Sure, the great thing about social media marketing is that it’s essentially free. However, social media networks’ impressive targeting capabilities and wealth of campaign data make them ideal for running paid ads. Plus, when you combine influencer marketing and paid social, you can maximize the reach and impact of your campaigns further.
Here are campaign examples of how some of the leading brands have leveraged paid social marketing, along with actionable advice to generate the same level of results.
Top Paid Social Media Marketing Examples:
1. JBL
For an example of how to combine paid social with influencer marketing and use a disruptive product message, there’s JBL’s JBLiens Ear-n-vasion campaign which ran in December 2023. Apple has been dominating the true wireless stereo (TWS) market since 2020 and JBL needed to use an unconventional way to cancel the noise that Apple was making.
JBL’s products focus on customization, allowing users to express their individualism and be their authentic selves. To communicate their focus on individualism, JBL worked with Nick Kosir (aka The Dancing Weatherman) who shared sightings of JBLiens, easily observable by their “ear-dividuality” as breaking news.
They also worked with Flyana Boss, an American hip hop duo with nearly half a million YouTube subscribers.
In addition to YouTube and Instagram, they also used TikTok.
Katie A. Raymond, Director of Strategy, Content, Social Media and Paid Media at HARMAN International, JBL’s parent company, sums up the campaign’s success in a LinkedIn post as follows:
“The campaign’s success was measured in how it drove the business, and also by the conversations it started, the community it built, and the path-to-purchase traffic it drove.”
Results and achievements
- An overall reach of 438 million impressions that surpassed KPI benchmarks
- 55 million video completes that generated 2 million click throughs
- An increase of over 220% in return on ad spend (ROAS)
- 600,000 unique visitors to JBL TWS pages (five times more than what these pages generated on average before the campaign)
- A campaign growth of 105% in new users
- Winner in the Shorty Awards’ Paid & Amplification category
- A Silver Honor in the Shorty Awards’ Technology category that recognizes the most effective and creative use of social media by brands in this niche
2. Oscar Mayer
Oscar Mayer, a Kraft Heinz brand that sells meat and cold cuts, brought home the bacon with the #OscarTakeMeToProm campaign. It’s a great example of how to combine:
- Social listening
- Brand ambassadors
- Hashtags
- User-generated content (UGC)
As part of their marketing efforts, Oscar Mayer uses an iconic wienermobile that gets driven around by their brand ambassadors across America. Each year, they receive several requests for rides in their wiener-on-wheels. These requests typically come from students.
However, social listening revealed that teens thought that the Wienermobile would make a pretty cool ride to the prom.
Oscar Mayer then turned to their group of brand ambassadors to create and share content via their official Oscar Mayer social accounts. Using paid and organic efforts, they launched a UGC contest on Instagram and TikTok.
The campaign did exceptionally well on Instagram. It generated a 65% increase in reach on Instagram, while the content’s engagement rate exceeded the platform’s benchmarks more than 170%.
Results and achievements
- Over 20 million views of content on TikTok using the #OscarTakeMeToProm hashtag
- 260 earned media placements
- 310 million earned media impressions
- 442 million engagements
- Nominated for a Webby Award in the Advertising, Media & PR, Social Media Campaign category
3. Lidl
For an example of how to use social media for a holiday campaign, there’s Lidl GB’s multi-channel Christmas activation. The discount retailer chain released a spoof of East 17’s only number-one single, “Stay Another Day”. The campaign parodies both the song and original music video.
One of the reasons why this paid social campaign works is because the spoof also features Tony Mortimer, one of the English pop band’s original members. As Coolr, the social media agency behind this campaign, explains in their “Save Another Way (...the Lidl Way)” case study, his inclusion works on two levels. It improves the sense of familiarity among viewers as well as adds a type of endorsement.
It also works because it combines social good marketing. Aside from promoting their rewards app, Lidl GB also donated £100,000 to NSPCC’s Childline service.
The campaign was run on:
- TikTok
- YouTube
- Spotify
It was particularly successful on TikTok and Instagram where it generated nearly 68 million impressions. To maximize reach and awareness on TikTok, the agency used the premium TopView placement on TikTok.
The judges of the Global Social Media Awards commended it for its “social-first approach”. The content was created with social media in mind from the start.
For example, the full, 4-minute music video was uploaded onto YouTube, while a shorter version was shared on TikTok, known for short-form video content.
Plus, this way they could also encourage users who watched the short version on TikTok to go to YouTube to watch the longer version. The short version on TikTok generated nearly 1 million clicks to YouTube.
