Let’s get one thing straight, boosting a post is not a strategy.
If you’re tossing $50 behind a Facebook post and hoping for magic, you’re not alone, but you’re also not setting yourself up for real results either.
The platform is usually not the problem. It is the lack of a social media advertising strategy.
A clear social media advertising strategy gives you direction, focus, and better control over your results. It helps you avoid guesswork, improves audience targeting for social media ads, and helps turn your budget into real business growth.
In this guide, we will walk through everything your strategy should include, step by step. Whether you're just getting started or trying to improve what's already running, this will help you build a paid social foundation that actually performs.
(If you're brand new to the world of paid social, check out our guide to social media advertising first, then circle back here when you're ready to build your strategy.)
Ready? Let’s get into it.
Key takeaways:
1. A strong social media advertising strategy gives your ads structure and direction, not just a budget to spend.
2. Set clear objectives based on your business's current position.
3. Identify your target audience and understand what motivates them to take action.
4. Study competitors to understand what is working and where the gaps are.
5. Clarify your positioning to stand out and attract the right people.
6. Select platforms that align with your audience and support your objectives.
7. Set a budget you can afford to test with and structure campaigns by intent.
8. Build Creatives that is simple, relevant, and native to the platform.
9. Track the right metrics to improve performance over time.
10. If ads are underperforming, strengthen the broader marketing ecosystem.
1. Define Your Objectives
Naturally, small businesses that are just established would look to digital marketing in hopes of an increase in their sales. However, not every business is ready to run sales-focused ads immediately.
A streamlined social media ad campaign always begins with adapting your objectives that fit where your business is currently at.
If you're at an early stage:
Start by building awareness and trust.
If you’re debuting a product or you’re still establishing your presence in the market, steer clear of allocating your entire budget to sales campaigns. The internet is noisy, and asking someone to buy from a brand they just discovered is an unrealistic big ask.
Focus instead on creating interest and starting conversations.
Therefore, run campaigns that get:
• Follows and profile visits
• Meaningful engagements like video views
• Upper funnel actions like view content, lead form submissions and etc
Nevertheless, you can still dedicate some budget to sales, but be aware that you're testing the market, not scaling it. Pair this with strong organic content; together, they combine to build a foundation that makes future conversions easier and more cost-effective.
If you're more established:
You can definitely aim higher!
If you have existing traction through retail, email, or other channels, social ads can be used to drive real sales.
In this case, set clear financial goals. Track:
• Return on ad spend (ROAS)
• Marketing efficiency ratio (MER)
• Cost per acquisition (CPA)
Build your benchmarks around your business model and profit margins. Utilise these numbers to decide which products to push, which offers to test, and where to scale.
Then optimise to hit those targets consistently.
2. Understand Your Audience
Effective audience targeting for social media ads begins with a deep understanding of who you’re speaking to.
Your ad is not meant to appeal to everyone; attempting to target every single person is unattainable and renders the ad useless.
A strong social media advertising strategy begins with knowing exactly who you are targeting. That means going beyond age or location.
Ask yourself:
• What are their goals or pain points?
• What catches their attention as they scroll?
• What would make them click or take action?
Start with a simple persona. It could be something like:
• Small business owners who want to grow fast
• Busy mums who shop online at night
• Tradespeople who browse gear between jobs
Over time, your understanding of your audience will grow with every test, campaign, and customer conversation. Over time, that basic customer persona becomes a much deeper picture.
You will unlock what motivates them, the language they gravitate to, and how to communicate in a way that feels natural. When you do that, your ads start to resonate on a personal level and feel relevant to individuals, even when thousands more are seeing it on their feed.
3. Study the Market and Your Competitors
A crucial part of social media ad campaign planning is knowing what competitors are doing and what the market responds to.
Look at:
• The types of offers that get attention
• What formats are they using, such as video, carousels, or static images
• What trends or messages are getting high engagement
• How does their customer journey flow after the ad
• What your competitors are missing or doing poorly
Use tools like Meta Ads Library or TikTok Ads Library and check comments and reviews to see what real people are saying.
You should not be looking to copy. You are looking to spot opportunities. This helps you build a strategy that stands out.
4. Formulate Your Position
Before you advertise, collate reasons why a consumer should choose your brand over someone else's.
Ask yourself:
• What does your business do better than anyone else?
• What unique value do you bring to the table?
• Are you faster, easier, more affordable, or more premium?
This is about playing to your strengths. Your product may be handmade while competitors mass-produce. Your service may be local, while others are remote. Your support may be personal, while theirs is automated.
These are angles you can build a message around. When your positioning is clear, it gives your ads purpose and direction. You will attract people who connect with what makes you different.
The goal is not to be everything to everyone. It is to be the clear choice for the right people.
5. Choose the Right Platforms
Appearing on every platform is unproductive; spread your message where it counts instead.
Go where your audience spends their time, not where the latest tech news tells you to be. Start with one or two platforms and do them well.
Here’s a simple guide:
Facebook
Still, the largest platform, especially for people aged 30 to 60. Great for local targeting, service businesses, and lead generation.
Instagram
Popular with 18 to 40-year-olds. Ideal for visual brands in fashion, beauty, food, and lifestyle. Strong for building brand recognition.
TikTok
Fast, creative, and trend-driven. Best for brands targeting under 35s. Great for grabbing attention and driving engagement.
LinkedIn
Home to professionals and decision-makers aged 30 to 50. Perfect for B2B, lead generation, and high-ticket services.
The key is to choose platforms that align with your audience and your goals. Want awareness? Go for Instagram or TikTok. Need leads? Facebook or LinkedIn.
