What's Happening in the World of Paid Ads?

For the most recent issue of the KSMS Magazine, we sat down with social strategist and paid advertising expert Madison Martin to talk about updates, trends, and what you can do on social media to reach your sales goals this year. Read some highlights from our conversation with her below!

Hey Madison! What’s the 411 in the world of social paid advertising these days?

The big buzz around paid advertising on Facebook and Instagram is what to do without conversion tracking, since Apple’s new privacy update removed a lot of tracking. Although we lose some big ones like purchases and lead form submissions, it’s not the end of the world! We can still track the success of campaigns by using engaging marketing materials such as surveys, targeted email campaigns, and even fun social media tactics. Another big trend is the shift in retargeting. Since we’re losing website visitor retargeting, it’s become even more important to boost organic social media engagement so we can use that audience as a retargeting tool.

What types of ad content are we seeing generate strong results?

Facebook and Instagram LOVE videos! It’s still ok to include single image format ads in your campaigns, but you must make sure you also have short and engaging videos built into your ad content. These will show the best performance for your campaigns 90% of the time. 

What are some things for CPG brands to consider when planning ads for the upcoming holiday season? 

Grow your email list NOW in preparation for a strong retargeting campaign this year. Like I mentioned earlier, you’re going to rely on your social engagers as well for targeting. Email lists and social followers are going to be crucial for ad campaign targeting. 

What are some tips and tricks to get started with paid ads on Facebook or Instagram on a small budget?

Start with the data you already have! I recommend starting a paid campaign with a customer email list. Most brands have a list of previous purchasers, and this is a strong tool to start building successful campaigns and relevant additional audiences. If you don’t have a customer list, that’s ok too. I recommend building out the ideal customer in terms of demographics, interests, and behaviors, and then target this prospecting audience in a small geographical area. By limiting the geo-targeting, you’re giving your budget strength to test the prospecting audience you’ve created.

Why might it make sense for a CPG brand to rely purely on organic for holiday sales? Why should brands consider paid advertising on social media?

If a CPG brand doesn’t have a big marketing budget but DOES have an engaged audience, then organically they can go a long way over the holiday season. Notice I said engaged audience, I don’t want people to get caught up in big numbers. Followers are a vanity metric! Play around over the holiday season with BOGO offers and referral incentives with your audience to reach new eyes. If the brand does have a paid budget, I recommend using their budget for retargeting efforts on their email lists and social engagers. If they have enough budget, open it up for prospecting with some lookalike audiences.

Any insights into advertising on other platforms?

Pinterest is the underdog! A lot of shoppers buy directly from Pinterest more than other social platforms, so that is something to think about if you’re a brand that already has a presence on the platform.

Madison has a decade of experience in digital marketing strategy and paid advertising on social media. She is a co-founder of Denver Marketing Mavens, a networking group for marketing professionals in the Denver area. And as if she weren’t enough of a badass already, she’s also going back to school to study veterinary medicine. You can connect with Madison on Instagram at @madisonamartin or through the Denver Marketing Mavens Facebook group here.