Ok, so you’ve got your social media content strategy down. But now you’re ready for level 2.0 — optimizing your social media ad strategy. Leveraging a solid social media ad strategy requires a mix of exploration, creativity, and revision. But if you’re up for the challenge, implementing social media ads can take your business up a notch. Trust us, with the right strategy, the return on investment (ROI) is so worth it!

Let’s get into it. Here are the ten steps to consider when cultivating a social media ad strategy:

10 Steps to Consider When Cultivating a Social Media Ad Strategy

1. Define your objective

What’s the purpose of your advertisement? Do you want to drive traffic, build awareness, boost sales, or something else? Honing in on your objective will eventually help you shape your ad’s content and messaging.

2. Know your audience

You’ve already done a lot of work identifying your target audience’s demographics and psychographics. Use this information to tailor your ads so they resonate with your people.

3. Choose your platform

Not all social media platforms are created equal. Pick the platform that makes the most sense for your brand (usually this is the one where your target audience likes to spend their time). Each platform has its features and challenges, is preferred by a certain demographic, and works with a unique algorithm.

4. Use compelling visuals

High-quality photos and videos grab the viewer’s attention and urge them to read on. It makes sense, then, that social media content with visuals does better than text alone.

5. Have clear messaging

Copy should be concise, creative, and communicate your value proposition to the reader. Use language that aligns with your brand ethos and resonates with your target audience.

6. Employ a strong CTA

What do you want the reader to do? Spell. It. Out. Perhaps you want the reader to visit your website, make a purchase, share your post, or sign up for your newsletter.

7. Implement A/B testing

Don’t be afraid to try out different ad formats, visuals, or copy to see what resonates best with your audience. A/B testing will help you narrow down advertising that best suits your target customer.

8. Optimize for mobile

Ads—all of your content, in fact—should function on mobile devices as well as computers. The majority of social media users access their apps via their phones, and you don’t want to miss out on potential customers due to a wonky-looking or functioning ad.

9. Leverage retargeting

Retargeting means attempting to re-engage users who interacted with your ad but didn’t follow through for one reason or another. Hitting them up again with a revised ad may increase your conversion rate.

10. Monitor performance. 

Use your social media analytics tools to track metrics like click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, engagement, and return on investment (ROI). This data can help shape your future ad campaigns.

Implementing a social media ad strategy can increase your brand’s visibility, target your reach, build brand awareness, increase lead generation and sales, and improve your competitive advantage…but only if you’ve got your ducks in a row. Exciting news! Media À La Carte is now offering support in paid social advertising. Reach out to us to learn more!