Reaching buyers before they search
Search ads catch people already looking. Paid social reaches people who fit your buyer profile but have not started looking yet, or who looked once and moved on.
That changes what the ads need to do. A social ad has a second or two to make someone stop scrolling, and it usually asks for something small: download a checklist, see a short explanation, request a quote when they are ready. Asking a cold audience to book a sales meeting in the first ad rarely matches where they are.
Paid social work therefore spends more effort on audiences, creative and the offer than search work does, and it measures responses through the Meta pixel and Conversions API or the LinkedIn Insight Tag, so the platforms can tell which responses matter to you.
The first month of a paid social campaign
- Access and audit. Get access to your Meta business portfolio or LinkedIn Campaign Manager, check pixel or Insight Tag status, and look at any past campaigns.
- Tracking and forms. Set up or fix conversion events, build lead forms or confirm landing pages, and connect form submissions to your CRM or inbox.
- Audiences and creative. Build the first audiences, write copy, prepare a first round of creative, and check whether a special ad category applies.
- Launch and watch. Start with a modest set of ad sets, check delivery and rejections daily at first, and gather your feedback on the first leads.
After that the work moves to the weekly routine: frequency, creative refresh, budget shifts and lead quality checks with you.
Who owns the business portfolio and ad accounts
On Meta, your Facebook Page, Instagram account, ad account, pixel and customer lists live in a business portfolio, which Meta used to call Business Manager. That portfolio should belong to your business, with at least two people from your company as admins. A provider is added as a partner with the permissions it needs.
On LinkedIn, the Campaign Manager ad account and Company Page should likewise be yours, with the provider added as a user at a chosen role.
If a provider builds everything inside its own portfolio, the pixel history, audiences and lead form data may not come with you when you leave. Settle ownership in writing before setup starts, and keep billing on your own payment method.
Questions about paid social campaigns
What is the difference between a lead form and a landing page?
A native lead form opens inside Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn and is often prefilled, so it is quick to submit. A landing page sends people to your site, where more drop off but those who finish have read more. Many advertisers test both. See landing pages and forms.
Do I need the Meta pixel and the Conversions API?
If you send people to your website, yes, ideally both. The pixel records events in the browser; the Conversions API sends them from a server, which helps when browsers block scripts. Set up with matching event IDs, Meta counts each event once. Native lead form submissions are recorded by Meta without either.
What does frequency mean in paid social?
Frequency is the average number of times each person in your audience has seen an ad over a period. Some repetition helps people remember you. Too much, with the same creative, tends to bring hides, negative comments and fewer clicks. A provider watches it alongside budget and audience size.
Want a price for ads, landing pages or tracking? One short form covers all of it.
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Search ads
Ads that show when people search for what you sell. Includes search term checks, negative keywords and budget pacing on a regular schedule.
Landing page tests
Two versions of a page run against each other once there is enough traffic, with changes logged so you can see what moved.
Tracking and CRM
Measurement and lead handling set up around the tools you already use, with access kept in your name.