Paid Social
Definition
Advertising on social media platforms where you pay to reach specific audiences beyond your existing followers.
What is Paid Social?
Paid social is advertising on social media platforms – Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and others. Unlike organic posts that rely on algorithms, paid social guarantees your content reaches your target audience.
You set budgets, define who sees your ads, and pay based on results – whether that's impressions, clicks, or conversions.
Why Paid Social Matters
Guaranteed Reach
Organic reach continues declining. Paid social ensures your important messages actually reach people.
Precise Targeting
Social platforms know enormous amounts about their users. You can target by demographics, interests, behaviours, job titles, life events, and more.
Measurable Results
Every pound spent is trackable. You can see exactly how many people saw your ad, clicked through, and converted.
Scalable Growth
Once you find what works, you can scale spend to reach more people. Organic content can't be scaled the same way.
Types of Paid Social Ads
Awareness Ads
Designed to reach as many relevant people as possible. Good for brand building and reaching new audiences.
Engagement Ads
Optimised for likes, comments, and shares. Builds social proof and extends reach.
Traffic Ads
Sends people to your website or landing page. Pay per click rather than per impression.
Lead Generation Ads
Collects contact details directly within the platform. Users don't need to leave to fill in a form.
Conversion Ads
Optimised for sales or sign-ups on your website. Requires a tracking pixel to measure results.
Getting Started with Paid Social
Start Small
Begin with modest budgets to learn what works before scaling up.
Test Everything
Different audiences, creative approaches, and messages perform differently. Testing reveals what resonates.
Track Properly
Install tracking pixels and set up conversion tracking before spending. Otherwise, you can't measure success.
Match Platform to Goal
Facebook and Instagram suit most B2C businesses. LinkedIn works better for B2B. TikTok reaches younger audiences.
Budget Realistically
Platforms need data to optimise. Very small budgets spread too thin often underperform. Better to run focused campaigns than spread thin.