Mastering Paid Social Media with Cathy McPhillips

Pay-to-play.

With organic reach plummeting, brands are left to rethink their paid strategies. In fact, 71% of the most successful content marketers use paid methods to distribute content on channels like social media.

But even the most experienced marketers face challenges. CMI is no exception. We want better performing social media ads. Like you, we’re navigating the paid waters. How does each platform work? What ad type and content format will maximize spend?

On this week’s CMWorld Twitter chat, Vice President of Marketing Cathy McPhillips shared CMI’s approach to social media advertising. In addition, our community gave us their tips and advice.

Below is a snapshot of this lively and informative discussion. We’ve separated the questions by platform. But I encourage you to read all of the responses given that hour. I learned a lot and believe you will too. (Questions 1-4 can be found here; questions 5-7 here.)

Facebook

Do you boost organic posts or create ads? Or both? What benefits do you see to these, and what’s working better for you?

A3: I create ads. It lets me build out campaigns that are organized and can be easily compared. The only benefit to boosting a post is that it’s convenient. That’s not really good enough. #CMWorld

— Maureen Jann (@SuperDeluxeMo) March 26, 2019

A3: #CMWorld

Another great way to use both is to test out how content performs boosted, and if it does well, create an ad based on it! Then you can get even more targeted and you know it already works to an extent. pic.twitter.com/tMBn81JKMM

— Click Control Marketing (@ClkContrl) March 26, 2019

A3. For awhile, I kept hearing “don’t boost” because it is a waste of money. I haven’t done a boosted post for a long time because of that. I am seeing more that boost can be part of the strategy. Maybe it’s time to take a look at it again now that I know a bit more? #CMWorld https://t.co/EE93YAxS4K

— Gene Petrov – More Human Leadership Coach (@GenePetrovLMC) March 26, 2019

A3: I usually track the engagement percentage of all organic posts and then boost something once it passes 5% engagement on its own to a specifically targeted audience. That has always worked for me. #PaidSocial #CMWorld

— Lauren Ashley (@G2Lauren) March 26, 2019

Instagram

Do you just use the same creative from Facebook for your paid ads? What works better for you here – photos or videos? And what types?

A4: Perhaps nothing is worse than seeing the SAME EXACT message from someone (or a brand) on multiple channels at the same time. Be creative or find someone who is. #CMWorld

— Mike Myers 🤠 (@mikemyers614) March 26, 2019

A4: we sometimes use the same content from FB to IG, but it depends heavily on the creative, campaign, targeting, and overall budget. Ideally we can use different creative so our ads always stay fresh no matter where you see them #CMWorld pic.twitter.com/DrZAfurzqB

— Starling Social 💜 (@Starling_Social) March 26, 2019

A4: Different creative (or at least formats!) for Instagram! Expectations and interactions are different for each platform. #cmworld pic.twitter.com/UwSuhYoTBx

— Megean (@megeank) March 26, 2019

Twitter

What’s your strategy? Do you use paid Twitter to increase awareness for a particular tweet, get new followers, website visitors, or just increase engagement?

A5: My strategy on Twitter is mainly to increase engagement and stay up-to-date with everything going on in my industry. #CMWorld

— Christian Lowery (@clowerycontent) March 26, 2019

Facebook ads always performed better, and far more affordable. We didn’t even bother with Twitter ads.

— Mike Barbre (@MikeBarbre) March 26, 2019

A5: We use #PromoteMode on #Twitter for increased engagement with our content. It keeps our posts in people’s feeds for 24 hours for a very minimal investment.#CMWorld https://t.co/UdhEH9H3g5

— John Venen (@JohnVenen) March 26, 2019

LinkedIn

How has sponsored content worked for you? Do you ever mix this in with text ads? If so, why? Cost efficiencies, higher impressions? What benefits do LinkedIn paid ads have over other platforms?

A6. It’s worked great for building our audiences / followers / email list – we always couple our sponsored content with text ads. Both have different end goals and purposes for us. #CMWorld

— Patrick Delehanty (@MDigitalPatrick) March 26, 2019

A6: We are on value-added content via LinkedIn sponsored content. I’ve seen good results with lead gen forms, and also using strong, to the point language. We haven’t dabbled much with text ads. Worth it? #CMWorld

— Sandie Young (@SandieMYoung) March 26, 2019

A6: Unfortunately, LI has proven too expensive and not a high enough CTR for me to justify spending $$ advertising on the platform. In-Mail advertising generates the highest return and can produce excellent leads, but it’s rather expensive when compared to TW and FB. #CMWorld pic.twitter.com/uCY8RwiUGt

— Christian Lowery (@clowerycontent) March 26, 2019

A6 when I tried the ads on @LinkedIn I was very disappointed
Cost, reach and engagement paled in comparison to organic #video content. #cmworld pic.twitter.com/kdvm5BJqy2

— Dan Willis (@MLLNNLmotivator) March 26, 2019

What has been your experience with paid social ads? Are you finding success? Let us know in the comments below.

Did you know we have a dedicated social media track at Content Marketing World? Join us in Cleveland to hear from experts like Viveka von Rosen, Tim Schmoyer, and Wally Koval. Register now with code SM100 to save $100 off Early Bird prices.