Results and achievements
- More than 9,500 new followers across the brand’s TikTok and Meta accounts
- 118,000 likes and comments on TikTok and Meta
- A view-through rate (VTR) of 24% (according to YouTube Help Center, the average VTR is between 10% and 15%, making this results especially impressive)
- Named as winner of the Global Social Media Awards’ Best Use of Paid Social
- Awarded Campaign’s Ad of the Day
4. Volkswagen
PHD, one of the globe’s media agencies with the most awards (which includes being named Adweek’s Global Media Agency of the Year), created this campaign for Volkswagen to help them launch their new ID. Buzz.
Electric vehicles might be quiet, but the market is noisy. With Volkswagen boasting only a 4.2% share in terms of unit sales, it needed a special force to create a buzz.
To do this, they partnered with Disney and Star Wars to connect the automotive brand strategically with these iconic cultural elements. The social strategy used familiar and beloved characters like C-3PO, R2D2, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ewan McGregor to improve electric vehicle consideration. McGregor also happens to have loved the VW brand since a kid and owns a couple of VW buses, elevating him to a level of brand ambassador.
- TikTok
- YouTube
- X
- Meta
The strategy was adjusted for each social channel. For example, Meta was reserved for video-only campaigns using the platform’s available video placements. On TikTok, the agency could be slightly more playful. Here, they created a Star Wars community for fans.
As two major brands were working together on this campaign and each had their own marketing agency, a solution was needed to collaborate without confidential info getting shared.
The Force Is Strong, United! case study shared on The World Media Group’s website, explains how they created a Data Clean Room directly in PHD’s planning tool. This way, they could optimize all digital bidding strategies. Using an AI-powered automated process, data could be compared so that bids across both campaigns could be matched to prevent mutual high-bidding effects.
Results and achievements
- Volkswagen brand awareness increased by 4%, while brand consideration jumped by 17%
- Ad recall grew by nearly a quarter
- Winner of The Global Performance Marketing Awards 2023’s Best Use of Paid Social
- Winner of The Performance Marketing Awards’ Best Use of Paid Social
5. Warner Bros.
The Warner Bros. Discovery’s “Did we do ‘Kenough’” campaign is another example of how the agency PHD UK used paid social effectively.
The strategy included:
- Snap Filters that let users create a Barbie Land
- A Barbie Selfie Generator that users could use to share their inner character on social media
- A three-day Spotlight takeover on Pinterest
- A keyword audience strategy on Pinterest that extended beyond only Barbie movie fans to target anyone interested in pink décor ideas and 90s’ party vibes
As a case study of this award-winning campaign explains, the challenge of this campaign was to change the movie’s perception. Unlike the actual dolls, the movie’s plot didn’t have the same target audience. As the movie had a broader appeal, it made PHD UK’s keyword audience strategy so much more effective.
That said, while the plot tackled more serious topics like feminism, the agency found more than “kenough” room to add elements of playfulness. Plus, it also helped to set it apart from Oppenheimer, Barbie the Movie’s summer release competition sharing the same release date.
To do this, all communication touchpoints had to place the movie and its trademark pink into pop culture and be positive.
Results and achievements
- The highest UK launch week awareness for Warner Bros. to date
- More than 340,000 fans shared their inner Barbie/Ken on social media using the selfie generator
- More than £18 million delivered in its first 3 days
- Winner of Campaign Tech Awards’ Best Use of Paid Social
6. Priceline
Like Volkswagen, Priceline also worked with a TV star, Kaley Cuoco, best known for her roles in The Big Bang Theory and The Flight Attendant, for their social media campaign. This way, they could also leverage the Emmy-nominated actress’ huge following on social media.
In the ads created as a series of funny episodes, Kaley encourages her coworkers to book their dream vacation by using Priceline’s affordable travel options. As incentive, more than $5 million in hidden, interactive deals were made available exclusively via social ads, making the campaign a great example of how to add an element of gamification.
If that were not enough to grab attention, each episode features an original theme song. This theme song was also released on streaming platforms.
In addition to streaming platforms and social media takeovers on Meta, TikTok, and YouTube, they also used audio and podcast ads.
Combine these deals with the original music and travelers were given multiple reasons to break into song.
In addition to illustrating the benefit of using elements like music and gamification, this campaign also highlights the importance of target audience research. A survey commissioned by Priceline revealed that 76% of US workers are happier when they travel, yet more than 50% identify price as a reason for not traveling. With this data, they could ensure that the core messaging of their campaign offers a solution to their target audience’s pain point.
