Paid social
Freelance paid social specialist for Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok and more.
I plan, build and manage paid social campaigns that put your business in front of the right people before they start searching. You get one freelancer with over 10 years of experience, and no account manager in between.
What is paid social?
What paid social is and how it works
Paid social is advertising on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok. You choose who sees your ads by audience, interest and behaviour, and pay for the views, clicks or results they produce.
It works differently from paid search. Nobody on social media is looking for you. They are scrolling, so the ad has to earn attention first and then give a reason to act. That makes the creative, meaning the image, the video and the first line of copy, the part that matters most.
Done well, paid social creates demand that did not exist yesterday and brings back people who visited your site and left. Done badly, it buys a lot of impressions and very little else.
Paid social is a good fit if
- Your product is visual, or easy to show in a few seconds.
- People do not yet search for what you sell.
- You can describe your customer by job, interest or life stage.
- You want to bring past visitors back to buy or enquire.
- You have, or can make, images and video worth watching.
Not sure? Tell me about your business and I will be honest about whether paid social is right for it.
Platforms
Paid social platforms I manage
Each platform has its own audience and its own style. I recommend one or two to start, chosen by where your customers spend their time.
Meta Ads
Meta Ads covers Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Threads from one account. It has the widest reach of any social platform and suits most consumer businesses, from local services to online shops.
Much of the targeting is now automated, which makes the creative and the tracking the things that decide results. That is where I spend most of the time.
LinkedIn Ads
LinkedIn is the one platform where you can target by job title, seniority, company, industry and company size.
Clicks cost more than on other platforms, so it suits B2B businesses with a high-value sale, where reaching the right twenty people matters more than reaching two thousand.
TikTok Ads
Short, full-screen video with a younger-leaning audience and a feed driven by interests, not by who you follow. It works when the ads look like the content around them.
Snapchat Ads
Full-screen video and augmented reality ads, with an audience that skews younger than most platforms. Useful for consumer brands aiming at under-35s.
Pinterest Ads
People use Pinterest to plan: homes, weddings, outfits and food. Ads sit alongside those ideas, which suits home, fashion, food and craft businesses.
Reddit Ads
Ads placed in communities built around specific interests, from niche hobbies to professional topics. Good for specialist products with an audience that gathers in one place.
What's included
What paid social management includes
The same work goes into every account, whichever platform it runs on.
Audience strategy
Deciding who to reach: new audiences, people similar to your customers, and people who already know you.
Creative and copy
Planning the images, video and copy with you, and testing several versions so the best ones get the budget.
Campaign structure
Campaigns organised by objective and funnel stage, so prospecting and remarketing each have their own budget and message.
Tracking
Pixels and server-side tracking installed properly, so the platforms can see which ads produced sales and enquiries.
Budgets and bidding
Setting budgets the platforms can learn from, and moving spend towards the audiences and ads that perform.
Reporting
A clear monthly report in plain English: what was spent, what it produced and what I am changing next.
Paid social vs paid search
Paid social vs paid search
Paid search captures demand. Paid social creates it. Most businesses need both, in the right order.
If people already search for what you sell, start with paid search. If they do not know they need it yet, or you want to grow beyond the people already looking, paid social is how you reach them.
People are looking for something
People are scrolling, not searching
Targeted by keyword
Targeted by audience, interest and behaviour
The words do the work
The image or video does the work
Captures demand that already exists
Creates new demand and brings visitors back
Beyond social
Where paid social fits with your other channels
Paid social creates demand. Other channels capture it, or convert more of it.
Paid search
Google Ads and Microsoft Ads reach people who are already searching for what you sell. Usually the first channel to get right.
ChatGPT Ads
Ads shown below answers in ChatGPT, for products and services that people research and compare. A new channel worth testing.
CRO
Conversion rate optimisation tests and improves your landing pages, so more of the clicks you pay for turn into enquiries and sales.
How I work
Simple, from first call to monthly report
Intro call
We talk through your business, your goals and what you have tried so far.
Audit and plan
I review your accounts, website and tracking, then set out a clear plan.
Build and launch
I set up the campaigns, pages and tracking myself and get them live.
Optimise and report
Ongoing improvements, with a clear report at the end of each month.
Results
Results from my paid media work
Almost an enquiry a day by the end of 2025
Taking over an underperforming account from a large national company and turning it around within a few months.
Over £10,000 in sales and 110+ enquiries
Managing the Google Ad Grant account for an educational and cultural charity, using grant budget alone.
"I can't recommend Rob at Ascend Digital highly enough. Rob is incredibly responsive and quick to help with anything you need. He goes above and beyond to ensure everything runs smoothly."
Rachel Bunting
FAQ
Paid social: common questions
What is paid social?
Paid social is advertising on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and Snapchat. You pay to show ads to an audience you define, and are charged for views, clicks or results.
Which social media platform should I advertise on?
It depends on who your customers are. Meta suits most consumer businesses. LinkedIn suits B2B with a high-value sale. TikTok and Snapchat reach younger audiences, and Pinterest suits home, fashion and food. I recommend starting with one platform and adding a second once it is working.
How much does paid social advertising cost?
You set the budget. Costs vary by platform and audience: LinkedIn clicks cost more than Meta, for example. What matters is the cost per sale or enquiry, not the cost per click. [Add your management fee and any minimum budget here.]
What is the difference between paid social and organic social?
Organic social is what you post on your own pages for free, seen mostly by people who already follow you. Paid social is advertising: you pay to reach people who do not follow you, chosen by audience.
Do I need video to advertise on social media?
Not always. Images and carousels still work well on Meta and LinkedIn. TikTok and Snapchat are video platforms, so you need video there. It does not have to be polished. Simple, clear video filmed on a phone can do the job.
How long does paid social take to work?
Ads can be live within days. The platforms need a few weeks of data to learn who responds, and creative testing takes longer. I usually judge a campaign after 30 to 90 days.
Do you manage paid search as well?
Yes. I manage Google Ads and Microsoft Ads alongside paid social, and they often share the same tracking, landing pages and reporting.
Get in touch
Let's talk about your marketing.
Choose whichever is easiest. I’ll tell you honestly where I can help.
Send me a message
By sending this form you agree to me using your details to reply to your enquiry. See the privacy policy.