Social ads
[Industry] client
- Starting point
- [Verified baseline]
- What we did
- [Summary of work]
- Outcome
- [Verified results with timeframe]
Social media advertising that turns scrolling into sales and leads
Social platforms can put your business in front of exactly the right people, but only if the creative stops them scrolling and the tracking proves what happens next. We plan, create and optimise paid social campaigns on Meta, LinkedIn, YouTube and beyond, judged on the leads and revenue they produce.
How social media advertising works
Search advertising captures people already looking for what you sell. Social advertising works differently: it reaches people based on who they are, what they're interested in and how they've interacted with your business, often before they've started searching. That makes it powerful for creating demand, introducing new products and staying present during long buying journeys.
It also means the ad has to do more work. Nobody opens Instagram or LinkedIn looking for an advert, so your creative must earn attention in the first second, make the offer clear, and give people a reason to act. On modern platforms, creative has become one of the most important targeting levers: the algorithm finds people who respond to what your ads say and show.
Behind the creative sits the machinery that decides whether campaigns make money: the right campaign objective, sensible audience structure, accurate conversion tracking and disciplined budget management. When any one of those is weak, platforms optimise towards the wrong outcome, often cheap clicks or low-quality leads, and performance looks better in the ad account than it does in your sales numbers.
Signs your paid social needs attention
- Lots of clicks or leads, but few sales or qualified conversations.
- Costs rising while results stay flat.
- The same few ads running for months.
- Nobody is sure which platform, campaign or ad actually drives revenue.
- Tracking broke after a website change or privacy update and was never fixed.
Who it's for
- E-commerce brands selling products with strong visual appeal.
- B2B companies reaching decision-makers by job title, industry and company size.
- Local and service businesses generating enquiries and bookings in specific areas.
- Education and training providers filling courses and admissions pipelines.
- Apps and subscriptions driving installs, trials and sign-ups.
- New products and brands that need to create demand, not just capture it.
Paid social is one part of our wider social media marketing and performance marketing services.
Choosing the right platforms
Each platform suits different audiences, formats and goals. We recommend where to start based on your customers and economics, not on which platform is fashionable.
| Platform | Best for | Typical formats |
|---|---|---|
| Facebook and Instagram (Meta) | Broad consumer reach, e-commerce, lead generation, local businesses | Images, videos, Reels, Stories, carousels, catalogue ads, instant forms |
| B2B, recruitment, professional services, high-value leads | Single image, document, video, conversation and lead gen form ads | |
| YouTube | Video storytelling, consideration, remarketing, broad reach | In-stream, in-feed and Shorts ads |
| Planning-led categories such as home, fashion, food and weddings | Standard, video and shopping pins | |
| X (Twitter) | Real-time conversations, launches, tech and media audiences | Promoted posts, video and follower ads |
| Snapchat | Younger audiences and mobile-first brands | Full-screen vertical video and AR lenses |
Most businesses get the best results by doing one or two platforms properly rather than spreading a modest budget thinly across all of them.
Creative that performs
On social platforms, creative quality usually has more effect on results than any targeting setting. We develop creative the way performance marketers should: as a series of tested ideas rather than one-off designs.
Each campaign starts with a small number of distinct creative concepts, each built around a different angle: a customer problem, a product benefit, social proof, a comparison, an objection answered or an offer. Every concept is produced in the formats and aspect ratios each placement needs, especially short vertical video for Reels, Stories and Shorts.
We then let performance data decide. Concepts that win get new variations; concepts that don't are retired. Over time you build a library of proven messages that also inform your website, emails and sales conversations.
What makes social ads work
- A strong hook in the first second or two.
- Designed for sound-off viewing, with captions.
- Native to the platform rather than looking like a TV advert.
- One clear message and one clear action.
- Real proof: customer results, reviews, demonstrations.
Our creative testing rhythm
- Launch three to five distinct concepts per campaign.
- Read results once each has had enough spend to judge fairly.
- Iterate new hooks, formats and edits on the winners.
- Refresh regularly, before creative fatigue sets in.
- Share learnings across channels and teams.
Campaign structure by funnel stage
We structure accounts so each audience gets the message that suits where they are in their decision.
| Stage | Audience | Message | Measured by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prospecting | New people matching your ideal customer, often with broad targeting guided by creative | Problem, benefit, brand story | Cost per qualified lead or purchase, new customer rate |
| Consideration | People who engaged with ads, videos or your profile | Proof, comparisons, product detail | Engagement quality, landing page conversion |
| Conversion | Website visitors, basket abandoners, lead form openers | Offers, objection handling, urgency | Cost per conversion, return on ad spend |
| Retention | Existing customers | Cross-sell, renewal, referral | Repeat purchase, lifetime value |
Tracking that platforms can learn from
Social platforms optimise towards whatever you tell them is a conversion. If tracking is missing, duplicated or counts the wrong action, the algorithm confidently finds more of the wrong people. Accurate measurement is therefore not just a reporting issue; it directly determines performance.
We set up browser-based pixels together with server-side connections, such as Meta's Conversions API and LinkedIn's Conversions API, so conversions are still captured when browsers block or limit tracking. Events are deduplicated, tested and aligned with your GA4 and CRM definitions.
For lead generation, the most important step is sending lead quality back to the platform. When your CRM tells Meta or LinkedIn which leads became qualified opportunities or customers, campaigns can optimise towards buyers instead of form-fillers.
