What is paid social?
Paid social is advertising that businesses pay for on social media platforms such as Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Pinterest. Ads appear in feeds, stories, and other placements and are targeted to people by audience, not by search.
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How paid social works
You choose an objective, define an audience, set a budget, and upload creative. The platform runs an auction and shows your ad to people who match your targeting.
Platforms offer a range of formats, including images, video, carousels, and lead forms. Most let you pay by impression, click, or another result depending on the objective.
Paid social versus paid search
Paid search reaches people who are looking for something right now. Paid social reaches people who are scrolling, so it builds demand more than it captures it.
That difference changes what you measure. Social ads often work as part of a longer journey, so look at assisted conversions and reach as well as direct results.
What makes it work
Creative matters a lot on social, since the ad has to stop someone mid-scroll. Plan to test several versions and refresh them as audiences tire of seeing them.
Common questions
What is the difference between paid social and organic social?
Organic social is content you post without paying for distribution. Paid social is advertising you pay the platform to show to a chosen audience.
Which paid social platform is best?
It depends on where your audience spends time and what you sell. Match the platform to your buyers, then test.
How is paid social priced?
Most platforms run auctions, and you can pay per thousand impressions, per click, or per another action, depending on the objective you choose.
Can paid social drive conversions?
Yes, with the right objective, creative, and tracking in place. It often also supports sales that happen later through other channels.
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