Digital advertising can be a powerful tool when used strategically. For small businesses, social media marketing and digital display advertising offer unique ways to connect with customers, grow awareness and drive real results. The key is knowing how to approach each platform with a conversion-focused mindset.
Know Your Audience and Target Intentionally
Success begins with precision targeting.
Social media platforms allow advertisers to segment audiences by interests, behaviors and prior engagement. You can create custom audiences, retarget website visitors or build lookalike audiences to find new potential customers.
Display ads reach users across a broader network of websites and apps. They rely heavily on behavioral data, keyword matching and contextual placement. With display ads, you are able to show your message to users as they browse online content, often before they have searched directly for your product or service.
Use Creative That Matches the Platform
Effective visuals can stop the scroll and invite action.
Social media ads should match your brand while standing out in a fast-moving feed. Videos, carousels and branded static graphics are all strong formats. Keep your message clear, consistent and focused on what the user gets if they click.
Video marketing can also enhance performance across both platforms. Display ads need to be visually clean and message-forward. Responsive display ads that adjust size and format depending on the site or screen can increase your reach and performance. Make sure the language and design align with the landing page so the user knows exactly what to expect.
Budget with Purpose
Small businesses often work with lean budgets, which makes smart bidding strategies essential.
On social platforms, start with a smaller budget and test your messaging before scaling. Automated bidding tools like target cost-per-action (CPA) or maximize conversions can help platforms adjust bids in real time based on your goals.
For display ads, choose placements carefully and monitor performance by site, demographic or time of day. If certain audiences or creatives perform better, allocate more budget to those segments.
Conversion Tracking and Ongoing Optimization
Advertising without tracking is like flying blind.
Install conversion tracking tools on your website so you can measure the actions that matter, such as calls, purchases or form submissions. Regularly review your campaign data to see what is working and what can be improved.
Consider retargeting users who visit your website or engage with your content. These warm audiences are often more likely to convert, and remarketing keeps your brand top of mind as they move through the decision process.
When used thoughtfully, social media ads and digital display ads can help small businesses maximize every dollar spent. By aligning creative, audience targeting and landing page experience, you set the stage for consistent, cost-effective conversions. Need help getting started? See our work, read our case studies or contact the Southern View Media team today.