POV: How to Approach Social Media Advertising in 2023

For many years, advertisers have invested large sums of money in social media platforms, largely due to their ability to precisely target shoppers and reach a more qualified customer base using data from cookies, tracking scripts, and pixels. Now that the government has regulated third-party data and consumers are better able to opt-out of tracking, direct-to-consumer advertising is not what it once was.

Couple this with the fact that many of today’s consumers (and especially Gen Z) care more about their privacy than about personalization when it comes to their online experience, and it is clear that marketers need to shift their approach to social media advertising in 2023.

Of course, paid media strategy should be tailored to your individual business goals, but there are a few generalized insights that should be considered when planning and implementing your 2023 paid campaigns:

1. Dedicate a higher percentage of your budget to building your brand

   While it’s typical for advertisers to allocate a higher percentage of media budget to campaigns intended to drive brand awareness, this is even more important now. Trust is down, and lingering inflation is forcing consumers to be highly selective with their spending. This means they will be more likely to invest in brands that they trust and find value in. Now is the time to tell your story and communicate your brand values and utilize paid media to ensure this important messaging reaches your target audiences.

2. Understand your audience’s path to purchase

   How is your target audience discovering new brands and products? You might be surprised to find that over 90% of people around the world say they discover new products on YouTube. Understanding your target audience’s path to purchase will help you determine the platforms where you should invest your budget, and how you should structure campaigns in relation to your conversion funnel.

3. Don’t overlook Gen Z

   The spending power of Gen Z is on the rise. In 2022, Business Insider estimated this group’s spending power at over $360 billion in disposable income, more than double what was estimated three years ago. Leaving Gen Z out of your planning could cost you - quite literally. Among the best places to reach Gen Z is on TikTok, which should absolutely be a part of your media plans in 2023.

4. Don’t ditch custom audiences completely

   While targeting using third party data has shifted dramatically, it is still important and can lead to success (and more efficient conversion!) in social media advertising. Advertisers should continue to utilize retargeting and other custom targeting capabilities (like lookalikes), as we are still seeing really efficient results from these audiences. We recommend that you closely monitor performance and tweak these campaigns as necessary to ensure they are still producing a healthy ROI for your business.

Want to chat about a customized paid social media plan to grow your business? Contact us now.