Social media ads excel at reaching highly specific target audiences with customized content to immediately guide them into sales funnels…at least, that’s what happens when everything works right! But companies that are still in the early stages of trying these targeted social ads may not be sure when – and where – to increase spending to get better results.
For this guide, we’re spending time on the best signs for boosting your social ad budget, and exactly what that can do in your situation. Take a look!
You’re Ready to Follow a Basic Formula
Yes, there is a formula for social media spending, and it can be a great starting plan if you’re business hasn’t been buying ads for very long and wants to follow a structured plan until the budget can be further customized later on.
A common piece of advice is to start with your total marketing budget and allocate between 10% to 25% of that budget for all social media marketing – the precise number can change based on your industry and how important social media has become. Then, out of that number, put around 40% toward direct leads and sales funnel activities, the bulk of which will probably be social ads.
Does that feel a little too complicated for your current business? Consider apportioning out a certain amount to spend on digital marketing each day – say, $200 to $300. Use that as a starting place for paying social media managers, creating content, and buying ads. Note that services, in general, tend to spend more money on social ads than product-based brands do, and that B2C tends to spend more than B2B.
You Have a Lot of Useful Information About Where Your Target Audience Is
Another excellent time to increase your social media budget is when you have firsthand evidence of just where your audience is spending their time. For example, let’s say your company has finished the 2020 marketing year, and is examining both the budget and analytics. Analytics show something interesting for this year: The online store you set up on Facebook got much more activity, and social signals decreased on Twitter and increased on Facebook, indicating that your sales-ready audience has moved much more toward Facebook following your campaign. This is actionable data that suggests it’s time to increase your Facebook ad spending and get more leads through that network.
We’ll also note that sites like Facebook (LinkedIn does a good job of this too) allow great customization in exactly what kind of users your ads can target. You can use these tools to get extremely specific in where your ads appear, but this also takes experience: Mistakes in ad targeting based on activity or demographics could mean that none of your target audience will see them at all. Consult an experienced agency for more information when necessary!
Your Current Marketing Campaign is About to End
There’s no better time to stop, review results, and make plans for a budget increase than when a current marketing campaign push is coming to an end. This is especially true if your social media ad spending was relatively low during your last campaign compared to industry standards and what your competitors are spending. If others in your industry are pushing harder in the social ad sphere, it’s important to represent your brand as well with new ads that focus on differentiation, while capitalizing on the successes of the previous campaign.
Your New Goals Indicate More Ad Spending
This is a big one, but it will vary significantly from brand to brand. Let’s say that your goal is to increase visits to your landing pages by 50% in 2021, using ads as a primary tool. In 2020, you only increased landing page visits by around 20%. That indicates a need to spend more on ads, and targeted social media ads are a great place to begin.
You’ve Found Ways to Save on Marketing Elsewhere and Are Ready to Reinvest
If you’ve located new efficiencies in your marketing budget, you may have new funds left to spend where they’ll have the most impact. Social media ads may be an excellent choice, especially if you’ve already experienced some of the signs we’ve mentioned above. You may also be able to shift ad spending toward social media (which is usually less expensive than, for example, Google Ads) to get more PPC ads for your current budget.
If you really like the idea of saving money on your marketing expenses but haven’t yet, we suggest working with an agency like Blue Atlas Marketing. Funneling marketing tasks to an experienced third party can be more efficient than adding more in-house marketing employees, especially for a business in early growth stages. We can also offer advice on what kind of social ads will work for your brand and where you should target them.
Final Word of Advice
If your company remains unsure of how to increase social ad spending, we recommend taking a diverse approach. Look into a combination of promoted posts, native advertising, and social ads. You can then measure indicators and leads over time to see which options seem to be working best on your target audiences, which will give you a path forward.