Tracking checklist
- Pixel and server-side events installed and deduplicated
- Consent handling configured
- Conversion events match business goals
- UTM parameters on every ad
- Lead quality or sales imported from your CRM
- Reporting reconciled with GA4 and CRM
Business benefits of social media advertising
Well-run paid social adds demand that search alone can't reach.
- Reach new customers before they start searching for you.
- Precise audience targeting by interests, behaviour, job role and customer data.
- Fast feedback on messages, offers and products.
- Scalable results once winning creative and audiences are proven.
- Support for every channel, since people who see your ads search for you and respond to email more.
Our social media advertising capabilities
Strategy, creative, setup and optimisation handled by one team.
Paid social strategy
Platform choice, budgets, audiences and targets based on your unit economics.
Account setup and audit
Business managers, pixels, catalogues, permissions and account structure.
Creative production
Static, carousel, video and UGC-style ads built for each placement.
Copywriting
Hooks, primary text and headlines tested systematically.
Audience strategy
Broad, interest, lookalike, customer list and remarketing audiences.
Lead generation
Instant forms and lead gen forms with qualifying questions and CRM integration.
Catalogue and shopping ads
Product feeds and dynamic ads for online stores.
Conversion tracking
Pixels, Conversions API, offline conversions and UTM governance.
Budget management
Pacing, scaling rules and spend allocation across campaigns.
Testing programme
Structured creative, audience and offer tests.
Landing pages
Pages matched to each campaign's message.
Reporting
Dashboards connecting ad spend to leads, sales and revenue.
Why choose MarquixAd for social media advertising?
Expertise
Specialists who run paid social daily across Meta, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Strategy
Campaigns planned around your margins, lead values and sales cycle.
Technology
Server-side tracking and CRM integrations for reliable data.
Data
Decisions based on business results, not platform-reported vanity metrics.
Execution
Creative produced quickly enough to keep testing continuous.
Optimisation
Weekly optimisation of creative, audiences and budgets.
Reporting
Clear reports connecting spend to leads and revenue.
Communication
A dedicated contact who understands your business.
Scalability
Budgets scaled only when results justify it.
Our social media advertising process
We fix measurement first, launch with several creative angles, then scale what the data proves.
Audit and discovery
Review of accounts, tracking, past results, customers and competitors.
Strategy
Platforms, funnel structure, audiences, budgets and targets agreed.
Tracking setup
Pixels, server-side events, UTMs and CRM feedback tested end to end.
Creative development
Concepts, copy and assets produced for every placement.
Launch
Campaigns go live with controlled budgets and clear test plans.
Optimise
Weekly creative, audience and budget changes based on results.
Scale and report
Budgets grow on proven campaigns; monthly reviews track business impact.
What you receive
Everything is documented so you understand exactly what's running and why.
| When | Deliverables |
|---|---|
| Month 1 | Account and tracking audit; paid social strategy; conversion tracking setup; first creative concepts; campaign launch |
| Weekly | Performance checks, optimisation and creative updates |
| Monthly | New creative variations; test results; performance report with leads, sales and cost per result |
| Quarterly | Strategy review, budget planning and new platform or audience opportunities |
Relevant project experience
Selected paid social projects will appear here, showing the platforms, creative approach and verified changes in leads, sales and acquisition cost.
Social media advertising: frequently asked questions
Not sure where to start? Request a free review.
What is social media advertising?
Paid advertising on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, targeted by audience characteristics and behaviour, and optimised towards goals such as leads or sales.
How much should we spend on social ads?
Enough for each campaign to generate a meaningful number of conversions to learn from. We recommend a starting budget based on your target cost per result and scale once performance is proven.
Which platform is best for our business?
It depends on your customers. Meta suits most consumer and many local businesses, LinkedIn suits B2B and high-value services, and YouTube suits video-led storytelling. We recommend based on your audience and economics.
How long before we see results?
Campaigns usually produce early data within the first few weeks. Allow one to three months to test creative and audiences and reach stable, efficient performance.
Do you create the ads?
Yes. We produce static, carousel and video creative and write the copy, or work with your in-house designers and existing brand assets.
Why are our leads from social ads low quality?
Usually because campaigns optimise for form submissions without any quality signal. Adding qualifying questions, adjusting the form experience and sending lead outcomes back to the platform typically improves quality.
What is the Conversions API?
A server-to-server connection that sends conversion events from your website or CRM directly to the platform, making tracking more reliable when browsers limit cookies and pixels.
Should we use broad targeting or detailed interests?
Modern algorithms often perform well with broad targeting when creative and conversion data are strong. We test broad against more defined audiences and let results decide.
How often should ads be refreshed?
When performance declines as frequency rises, which can happen within weeks for smaller audiences. We plan creative production so fresh variations are always ready.
Can you run ads for regulated industries?
Yes, within platform rules. Some categories, such as credit, employment, housing and political or social issues, have targeting restrictions and extra requirements that we plan around.
How do you report results?
Monthly reports and live dashboards showing spend, leads or sales, cost per result and return, reconciled with GA4 and your CRM rather than platform figures alone.
Do you manage organic social as well?
Yes, through our social media management service. Paid and organic work best when planned together.
Make every rupee of social spend accountable
Get a free review of your paid social accounts, creative and tracking.