Social media advertising is a branch of digital advertising and marketing which relies on placing advertisements on Social Networking sites. It relies on the advertisement spreading organically through social media users due to their interactions, reactions and responses to the content rather than traditional paid advertising designed to appear to as many people as possible. Therefore, social media advertising requires little to no upfront investment and can be done by any scale of business regardless of industry, size, or resources. Over half of every person on the internet and an increasing number of younger people spend a staggering amount of time on social media each day. Effective use of social media advertising lets your brand and business be exposed on scale never before thought possible. Almost every social media platform is also an advertising service provider for corporates, using their massive user bases to gather data and display advertisements to users according to their preferences and recent searches, ensuring that they see advertisements relating to what they are looking for. Organisations such as Search engine marketing agency Brisbane can help you set up your business for success with targeted advertisements.

Build brand awareness and identity through social media. Having up to date and maintained social media profiles build credulity among customers as opposed to just having a website. Moreover, Social Media provides a level playing field for both large and small organisations to competitively obtain exposure (although larger organisations with an existing customer following are at an advantage) among social media users by creating engaging content and positive interactions.

Customer feedback can be easily gathered via social media as most users are likely to report their experiences directly to the company if possible. Instead of conducting expensive and time-consuming surveys, companies can measure the reception of their latest campaigns and products by simply reading through the comments and reactions of the social media users to their posts.

Positive interaction with the customers can be a driving force behind successful social media marketing campaigns. Engaging with customers positively creates rapport which can lead to purchases and even brand loyalty through simple social media interactions. This can be used as a competitive advantage against larger competitors as larger companies would not find it as easy to engage with individual users compared to smaller companies. However, this should be done carefully as negative interactions on the internet spread very quickly and can cause irreversible damage to a brand if not handled carefully. Therefore, most companies tend to recruit trained social media managers and public relations specialists to manage their social media profiles.

Make use of the data collected by social media companies to promote your brand or product by purchasing their services to serve advertisements to users. The data collected will ensure that people who have an interest or might be persuaded to garner an interest in your product will see the advertisement. Most social media companies will artificially inflate the reach of promoted advertisements to increase exposure. You will also be able to see every click, reaction and purchase made through these ads with the detailed metrics provided automatically.