Paid social advertising

Paid advertising distributed through social platforms using their audience, placement and creative systems. Common forms include image, video, stories, reels/short-form video, carousel and collection and other platform-specific formats. Availability varies by market, supplier and campaign date.

Paid social advertising can be considered when a brief needs audience targeting, creative testing, video reach, remarketing where lawful and conversion campaigns. It should still be compared against alternative channels rather than treated as an automatic choice.

Planning normally considers platform, audience definition, creative format, objective, bidding, budget, frequency, tracking consent and landing experience. The appropriate mix depends on the objective, audience, geography, campaign period, budget and creative.

There is no single fixed price for paid social advertising. Cost can change with geography, inventory quality, format, demand, campaign dates, duration, production, buying method and the scale of the schedule.

Targeting options depend on the medium and supplier. For paid social advertising, planners should be explicit about whether targeting is geographic, contextual, audience-based, intent-based, behavioural or a combination, and what data supports it.

IAB UK documents a range of paid social formats. Platform products change frequently, so format lists should be reviewed regularly.

Before booking, confirm the campaign objective, target audience, geography, dates, creative format, budget, delivery basis, measurement method, production requirements and what would cause the recommendation to change.

PMA can assess whether paid social advertising fits the brief, compare it with other media, investigate current inventory and buying conditions, build it into a wider schedule and coordinate the practical steps required to launch.