On February 20, Samsung announced the launch of the all-new Galaxy s10 and the much anticipated Galaxy Fold at the 2019 Galaxy Unpacked event. Samsung has officially transformed the smartphone landscape by creating the first phone with a folding display. But if consumers want to get their hands on these beauties, they're going to shell out a hefty amount of cash – the s10 starts at $1,000, and the Galaxy Fold will cost you $1,980.
As great as the new phones may be, mobile phone giants like Apple and Samsung have not been creating phones people are willing to pay that much for. As a result, fewer people are spending the money needed to upgrade.
Despite a decrease in the mobile phone market over the past decade, Samsung’s advertising efforts haven't slowed. In 2017, Samsung spent $11.2 billion in advertising and sales, taking the title of world's largest advertiser. For any business owners out there who doubt the effectiveness of paid advertising, it's time to take note because the most successful brands in the world are proving it’s worth. While you may not have a billion dollar budget, you don't have to spend a ton for your efforts to be successful.
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The current state of social media advertising
A recent CMO survey reports that social media advertising budgets increased by 32 percent in 2018 and are expected to double by 2023. What's even more impressive is that ad revenue has skyrocketed within the past few years. In 2018 alone, paid ads brought it in $51.3 billion, with that number set to grow by 10.5 percent annually.
What makes social media advertising one of the most powerful marketing tools is the ability to reach your consumers right where they're already spending most of their time – social media. Fifty percent of Gen Z and 42 percent of millennials think social media is the most relevant channel for ads, according to Adobe's State of Digital Advertising 2018 report. Next time you think to yourself, "Wow, I think I should put up a new billboard," immediately throw that thought out the window, because your consumers are literally telling you that social media is where they want to see your ads.
No matter what, you should be advertising on social media, but there are specific instances that could be happening within your business in which you need to be harnessing paid social ads.
Launching a new business
As of 2017, there were 73 million business pages on Facebook and Instagram. But only six million of those businesses are actively advertising on the platforms. While large brands like Coke and McDonald's can get away with solely posting organic content on their pages, small businesses don't have that luxury, especially if your business is just starting out. As an entrepreneur myself, I'll be the first one to tell you that advertising on social media isn't something that should be done; it needs to be done in order for your business to take off.
Social media marketing tools, such as Facebook's Ads Manager, make it extremely easy for entrepreneurs of all levels of marketing expertise get the word out about their business. You'll have access to a laundry list of capabilities to ensure you're targeting consumers who are the most interested in buying what you're selling. The bottom line is that social media advertising makes it easy to generate exposure and brand recognition for your business in a way that's extremely cost-effective. The more people who see your ads in their newsfeeds, the more likely they'll be driven to purchase from you.
Launching a new product or service
Like we saw with Samsung, launching a new product or service is a big deal for your business. When the time comes to release the product, ideally, you should already have a loyal customer base built up. But let's just say your new product is meant for a more niche audience. For example, you're targeting men aged 30 to 40 who live in the U.S. and work in the trucking industry. Thanks to social media's advanced targeting capabilities, you can advertise your product to this exact audience.
When creating ads through Facebook, you can access extensive targeting tools to create core, custom, and lookalike audiences to show ads to people who are the perfect fit for your business. The ability to target such specific audiences is what makes social media so powerful as a marketing tool.
Decreasing lead costs
As a business owner, your No. 1 goal is to drive revenue for your company. Whether sales are down or you want to keep building on your upward trajectory, paid Facebook ads allow you to specify the exact business goals you're trying to meet and apply it to your advertising campaign.
With social media advertising, you can target and influence your consumers' purchasing decisions at multiple points in the sales funnel. By staying in front of your target audience on social, they'll be ready to make a purchase when the need arises.
Paid content drives your marketing
According to Adweek, the reach of organic content has hit an all-time low of 2%. That means a page with 100 followers only has the potential to reach two fans. So if you’re still under the impression that non-paid content is the answer to all your marketing problems, it’s time for some tough love.
Organic content only allows you to measure meaningless metrics: likes, comments and shares. While a post that generates 100 likes will definitely help your page look good, studies show that liking a post or brand on social media has no effect on purchasing behavior. The biggest problem with organic content is that ROI is not trackable or scaleable, so there’s really no way to tell if your efforts are even benefitting your business. And the conversions that come from organic content are practically non-existent.
Advertising has drastically changed over the years. Gone are the days of relying on billboards and newspapers to grow your business. No other marketing tool can match the cost-effectiveness and impact that social media ads can bring to a brand. When done right, there's no doubt that paid content will lead to more customers, generate new leads, and drive higher sales for your business.