Social Media Advertising

There are a variety of effective and pricey ways to target your competitors’ keywords with Google Ads, but if you’re looking for more bang for your advertising buck, there are other paid-social approaches out there. If your competitors are outranking you on primary keywords, Google is not the only game in town, and social media can help. Let’s take a closer look.


Quora Ads

Quora is a site that fields questions and answers them, and it offers a variety of ways to target users as potential customers. The most straightforward targeting approach within the Quora platform is via Quora Ads that are inserted into specific question streams, but this is also where you’ll experience the lowest volume. If you’re focusing on a specific question that your target audience is likely to ask, Quora Ads can be a good place to start, but there’s more to consider.

Topics

The myriad questions that show up on Quora are categorized according to topic groupings. When you target specific topics, your Quora Ad will find its way to any question that involves your chosen topic, which can help broaden your horizons.

Interests

Quora also allows you to focus your ads according to user interests, which is an extension of their topic approach. When a user is on a page that involves your identified topic, your ad will appear. If your Quora Ad, however, is predicated on interests, its target audience is all those users who’ve interacted with questions and answers – sometime in the not-too-distant past – that are related to your originating topic.

Your Marketing Strategy

On Quora, you can identify those competitors who are besting you by entering your targeted topics and pursuing the outpouring of suggestions. You can also find information about the kind of volume they’re doing, and the numbers can be substantial. Additionally, Quora provides a suggested bid price, which is consistently well below Google’s price tag. Identifying those areas where your ad spend isn’t hitting its marks and taking a test drive with Quora can prove highly beneficial.


Twitter Ads

Twitter Ads are more of a wild card, but the payoff can be big if you find your groove. Twitter takes a look-alike approach to targeting followers, which is less confusing than it sounds. When you take out a Twitter Ad, you don’t target the followers of other Twitter accounts – instead, your ads reach followers who interact with Twitter in a manner that is similar to how the targeted account’s followers interact with Twitter. When it comes to pinpointing these so-called look-alikes, Twitter has this to say: We determine users similar to those who follow accounts based on a variety of signals, including what they Retweet, click on, Tweet, and more. In other words, your ads will target members of the Twitterverse who share similar tweeting habits, and that can be a good thing.

Creating Your Ad Group

To get started in the creation of your Twitter ad group, head on over to Targeting features, and from there, take a peek at the Follower look-alikes. Twitter makes recommendations of its own – namely, choosing at least 30 accounts to include in terms of follower look-alikes – but a better strategy is cherry-picking accounts that coincide with the target audience you’re going for (regardless of the number).

The Price Point

Twitter’s bid suggestions are, again, far lower than anything you could purchase on Google. While Twitter’s approach is less direct than targeting prime keywords, it can provide you with a more nuanced ad strategy that hitches your wagon to your competitor’s brand recognition, which – when skillfully finessed – can prove quite valuable. Finding that sweet spot on Twitter is likely to require a more considerable investment in terms of doing your research and engaging in trial and error, but the potential is definitely there.


LinkedIn Ads

While LinkedIn Ads have earned a reputation for being pricey, there is more than one way to go after your competitors’ keywords in this space. Most businesses out there target the categories of Job Title and Company, but you can take a different approach. For example, when you focus on Member Groups instead, it allows you to search out those users who have an active interest in your competitors’ services, which translates to users who also have an interest in yours.

Once you pinpoint those Member Groups that most closely align with what you have to offer, it’s time to get busy. Because you’re treading on some tricky advertising waters here, it’s important to keep all the following in mind:

  • The selected Member Groups comprise members who are actively interested in a product or service that you offer.
  • To be fair, the product or service in question is your competitor’s, but this doesn’t alter the fact that you are a player in this arena.
  • Loyal customers like those who show up in Member groups can be difficult to sway.
  • These groups can also offer a golden opportunity to skillfully ply your wares to a highly targeted audience, and you shouldn’t miss the chance to knock yourself out.

Member Groups on LinkedIn aren’t all about singing the praises of the brand and product in question. In fact, if you do a bit of digging, you’ll undoubtedly find relevant pain points and concerns, and you probably won’t have to dig very far. This is your cue to shine by addressing specific consumer complaints in well-crafted ads. While LinkedIn Ads are likely to cost you more than either Twitter or Quora, the price point remains well below Google when you bypass the pricier target options and explore less expensive inroads.


A Savvy Digital Marketing Pro Can Help You Make the Most of the Socials

The innovative digital marketing professionals at The Web Guys recognize that you’re invested in making your marketing dollars count, and we’re here for it. When it comes to advertising on social media, there’s a lot to explore, and you can get started by contacting or calling us at (317) 805-4933 today.