As an owner of an eCommerce business, your digital marketing campaigns should be focused on generating targeted traffic and attracting paying customers. This can be accomplished through free Organic Social Media Marketing and Paid Social Media Marketing.
Each has its own advantage and reach, and they can also work in tandem to create a strong digital marketing campaign.
However, paid social media marketing for eCommerce businesses will likely produce faster results.
Read on to learn all you need to know about Paid Social Media Ads for eCommerce.
What Are Paid Social Media Ads?
Paid social media marketing is a different word for advertising. It’s when brands pay money to YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc. to have their content shared with targeted audiences who are most likely to be interested. ECommerce stores either “boost” their organic content or design unique paid ads to reach the target audience.
Social media advertising is important for your digital marketing efforts because paid advertising on social media for eCommerce:
- Builds brand awareness
- Is branded marketing content
- Offers advanced customer targeting
- Is trackable via performance analytics
Paid Social Media Advertising
Paid social media ads consist of paying to display images, videos, or sponsored marketing content on social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
Here are a few ways eCommerce stores and brands market on the different social media platforms.
Influencer Marketing
Collaborating with an influencer that has a large following in your same niche can give you great exposure and generate sales. In exchange for reviews or video spotlights of your products, influencers typically get paid in the form of free products or monetary compensation, or both.
Native Advertising
Native advertising matches the style and format of an organic post. A “boosted post” is an example of native advertising. Different from most ads that are identifiable by a label that says “promoted” or “sponsored,” these native ads look just like organic social content but reach a larger audience since they are paid for.
Promoted Posts
Promoted posts are the standard posts that you see on Facebook and Instagram, for example, but social media account owners pay to boost their exposure on the platform so more people see them (including people who aren’t followers or friends).
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising
PPC advertising is a display ad that’s been specially designed and that’s shown to a targeted audience, with the marketer paying for each click-through. The ads then appear in the target audience’s timeline or feed.
Finding the right balance of free organic digital marketing vs paid social media digital marketing takes some testing to find the best formula that drives positive results. The Haarty Hanks team can help you navigate and design a paid digital marketing campaign that helps your business grow.