Search engines are no longer the sole gatekeepers to the wide world of information online, and it’s making businesses rethink their marketing strategies.

Social media platforms have evolved into a powerful spotlight for brands, where your customers become your community and new audiences can find you through algorithm-based content discovery or by using the search bar.

According to a study conducted by Google, almost 40% of young people use social media to find a new place for lunch instead of Google Maps or Search. The New York Times even named TikTok the new search engine for Gen Z, and while it’s more popular with the younger generation, other social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube are increasingly being used as search engines.

In the second installment of our four-part series, we’ve highlighted 6 tips for maximizing your return on advertising spend (ROAS) with social media —the place where many of your customers are turning to for search and brand discovery.

1. Clearly Define Your Objectives

This might seem like an obvious starting point, but hear us out. Two things are vitally important to evaluating your success and understanding how to improve your ROAS: hard data and clearly defined objectives. Having clear goals for increasing brand awareness, generating leads, or boosting sales will shape your strategy… your analytics will detail where you need to improve.

However, you can't aim to achieve everything in one campaign. Trying to do everything at once leads to vague messaging and won’t land or help resonate with your target audience.

2. Develop a Sound Keyword Strategy

Just like search isn’t just for traditional search engines, keywords aren’t either. Incorporating a keyword strategy into your social media advertising campaigns is a highly effective way to reach your audience.

Here are a few best practices for your keyword strategy:

• Create a list of keywords relevant to your business
• Regularly monitor those keywords
• Ride the momentum of a relevant trending topic
• Focus on highly targeted long-tail keywords based on user intent
• Use social listening tools to understand the context of your brand

3. Use Lookalike Audiences

Targeting lookalike audiences will help your Facebook ads find similar customers based on the traits of your current followers. This strategy streamlines the ad targeting process, connecting you with prospects who have a predisposed interest in your services. But don’t forget to try out new audiences as well and continue refining your targeting methods.

4. Optimize for (Mobile) Conversions

Make sure your social media ads and website landing pages are designed for mobile viewing. The following can directly affect your conversion rates and can improve the user experience of your ads:

• Responsive, fast loading times
• Easy-to-navigate pages
• Clear calls-to-action
• Consistent branding
• Simple and quick forms

5. Leverage Retargeting Campaigns

Retargeting is a powerful strategy to improve your ROAS because you’re targeting users who have already interacted with your brand. This allows your ads to reach an audience already familiar with your business, increasing the likelihood of conversion and minimizing uninterested impressions.

6. Omnichannel Marketing Yields the Best Results

Boosting your ROAS within other marketing channels also impacts your social media performance, through a phenomenon known as cross-channel synergy. The visibility, traffic, and engagements generated from one channel contribute to heightened awareness and increased performance on another channel, in this case, social media.

By enhancing your ROAS in channels like email marketing, paid search, direct mail, or display advertising, you're likely to see an uptick in your brand's search interest on social. A healthy mix improves your campaign effectiveness and helps generate more revenue per dollar spent on your advertising.

Contact the experts at UpSwell to get a free marketing assessment and be better equipped for the future of search on social media.

In our ongoing four-part series, we explore how search is changing and affecting how we approach digital marketing. Join us for part three, where we divulge everything you need to know about local SEO and generative search.

If you haven’t read part one yet, check it out to learn how AI affects your digital marketing strategy.