Results and achievements
- Winner of Digiday’s Best Use of Social Awards
- Each YouTube video generated millions of views
How Can Brands Create Better Paid Social Marketing Campaigns?
These 6 award-winning paid social marketing campaigns highlight a few tips that brands and their marketing teams can use. Here’s what they teach us:
1. Use analytics tools to learn your target audience better
Understanding your target audience is crucial, even more so when you’re running a paid campaign. Social media platforms have exceptional audience targeting capabilities, but to use it properly you need to know and understand your audience.
For example, in the case of the campaign for Barbie’s movie release, segmenting audiences based on demographics like age was essential. The movie was, in fact, aimed at teens and women, not tweens like the doll.
Demographics, though, are only one criteria. The campaign created for Priceline illustrates how knowing your audience’s pain points are crucial too.
You might know who your target audience is, but you can always get to understand them better.
Plus, needs and interests change which can impact your campaign’s approach.
In the case of Priceline, a simple survey already revealed key information regarding travelers’ pain points, but you can also use more robust audience research tools like:
- Facebook Audience Insights
- Google Analytics
- Brandwatch Consumer Intelligence
2. Combine social media with influencer marketing
Depending on your budget, you can incorporate influencer-generated content. According to The Influencer Marketing Factory, 90% of influencer marketing campaigns include paid media.
This way, you can add that element of trust and validation which are important to social media users.
Another benefit is that you grow your reach. Your ads will grab the attention of the influencer’s followers too.
You don’t necessarily need to use the likes of Ewan McGregor or Penny from The Big Bang Theory. In fact, our Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report 2024 found that mega/celebrity influencers are used least often. Only 12.9% of brands plan to use mega influencers in 2024, compared to 44% that plan to use mostly nano-influencers.
Influencer Preferences
Cost isn’t the only reason. Nano and micro-influencers in some instances have higher engagement rates.
This is especially true if you plan on using Instagram or TikTok.
Data shared by Captiv8 with EMARKETER reveals that Instagram influencers with fewer than 10,000 followers have the highest engagement rate at 6.23%.
On TikTok, the picture looks similar. Here, nano-influencers also have the highest engagement rate, according to Statista’s numbers.
What is essential when selecting influencers is that target audiences must align with the influencer’s followers. Ideally, there should also be a link between the influencer’s own interests and that of your product. In the case of Volkswagen’s campaign, the fact that Ewan McGregor is a longtime Volkswagen driver, helps to create that trust and validation that makes this form of marketing so effective.
Key Takeaways
Crafting successful social ad campaigns requires more than just a budget and creativity. By leveraging analytics tools, you can gain profound insights into your target audience, ensuring your content resonates and engages effectively.
Prioritizing social-first content tailored to each platform's unique environment can significantly boost your campaign's performance. For example, on TikTok and Instagram videos designed for mobile viewing are a must.
And, if your budget allows it, combine your paid social efforts with influencer marketing. It can amplify your reach and credibility, making your social media ads more impactful.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which social media platform is best for paid advertising?
Facebook is considered one of the best social media platforms for paid advertising. It has advanced audience targeting features, various ad formats, and allows for different campaign objectives such as awareness, traffic, engagement, leads, app promotion, and sales. What’s more, Facebook is the most-used social media platform worldwide, offering a large and diverse audience for brands to reach.
Which AI tools can you use for paid marketing?
The following are top-rated solutions that use artificial intelligence and can help with paid marketing:
- Phrasee
- Albert
- Blueshift
- Hyros
- WordStream by LOCALiQ
- 6Sense
- Skai
How do you create a budget for social media marketing?
To create a budget for paid social ads and your other social media marketing activity, use the following steps:
- Identify your short-term and long-term goals e.g. to increase leads or generate more sales
- Complete a social media audit that involves taking stock of the platforms you’re currently using, researching your audience, and reviewing your social media analytics
- Create a content calendar
- Analyze your resources which include the staff and tools needed
How do you measure social media ads’ effectiveness?
Examples of key performance indicators (KPIs) that you want to monitor are:
- Reach (the number of unique users who see your ads)
- Impressions (the number of times your ads were viewed)
- Engagement rates (how users interact with your ads)
- Conversion rates (how effective your content is at generating e.g. clicks)
Which marketing agencies are good at paid social?
The following are top-rated digital marketing agencies that include paid social in their services:
- Disruptive Advertising
- SmartSites
- Fresh Content Society
- Iron Roots
- Thrive Internet Marketing Agency
- Moburst
- Sociallyin
- LYFE Marketing