6. Set a Realistic Budget
Your budget should reflect your business's current status and what you want to achieve with your ads. The right number is different for everyone, but here are the key factors that shape your decision:
• How much can you afford to spend without needing immediate returns
• What your campaign objective is (awareness, engagement, conversions)
• How proven your product and offer are
• Your average customer value and profit margins
• How much traction do you already have from organic, retail, or other channels
• How long you’re willing to commit to testing and learning
If conversions are your main goal, aim for at least $2,500 - $3,500 per month over a few months to give the algorithm room to work.
If you are at an earlier stage and are willing to invest in the longer game, spend what you can to build awareness and support your organic growth. Even a small budget can help gather data and create a loyal audience.
We’ve put together a more in-depth guide on how much social media ads cost.
7. Develop High-Impact Creative
Everything you have done up to this point has led here. This is where your strategy turns into execution.
You now understand your audience, you know what your goals are, you have confidence in your brand, and you are aware of what is trending and performing well in your market.
Now it’s time to turn that insight into ad ideas that stop the scroll and spark action.
Tips for High-Performing Creative
Make it relevant
Speak to where your audience is right now. Reflect their goals, challenges, or desires.
Keep it simple
One idea per ad. Be clear, not clever.
Match the platform
Use formats that feel native to the feed. A TikTok video should not feel like a LinkedIn post.
Lead with emotion
Emotion catches attention. Logic closes the sale. Use both.
Win the first second
Your hook matters most. Make your first visual or line impossible to ignore.
The best campaigns are built on thoughtful strategy and sharp, creative execution. When those two come together, you achieve stronger engagement, better cost-per-result, and more consistent growth.
8. Track and Measure Performance
You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Without clear performance tracking for paid campaigns, you're just playing a guessing game.
Before you spend a cent, define what success looks like.
Start with Core Business Metrics
These tell you if your ads are driving real results:
• Spend – How much are you investing?
• CPA (Cost per Acquisition) – What does each sale or lead cost?
• ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) – Are you earning more than you spend?
• Sales or Leads Generated – Are your ads delivering outcomes?
Diagnose with Ad Performance Metrics
These help you understand what’s working and what needs fixing:
- Hook Rate – Are people stopping to watch the start of your ad?
Hold Rate – Are they watching it through or dropping off?
- CTR (Click-through Rate) – Is your offer enticing enough to click?
- CVR (Conversion Rate) – Are clicks turning into actual actions?
Optimise Based on the Data
Let your numbers guide your next steps:
- Low hook rate? Strengthen your creative’s opening.
- Good CTR, bad CVR? Fix your landing page or offer.
- Low ROAS? Revisit your audience, message, or overall strategy.
Tools to Use
- Meta Ads Manager – For tracking performance on Facebook and Instagram.
- GA4 – For understanding user behaviour on your website.
- Third-party dashboards – For a full-funnel view across platforms.
Tools like Meta Ads Manager and GA4 help make sense of your social media advertising strategy performance.
Not sure how to measure your results? We break it down in our blog on measuring paid social media performance.
9. What If Your Ads Still Aren’t Working?
Sometimes, poor ad performance is not just about the ad. There may be other areas holding you back. Strengthen the ecosystem that supports your ads to unlock better results.
Ways to Improve Your Marketing Ecosystem:
- Make organic content to lower ad costs: Warm audiences from organic content convert faster and help platforms find better buyers.
- Use Influencers to build pre-click trust: Creator endorsements warm up cold audiences and improve conversion rates.
- Have Better landing pages drive better results: If people are clicking but not buying, review your landing page, offer, and user journey. Something might not be clicking.
- A solid ecosystem increases ROAS: Email, retention, and customer experience boost lifetime value, making your ads more efficient.
Want better results from your ads?
Born Social is a full-service creative agency that helps you plan, launch, and scale your entire marketing ecology in one place.
Talk to us today and let’s workshop how your business can grow.
Conclusion
A social media advertising strategy is not just a nice-to-have, it is your roadmap to ad success.
It helps your business stay focused, spend wisely, and speak directly to the people who matter.
The best strategies connect your goals with the right platforms, Creative angles, and tracking methods. They also give you room to test, learn, and scale what works.
Whether you are just getting started or refining what you already have, a clear strategy can make the difference between guesswork and growth.
Need help pulling it all together?
Let’s talk strategy
Our team at Born Social creates custom social ad plans tailored to your goals, budget, and audience. No cookie-cutter templates.
FAQs
What is the difference between social media marketing and social media advertising?
Social media marketing covers everything from organic posts and reels to community engagement and influencer collabs. Advertising is the paid side. You put money behind content to get it in front of the right people, faster and more precisely.
Do I need a strategy for short-term ads?
Yes, 100%. Even a quick promo benefits from planning. Without a clear goal and audience, you’re just tossing dollars into the void.
How much should I spend on social media ads?
There’s no one-size-fits-all. Your spend should reflect your goal, your industry, and how competitive your audience is. Start small, learn fast, scale what works.
→ Check out our guide to understanding social media ad costs for a full breakdown.*
How do I know if my ad strategy is working?
Look beyond likes. Metrics like Conversion, CPA (Cost per Acquisition), and ROAS (return on ad spend) tell you what’s really going on. Tools like Meta Ads Manager and GA4 help track all of this.
Can I run social media ads without using an agency?
Sure. Plenty of businesses do. But it takes time, testing, and constant tweaks. If you're time-poor or results aren’t stacking up, bringing in experts can be a game-changer.
→ See our blog on working with a social media ads agency if you’re weighing up your options.