Billions of people around the world use social media and search engines daily, making these channels two of the most exciting advertising opportunities available to modern businesses.
Connecting with social media audiences and search engine users happens through organic or paid methods. With organic social media and search, content gets created and released to see how it will perform. There might be efforts, such as search engine optimization and cross-channel promotion, to boost the likelihood of reaching the right audience, but no money goes directly to platforms in exchange for elevated performance.
With paid social and search, marketers also leave less to chance. By paying a platform to magnify your content, you don’t just reach more people. You reach the right people. Thanks to advanced marketing tools, it’s possible to target the exact demographic for your content. And by using tracking tools on the back end, you can follow the results and refine your email marketing strategies in real time.
Below, we’ll dive deeper into paid search and social. We’ll discuss the commonalities, differences, and more.
Paid search involves paying a search engine to guarantee that your content is more prominent within its display networks and search results. Also known as pay per click, you only pay the platform when people click on your content.
Imagine that you want to purchase a pair of hiking boots for an upcoming trek in Nepal. You aren’t an experienced hiker, but you know that you sometimes get blisters when your shoes are too stiff. Hoping to avoid that fate, you enter the words “flexible hiking boots” into Google. While organic results comprise most of the links the platform serves up for your query, there are three pieces of content promoting flexible hiking boots prominently placed near the top of the page. These sponsored results are examples of paid search.
When you place an ad in a static medium, such as in a newspaper or on a billboard, you have minimal ways of making your ad relevant to the audience. Perhaps the people who come across the ad will think about your product or service, but it’s unlikely.
But search engines provide powerful advantages that allow you to take relevance to new levels. You not only know what interests the audience but also their immediate goals, as indicated by the words they enter into the search bar.
Paid search ads also come in various formats. Popular examples include text-based ads that blend in seamlessly within search results, shopping ads that coexist within search results but stand out thanks to imagery, and display ads that are visible to audiences throughout a platform’s display network.
Advantages of paid search
Investing in one platform to potentially reach billions of people
Tapping into users’ purchase intent
Connecting with potential customers interested in your product or service
Experiencing greater results thanks to increased traffic
Competing with more established brands in your industry
Generating qualified traffic more likely to lead to conversions
Getting higher average click-through rates than paid social
Disadvantages of paid search
Choosing from just a few ad formats, most of which are text-based
Struggling to accurately target your audience by demographics
Experiencing difficulty in finding people who are early in the customer journey.
Losing some sales because search platforms are for comparison shopping
Paying more for advertising than on paid social
Paid search offers incredible opportunities for businesses to expand their reach and score amazing results. By harnessing user intent, you can drive more sales and, eventually, build loyalty that keeps people coming back.
While paid search ads are responsive to users’ actions within the platform, paid social ads stand out more because these typically interrupt users’ entertainment. Rather than suggestions that relate to something you search for on Google, think of them like the television ads that appear during breaks of your favorite network show. What makes a paid social ad so impactful is its relevance to people rather than just momentary intent.
For example, let’s go back to your fictional trek in Nepal. Facebook knows you’re planning a big trip and are looking for gear because your profile is full of data that you’ve shared through your account details, content posted to your feed, content from other users that you’ve liked, and other sources. It also knows your age, gender, and relative inexperience when it comes to hiking. That’s why in the weeks leading up to your trip, you’ll see ads in your newsfeed for hiking boots and other gear. The user-friendly copy and featured products all target novice hikers.
Examples like this happen millions of times each day on your favorite social media platforms. And you can capitalize on it by paying for your own content to get delivered to the right people. Plus, using this tactic to reach new customers is a strong complement to the organic and promoted content that your brand already uses to engage with your current audience.
One of the largest social platforms for this type of advertising is Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and other channels. Other popular options include YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, and X (formerly known as Twitter). But most importantly, understand your audience and meet them where they are. If your brand sells hiking boots, you might find that YouTube and Pinterest are your most fertile platforms. Similarly, a business that offers corporate accounting might get the best results by focusing efforts on LinkedIn and X.
Aside from the range of platforms, paid social also provides you with an exciting array of ad formats. You can use lively video ads, static ads with stunning images, animated display ads, carousel ads with multiple photos or videos, and more.
Advantages of paid social
Reaching a vast audience from around the world
Enhancing relevance and personalization using targeted marketing tools
Creating engaging ads in the format best suited for the situation
Tapping into the impulsivity of social shoppers
Spending less on your ads than you would with paid search
Connecting with people at all points in the marketing funnel
Building equity with your audience and driving engagement
Disadvantages of paid social
Risking alienating users with intrusive ads
Getting lower average click-through rates than paid search
Struggling to find specific platforms where your audience congregates
Managing the constant flux that occurs within social media platforms
The strengths of paid social make it an ideal strategy for brands focused on engaging customers and building a community around their products or services. This approach can be an effective way to gain and hold market share.
There are no absolutes in advertising. And paid search and social both offer substantial benefits for your business. All we can do is evaluate the current situation and make informed decisions on our next strategy. In this quarter, your advertising budget could be most effectively utilized in paid search to attract new customers and drive immediate sales. Or you could invest more in the long game, nurturing your loyal customers through paid social to build engagement and tap into more lifetime sales.
You could also conduct an industry audit to see what your top competitors do. If they consistently focus on paid social or paid search, you can then follow their lead or carve out your own niche.
But keep in mind that no two businesses are the same, just as no two business quarters are exactly the same. However, thanks to the flexibility of these advertising approaches, you can be as nimble as necessary. Just keep testing to find the right mix to deliver the right results for your business right now.
There’s no need to choose between paid search and paid social as if the two were in competition. Both of these digital advertising powerhouses offer amazing opportunities for your brand and can complement each other when used strategically.
Another key element of any successful marketing strategy is email marketing, and the experts from Twilio SendGrid can help you build an omnichannel approach that increases your success across the board.
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