The key advantage of marketing on social networks over other online channels is the possibility of better-targeted advertising, enabling better conversion between clicks and purchases or inquiries.
In the EU, targeting options are limited by privacy rules (GDPR, Digital Services Act): platforms may not target on the basis of sensitive data and may not show profiling-based ads to minors when they know with reasonable certainty that the user is a minor (Digital Services Act, Articles 26 and 28; the duty lies with the platform, not with you); many platforms also let users choose less personalized ads.
Another significant advantage of social networks is the speed of information dissemination among users. Due to the connectivity and extensive nature of networks, we can access information faster and respond more quickly. Communication is facilitated by chat windows, private messages, and comments, making it simpler and, above all, faster.
Social networks allow for the creation of a continuous marketing campaign and are an ideal space for viral communication. All of this facilitates the transmission of information, recommendations, and critiques about companies, products, or services in an informal and much more personal manner.
Advertising an Online Store on Social Networks
If we want to boost sales in an online store, we can hardly avoid paid advertising. In most cases, advertising in newspapers, television, or radio may not be cost-effective. Such advertising can be expensive and ineffective, and it is chosen when aiming for "branding" or brand strengthening.
For online stores, pay-per-click advertising is more effective (CPC/CPM advertising). This type of advertising has several advantages. It is easy to control the amount of money spent and its effectiveness, as results can be monitored in real-time.
The characteristic of pay-per-click advertising is payment per website visitor, significantly reducing the cost per visitor compared to other types of advertising. The best thing about this type of advertising is the easy measurement of advertising effectiveness. If you find that visitors who came to your site in this way are not making purchases, you can stop the campaign, thus reducing potential advertising costs. If, however, you come across a winning campaign, you can strengthen it and optimize its use.
You can purchase such ads on numerous portals and advertising networks. Among the networks that offer advertising tools, Meta (Facebook, Instagram), TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest and LinkedIn stand out.
Who should run the ads? With a larger advertising budget it makes sense to entrust advertising to a specialized agency or an experienced individual. Your task is a good data foundation: a tidy product catalog, correct measurement and consent. Without this, even the best advertiser cannot do a good job. With small budgets it makes sense to start by advertising yourself, but only as much as you can measure.
Frequently asked questions
Social networks (Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn) target based on user profile and behavior. Web portals and display advertising (Google Display) target based on the content of the page the reader is viewing. Both approaches are complementary.
Short videos and image carousels are a common choice, and for online stores dynamic ads from an item catalog (showing the items the visitor viewed) are among the most important. Stories ads are visually engaging. What works best depends on the item and the audience, so always test several variants.
The cost depends on the competitiveness of the target segment, ad quality, and budget. Prices vary, so start with a small test budget and track the actual cost per purchase.
LinkedIn is primarily a B2B platform - suitable for companies selling to business customers (B2B e-commerce, business equipment). For B2C online stores, LinkedIn is usually too expensive and an inappropriate channel.
Key metrics: ROAS (revenue / ad spend), CPA (cost per purchase), CTR (click-through rate), and CPM (cost per 1000 impressions). Meta Ads Manager and GA4 provide an overview of campaign performance; compare the data with the orders in your store.
My name is Anže, I am a certified Magento solution expert and the maker of several award-winning online stores. I am the architect of all Degriz projects.
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