Don’t you wish there was a guide on how to score the highest ROI on your social media marketing spend?  

So do we. After all, who wouldn’t want to know exactly where to allocate resources most effectively? 

Unfortunately, this guide hasn’t been written yet, but that doesn’t mean choosing the most suitable platform for social campaigns should be guess work. Every business is different but by using the following steps, marketers can zero in the very best place for paid social promotion. 

First of all, why pay for social media marketing? 

Today, 47 per cent of small and medium businesses in Australia are on social media, according to Sensis, and it’s no wonder why.  

Compared with traditional advertising, social media marketing is a no-brainer. Having a strong social presence doesn’t just boost brand awareness, it leads directly to conversion. A staggering 26 per cent of Facebook users who click on an ad go onto make a purchase, according to Mary Meeker’s Internet Trends Report.

Social media marketing is also a phenomenal way for businesses to: 

• Generate leads,
• Foster engagement, 
• Encourage customer retention,
• Boost brand recognition,
• Improve search engine rankings,
• Gain brand authority. 

While marketers are sold on the idea of social marketing, however, many are still unsure how to best navigate various platforms. 

Should I spend more time and money on Instagram or is Facebook better? Is my brand better suited for Twitter or LinkedIn? 

Unless you have unlimited resources, it’s essential to choose – and choose wisely – where you promote your social campaigns. Here’s how.

How to choose the right social platform for paid campaigns

1. Answer the question, ‘what do I want to achieve?’

At this point, you know you want to be on social media – but can you say why? 

Believe it or not, answering this question is one of the most important steps in crafting your marketing strategy. That’s because you’ll never be able to measure success if you’ve never defined success in the first place. 

Think of the reasons brands use social media and decide which matter most to your organisation. Are you more interested in getting your name out there? Or having meaningful interactions with customers?

Once you’ve decided why you’re on social, examine the various networks and see which will help you reach your goal. If you want to generate professional leads, for example, you’re best off on a B2B network like LinkedIn. If you want to share images of your products, you’re better off using a photography-based network like Instagram. 

2. Map your audience – and find where they’re hanging out!

Social media – it’s all about connecting with people, right? That’s why step two is finding out exactly where the people you want to reach are hanging out. 

With your goals in mind, create an image or persona of your target user. Identify this person by gender, age, interests, profession and so on. Then, find out which networks they’re using. 

Sensis has mapped age and gender use as follows:

Social networking site used	Male	Female	18-29	30-39	40-49	50-64	65+
Facebook	91%	97%	94%	99%	90%	94%	91%
LinkedIn	22%	14%	10%	22%	22%	25%	9%
Instagram	50%	41%	81%	56%	35%	16%	12%
Twitter	35%	28%	70%	20%	15%	17%	13%
Snapchat	43%	36%	77%	49%	25%	10%	4%
YouTube	60%	43%	75%	45%	54%	37%	26%

Conduct your own research as well. Test the waters with a paid ad on Facebook. Does your target audience engage? What results do you see? Examine a range of factors and plan your strategy from there. 

3. Set your budget

Now that you know where you want to advertise, it’s time to determine how much you can afford. 

One of the benefits of paid social promotion is that you can name your own price. You decide what you want to spend and the network’s algorithm goes to work getting you the best possible results. Pricing, of course, will vary across different networks, so do your research and see which will give you the most bang for your buck. When you’re just beginning, start small – you can always increase your spend later on. 

4. Choose the right platform 

By now, you’ve probably zeroed in on which network is best for your business. Keep in mind, however, that this strategy isn’t set in stone. If you aren’t getting the results you were after, be sure to re-evaluate your efforts and see what you could do differently. 

Strong paid promotion should also be balanced out by organic posts and supporting content, as well as influencer marketing campaigns and user-generated content. 

For more marketing tips, be sure to check out all of our Corporate Affairs and Marketing Insights.