Introduction to Paid Social Advertising started with paid social can feel like a big leap for most businesses, especially since we’ve all become so used to social being completely free. But, just as with email or SEO, you can’t get very far in this game without a solid paid strategy in place. The good news is that once you have the right approach, it can produce immediate results for your business.

In a nutshell, paid social media ads are a way for businesses to reach their target audiences and drive relevant engagement and conversions. On top of that, they provide direct access to campaign and audience data — making them a valuable component of any business’s marketing strategy.

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While many social platforms have a variety of ad options, it’s important to first understand your primary goals and the best way to achieve them. This is why a unified social advertising platform is critical, so that you can streamline planning, execution, analysis and optimization with a single hub.

For example, if your goal is to generate brand awareness, you’ll likely want to start on Facebook, where you can target specific audiences based on their demographics and interests, and then use Instagram to promote specific content assets that are driving engagement (like your YouTube video or product images). In addition, a unified social platform will enable you to quickly amplify campaigns across your whole team with a single click, which can reduce planning and execution time by 53%.