Concept
Paid social
Paid social refers to paid advertising on social media platforms, with precise targeting based on interests, behavior, and demographics.
The Difference from SEA
While SEA responds to an active search intent (someone types in a search term themselves), paid social reaches people who aren’t actively searching yet but who do belong to the target audience.
That requires a different approach: eye-catching visuals and brand recognition instead of text ads based on keywords.
Targeting Options
Platforms such as Meta and TikTok offer highly detailed targeting: interests, demographic characteristics, behavior on their own and linked apps, and lookalike audiences, audiences that are statistically similar to existing customers, built from a customer list or website visitor data.
Creatives are the deciding factor
With paid social, the creative (the image or video itself) plays a much bigger role in determining success than with SEA, where text and keyword matching dominate.
A campaign can be technically perfectly targeted, but without a creative that grabs attention within the first few seconds, the results will fall short.
Do you want to run targeted ads to exactly the right audience on social media? Check out our Social Media Advertising service or schedule a strategy session.