behaviors.
Set your budget and bidding strategy.
Create engaging text and visuals; choose ad placement.
Check settings and click “Publish.”
Monitor performance and adjust as needed.
How to boost a post on Instagram:
Go to your profile and choose the post to boost.
Tap “Promote”: Click the “Promote” button under the post.
Choose your goal (e.g., profile visits).
Select your target audience.
Choose how much to spend and how long the ad runs.
Check settings and tap “Create Promotion.”
Please do note that boosting a post on Instagram is NOT a good idea, since it can reduce your organic reach, hence please choose to focus on running ads on your post for engagement and reach.
TikTok Ads
TikTok Ads offers a unique platform for advertising with creative, engaging, and short-form video content that captures users' attention.
Here’s how you can create TikTok Ads:
Determine your objectives (e.g., profile visits, boost sales).
Log into your TikTok Ads account.
Click "Create" on the Campaign tab to start a new campaign.
Define your audience based on demographic information, interests, and behaviors.
Set your budget and choose your ad group's bidding strategy.
Develop engaging and creative video content; select the ad placement.
Check all settings and click "Launch" to activate your campaign.
Monitor the performance of your ads and make adjustments as necessary for optimal results.
Just as the other platforms, TikTok also provides the option to promote existing posts:
Go to your profile page and select the post you wish to promote.
Tap on the "Promote" button under the selected post.
Define your campaign goal (e.g., more profile visits).
Choose your target audience based on your preferences.
Set your budget and the duration for which the ad will run.
Review all settings and tap on "Promote Now" to initiate your promotion.
Nonetheless, just like Instagram, it's important to note that while promoting a post can increase its visibility and reach, focusing on crafting targeted ads can often offer a more significant impact on engagement and conversion rates.
Budgeting for paid ads
When planning your ad budget, define your marketing goals such as improving brand awareness, getting more leads, or making direct sales, and how much you want to spend.
Decide on your total ad budget as a daily amount or total for the whole campaign and then divide up your budget accordingly. Begin with a small budget to test your ads, and then increase it as you learn what works.
Bidding Strategies
Bidding strategies in paid advertising determine how much you’ll pay for each click, impression, or conversion. There are two approaches:
With manual bidding, you set the maximum amount you’re willing to pay, giving you control over your spending.
Automatic bidding lets the platform’s algorithm adjust your bids to maximize results within your budget.
A cost-per-impression (CPM) strategy might be best, if you’re focused on maximizing visibility. If conversions are your priority, consider cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-action (CPA) bidding.
ROI Calculation
Calculate Return on Investment (ROI) to understand your ad spend. To calculate, subtract your total ad costs from the revenue generated by the ads, then divide by the total ad costs.
A positive ROI shows that your ads are generating more revenue than they cost, making them profitable. If your ROI is lower than expected, consider optimizing your ad targeting, creative, or bidding strategy.
Measuring the effectiveness of your ads:
To understand how effective your paid advertising campaigns are, keep track of certain metrics.
Click-through Rate (CTR): Measures the percentage of users who click on your ad after seeing it. A high CTR suggests that your ad is engaging and relevant to your target audience.
Conversion Rate: Explains how many of those clicks lead to desired actions such as purchases or sign-ups. This metric is important to study the impact of your ads on your business.
Cost per Conversion: Helps understand the cost-effectiveness of your campaigns by showing how much you're spending to acquire a customer.
Bounce Rate: This shows the percentage of users who come to your website, do nothing, and leave. A high bounce rate means there's nothing on the page that users want to interact with, or that the people visiting the page don't match the page's purpose.
Finally, make sure that you’re refining campaigns to drive conversions. Here’s what you need to focus on:
Account Consolidation: Combine ad campaigns into fewer sets to provide algorithms with more data. This helps algorithms learn faster and target ads to the right audience.
A/B testing: Compare different versions of your ad creative—such as headlines, images, videos, or calls to action—and identify which combinations perform best. Once you have the data, implement the highest-performing elements across your campaign.
Retargeting: Implement retargeting campaigns to increase brand familiarity and conversion rates. Use cookies to follow potential customers online and target audiences who have already shown interest in your products improving your return on ad spend.
