Social media is free right? Why should you have to pay to play on social media? It’s just a waste of money, isn’t it? I have heard these questions and more when I bring up a paid social media strategy. Most are reluctant to spend money. After I explain what social media is and how it can help them gain traction, most brand will at least try it.

There is a misconception among smaller brands that it takes a lot of money to move the needle. In social it actually takes a small amount of money to gain likes, shares and traffic to your site. I have shown where just $25 can increase your engagement of a page. I broke it out into $5 a day. The results even surprised me. A small budget is not a deal breaker when it comes to a paid campaign. It can be spread over several days or once a week.

I suggest a paid strategy to help with fan growth. In the early 2010’s it was easy to get fan growth on Facebook. Now it can be pretty stagnant for smaller brands. To get noticed you need to be in front of consumers who would want what your company has to offer. Ads on Facebook work. Other social networks are following Facebook’s lead and offering paid social services. Some sites are more successful than others.

Paid social is not just for getting more likes and engagement. It’s also for selling your product’s or services. I have bought several things off Facebook over the years. It gives you a way to reach new people who haven’t heard of your business before. My example is a razor. The Defender Razor. I saw an ad for it and for $5 with free shipping I decided to give it a try. It turned out to be an amazing razor. One of the best I have ever tried.

If you’re going to start a paid campaign, here are some tips:

Start off small – Don’t spend a lot of money. Try a few smaller ads to see what works and then expand. Run them for a few days at a time.

Change Ads often – Change your ads out often. Don’t keep running the same creative week after week.

Check your analytics – After each campaign see how well you did with your objectives. If it met keep running similar ads. If you didn’t hit your goals try new creative.

Use Ads to your advantage – there are several ad products, especially on Facebook. If you can use a call to action button, put it in the ad. Design your creative to fit the ad space.