Reaching buyers before they search
Search ads catch people already looking. Paid social reaches people who fit your buyer profile but have not started looking yet, or who looked once and moved on.
That changes what the ads need to do. A social ad has a second or two to make someone stop scrolling, and it usually asks for something small: download a checklist, see a short explanation, request a quote when they are ready. Asking a cold audience to book a sales meeting in the first ad rarely matches where they are.
Paid social work therefore spends more effort on audiences, creative and the offer than search work does, and it measures responses through the Meta pixel and Conversions API or the LinkedIn Insight Tag, so the platforms can tell which responses matter to you.
Creative and copy formats in rotation
Paid social runs on creative, and creative wears out. Part of the work is keeping a steady supply in the formats each platform supports.
- Single image ads, the simplest to produce and test.
- Short video, often with captions, since many people watch with sound off.
- Carousels, a few cards that can walk through steps or services.
- Document ads on LinkedIn, which let people page through a guide in the feed.
- Text and conversation ads on LinkedIn for some offers.
Copy matters as much as the visual. The first line of primary text, the headline and the call-to-action button each get tested. Ask the provider whether they produce creative themselves, adapt what you supply, or brief a designer.
Questions worth asking a paid social provider
- Will the ad accounts and pages stay owned by my business, with you added as a partner?
- Do you produce creative, adapt mine, or work from my brief?
- How often do you expect to refresh creative, and how do you decide when?
- Do you recommend native lead forms or landing pages for my offer, and why?
- How will form submissions reach my CRM, and how will you test it?
- Will you set up the Conversions API, or the pixel alone?
- Does my offer fall in a special ad category, and how would that change targeting?
- What goes in your regular summary, and how do you use my feedback on lead quality?
Questions about paid social campaigns
Should I use Meta or LinkedIn?
It depends on your buyer. LinkedIn targets by job title, seniority, company size and industry, which suits offers aimed at specific roles, and clicks usually cost more. Meta reaches business owners in their personal feeds and relies on interests, website visitors and customer lists. Many advertisers test one before adding the other.
What is a special ad category?
Meta requires it for ads about housing, employment, credit or other financial products, and social issues or politics. It restricts targeting by age, gender and ZIP code and limits lookalike audiences. Whether your offer falls in a category is your decision, ideally checked with your own counsel.
Who owns the Facebook Page and ad account?
Your business should. The Page, Instagram account, ad account, pixel and customer lists belong in a Meta business portfolio owned by you, with the provider added as a partner. LinkedIn works the same way: your Company Page and Campaign Manager account, with the provider added as a user.
Ready to hand off the setup? Send a short brief and get a quote. Nothing is agreed until you accept it.
Send your briefOther services
Search campaigns
Keywords grouped by intent, ads written for each group, and tracking that shows which searches turned into inquiries.
Campaign pages
One page per offer or ad group, so the message a buyer clicked on is the first thing they read.
Lead tracking and follow-up
Conversion tags, CRM routing and follow-up reminders set up so each inquiry is recorded with its source and assigned to someone.