The Small Business Guide to Paid Social Media Advertising

Social Ads Work for Any Budget

You don’t need a Fortune 500 budget to succeed with social media advertising. Small businesses with $500-$2,000/month in ad spend consistently generate positive ROI when campaigns are set up and managed correctly.

Choosing Your Platform

Facebook/Instagram

Best for: B2C businesses, local businesses, e-commerce, and service providers targeting consumers. Facebook’s targeting reaches almost any demographic, and Instagram excels for visual products and lifestyle brands.

LinkedIn

Best for: B2B businesses targeting professionals by job title, company, industry, and seniority. Higher cost per click but higher lead quality for B2B.

TikTok

Best for: brands targeting younger demographics (18-34) with creative, entertaining content. Lowest cost per view but requires video-native creative.

Starting Your First Campaign

1. Define your goal: leads, sales, traffic, or awareness
2. Set a realistic budget: $500-$1,000/month to start
3. Build your audience: start with your customer profile
4. Create compelling creative: thumb-stopping visuals with clear value
5. Write persuasive copy: hook, value proposition, CTA
6. Launch and monitor: check performance daily in the first week
7. Optimize based on data: kill underperformers, scale winners

Expected Results

With proper setup and management, expect $5-$25 cost per lead for local service businesses, 3-5x ROAS for e-commerce, and $20-$50 per B2B lead on LinkedIn. Results improve with optimization over time.