Passed on 22 May, 2025

Social media advertising offers powerful ways to connect with your target audience, boost visibility, and grow your brand. In this lesson, you’ll learn about the key benefits of paid social media ads, effective targeting strategies, and popular ad formats.

✅ Learning objectivesBy the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to:Describe the benefits of social media advertising for audience reach and visibility.Explain targeting strategies to reach specific audiences effectively.Identify key ad formats for engaging audiences on social media.

Learning objectives

By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to:

Describe the benefits of social media advertising for audience reach and visibility.

Explain targeting strategies to reach specific audiences effectively.

Identify key ad formats for engaging audiences on social media.

Social media platforms offer paid advertising opportunities that can give you access to very specific audiences and get your message out there.

The benefits

Here are some key benefits to help you make the most of your social media strategy.

Targeted reach

Social media platforms let you target specific groups based on age, interests, and location. This makes it easier to reach people who are genuinely interested in your products or services.

Quick visibility boost

Paid ads increase visibility quickly, reaching a larger audience than organic posts alone—perfect for new brands building awareness.

Cost control

Flexible budgets allow you to set daily or campaign limits, making it easier for businesses or teams of all sizes to control their spending.

Instant engagement

Ads can drive immediate actions like website visits, app downloads, or purchases, helping you achieve your goals faster.

Valuable insights

Social media platforms provide detailed analytics on ad performance, allowing you to refine your approach for even better results.

The key difference between social media and display ads is where they appear and how they target audiences.

Display ads appear on websites and apps via ad networks. They target audiences based on website content, browsing behaviour, or past actions, making them ideal for building awareness and retargeting visitors.

Reach, visibility, and engagement

Let’s dive deeper and see how social media advertising can help you target specific audiences, boost your visibility, and encourage engagement.

Finding your audience

Social media sites gather information about their users – like their age, what they’re interested in, and what they dislike. Understanding these targeting options is key to connecting with potential customers. Let’s use a vintage clothing store as an example.

Demographics

Demographics let you target people based on things like age, gender, or education. For a vintage clothing store, targeting 18-45-year-olds ensures your ads reach people who are most likely to love retro styles.

Interests

You can target people who love fashion, thrift shopping, or sustainability. Choosing the right interests helps you reach an audience that already cares about what your business offers.

Behaviours

Target behaviours like online shopping habits. For example, you might aim for people who recently bought clothes online. This increases the chances your ad reaches someone ready to shop.

Location

For local stores, target your city or nearby neighbourhoods. If your store sells online, expand to reach regions where vintage clothing is popular.

Similar audiences

Some social platforms can target new people similar to your existing customers. This is a great way to expand your audience and attract more potential buyers.

AI-powered suggestions

If you’re unsure where to start, AI tools within these platforms can automatically refine your audience for you. This is a helpful way to test and learn what works for your ads.

Privacy controls

It’s important to note that users can control what they share with platforms through privacy settings. By understanding how this data is used, businesses can create effective ads while respecting user privacy.

Boosting visibility and engagement

If you want to accelerate your brand growth, social media offers various ad types help you expand your audience and grow your network.

Promoted posts

Boosted posts increase the reach of content that’s already performing well. For instance, boosting a post about an upcoming sale can help the vintage shop attract more local customers interested in vintage fashion.

Visual ads

Images, videos, and stories appear directly in users’ feeds or stories, providing an immersive experience. The shop might use an image ad to highlight new arrivals or a story ad with a call to action to promote a limited-time offer.

Carousel ads

With carousel ads, multiple images or videos let you tell a story or feature a product range. The shop could use each slide to spotlight styles from different eras, showcasing the variety in their vintage collection.

Collection ads

Collection ads display a curated selection of products in a visually engaging format. A “Fall Collection” ad could present jackets, dresses, and accessories, allowing users to browse and shop directly from the ad.

Lead ads

Lead ads make it easy to gather customer contact information through automated chats or forms. By offering a discount for newsletter sign-ups, the vintage shop can attract new subscribers interested in exclusive deals.

Influencer marketing

Influencer marketing lets brands partner with individuals who have a strong social media presence and a loyal following.These influencers, like bloggers or content creators, can help reach new audiences. For example, our vintage clothing shop could team up with a local fashion influencer who loves retro styles, introducing the shop to their engaged followers.For a refresher, revisit theInfluencerslesson in theSocial mediamodule.

These influencers, like bloggers or content creators, can help reach new audiences. For example, our vintage clothing shop could team up with a local fashion influencer who loves retro styles, introducing the shop to their engaged followers.For a refresher, revisit theInfluencerslesson in theSocial mediamodule.

For a refresher, revisit theInfluencerslesson in theSocial mediamodule.

✅ ActivityThink about a business or brand you’re familiar with. Explore how social media ads could support their goals.Check the items off as you go.Identify one or two social media platforms their audience might use.Find some examples of paid ads on these platforms.Analyse 3-5 ads, noting their strengths and weaknesses.

Activity

Think about a business or brand you’re familiar with. Explore how social media ads could support their goals.

Identify one or two social media platforms their audience might use.

Find some examples of paid ads on these platforms.

Analyse 3-5 ads, noting their strengths and weaknesses.

Download PDF

Check your knowledge

Give this quick knowledge check a go to reinforce what you’ve learned.You must complete the knowledge check to move to the next lesson.

You must complete the knowledge check to move to the next lesson.

Question 1 of 1

Match each scenario with the best ad format for achieving its goal.

Stories ad

incorrect

Carousel ad

incorrect

Promoted post

correct

Show Answer

Almost.Carousel ads work well for showcasing multiple items in a collection. Stories ads are ideal for promoting limited-time offers and quick engagement. Promoted posts boost popular content, reaching a wider audience.

Carousel ads work well for showcasing multiple items in a collection. Stories ads are ideal for promoting limited-time offers and quick engagement. Promoted posts boost popular content, reaching a wider audience.

Lesson complete

Great job!You’ve learned how social media ads can boost visibility, reach the right audience, and accelerate brand growth.Next, we’ll dive into advertising on video-sharing sites, exploring ways to connect with audiences through engaging video content.

You’ve learned how social media ads can boost visibility, reach the right audience, and accelerate brand growth.Next, we’ll dive into advertising on video-sharing sites, exploring ways to connect with audiences through engaging video content.

Next, we’ll dive into advertising on video-sharing sites, exploring ways to connect with audiences through engaging video content.

9. Advertising on social media ​

Learning objectives ​

Advertising on social media ​

The benefits ​

Social media vs display advertising ​

Reach, visibility, and engagement ​

Finding your audience ​

Demographics ​

Interests ​

Behaviours ​

Location ​

Similar audiences ​

AI-powered suggestions ​

Privacy controls ​

Boosting visibility and engagement ​

Influencer marketing ​

Activity ​

Check your knowledge ​

Question 1 of 1 ​

Lesson complete ​

9. Advertising on social media