paid social promotionIt seems like it’s getting harder and harder to get your content noticed, much less acted upon. This was bound to happen as increasing numbers of people embrace content marketing.

So what’s the current best practice for getting your voice heard above the others competing for attention?

Which brings us to the little-known yet very effective technique known as paid social promotion. Let’s examine what it is and just what it can do for you.

What is paid social promotion?

Paid social promotion, or paid social ads, is the technique of buying ads that promote your content. Ever since social networks have practically taken over the Web, and brought words and concepts like virality and social sharing into our consciousness, it was only a matter of time before marketers began to find a way to exploit this. What’s more, it’s so much better than before, as the potential to reach an audience far greater than your own, right this moment, for pennies is something no one should discount.

Which social platforms should I use?

There are a lot of avenues to explore with paid social ads, but we’ll concentrate on four that most marketers have at least a passing acquaintance with.

Facebook – Facebook ads are the top platform to use at this time, for just about any purpose. The targeting capabilities alone, combined with the prospect of being able to reach a vast audience not yet your own is very attractive. In addition to that, the ad platform itself is quite easy to use, and can be very cost-effective.

Twitter – Promoted Tweets work very well for this sort of promotion, and you are able to target prospects by keyword and who they follow.

LinkedIn – LinkedIn is coming on fast, and their Sponsored Updates can work quite nicely, particularly if you are a B2B.

Reddit – Reddit is full of rabid users, and using the niche ad option on their ad platform is the best choice here. This can send an avalanche of traffic quickly!