Are paid ads necessary?

Often I am approached by clients asking about paid social ads, and while I believe paid ads on social media are an incredible marketing tool, they aren’t always necessary.

Paid ads need to have a purpose. If your website isn’t finished or you don’t have an offer to promote, it’s going to be tough to tell if those paid ads are working or not.

More importantly, if you aren’t creating and publishing non-paid content on a consistent basis, ads won’t help you make up for that.

Social media is about conversation, engagement, and relationships. Time is essential to create connections with your audience.

A connection with your audience helps to create brand loyalty and that is worth far more than any paid ad campaign.

Like all good marketing, there’s no way to just throw money at it or put it on auto-pilot, people will know, especially younger generations if your heart isn’t in it and they will find another brand who’s heart is.

I recommend paid ads when a brand is ready to move to the next level in their social media marketing. For example, when reach has gotten as far as it can with regular content, ads can be a great way to get to more people.