As we approach the end of April, we’re taking a look back at all of the updates and news from the world of social media from the past month! 
 
Here’s what’s been announced this April. 

Threads Expands Profile Topics 

Threads are encouraging users to add topics to their profiles, making it easier for users to find accounts that align with their same interests. Added last month, they’re now expanding the system by introducing customised feeds for the topics – hoping that the use of these ‘topics’ will help to push growth for creators who are seeing their following plateau as social media begins to rely less on profiles and more on algorithms, 

Bluesky Adds Verification 

Users of Bluesky can now be approved for verification – but instead of relying on the team at Bluesky to ensure verification is rolled out correctly, they’re also putting it in the hands of organisations too: “We’re also enabling trusted verifiers: organizations that can directly issue blue checks. For example, the New York Times can now issue blue checks to its journalists directly in the app. Bluesky’s moderation team reviews each verification to ensure authenticity.” 

YouTube Adding New Features To Their Inspirations Tab 

If you’re a creator on YouTube, you’ll soon find 3 new options in the Inspirations tab to further help you gather ideas for videos. First up is ‘Brainstorm Video Ideas’ – using your past videos and comments to suggest new video concepts - “Creators often find inspiration for their next video while reviewing performance data or audience comments in YouTube Studio, so we’re integrating comments and data from past videos to create a more fluid and intuitive process.” 
 
Then we have ‘Hooks’ – this is where creators input their ideas and YouTube comes up with engaging ways to approach the idea within videos. Theres also ‘Quick Saves’ – letting you save ideas quickly from YouTube’s Idea list. These features are currently being tested and rolled out. 

Threads Growing In Popularity 

Whilst Bluesky and X are seeing a slower uptake in new users, Threads is building more momentum – adding 200 million new users in the last year, whereas X has only added 50 million. Whilst there’s still a long way to go for Threads to match up with X overall, Bluesky isn’t showing much competition despite its huge 30 million increase of users in the last year. Threads are also ramping up their new features and updates, and with X’s current reputation it seems that Threads has become the place to be for users looking for an alternative platform. 
That’s everything for April! 
 
Have a wonderful May, and keep an eye out for more updates over the coming month. 
 
Finally, your social media tip is: I’ve had loads of business owners say to me, “Facebook Ads just don’t work for us.” 
 
But most of the time, it’s not the ads. It’s what you’re asking the ads to do. 
 
Here’s where I see it going wrong: 
 
➡️ The offer doesn’t land. If it doesn’t feel valuable or urgent, people won’t act. 
➡️ The copy’s too vague. If you’re not clear about who it’s for or what problem it solves, it gets ignored. 
➡️ The strategy’s off. The tech is easy to blame, but nine times out of ten, it’s the message that’s broken. 
 
If you’re spending money and not seeing a return, it’s time to look at the basics. 
 
Strong offer. Clear message. Right audience. That’s the stuff that makes ads work. 
 
 
As a business, posting on social media can feel a little daunting. You want to grow an audience, convert them into customers and ultimately make your online presence a key part of your businesses marketing efforts – but sometimes, even when you have an audience there, knowing what to post can be tricky - and getting them to engage can be even harder. 
 
If you’re posting with little engagement, or you’re just getting started, then here are 5 top tips on how to improve your social media engagement. 

Post Valuable Content 

Take a look at what you’ve already posted, or what you’re planning to post, and ask yourself what value it provides to your audience. With so many businesses using social media to successfully market their business, you need to find a way to stand out. Content that’s useful, informative and entertaining can attract attention, keep your audience retention high and ultimately, get them engaged with what you’re posting. 
Valuable content builds trust in your business. This kind of content can be anything from tutorials, behind the scenes footage, user-generated content or something you think will be relevant and meaning full to your target audience. The more value your audience gets from your posts, the more likes, comments and shares you’ll get in return – helping to convert audience members into loyal customers or followers. 

Post When Your Audience is Active 

Even if you have your content style and strategy locked in, it can still go unnoticed if you’re publishing it at the wrong time. Your analytics can point you to the times your audience is most active, and the posts that perform best at these specific hours. Sharing content when your audience is online, or just about to log on, allows you to have a better chance at your content being viewed and engaged with. Understanding your audience’s habits can make a difference in how your business is viewed on social media – being in tune with those you mapped out as key people to be purchasing and interacting with you lets you perfectly tailor your strategy to their wants and needs. 

Respond To Followers 

It sounds simple, but the point of social media is to be social. If you have amazing content but you’re not responding to followers you’re stopping yourself from making a connection. Taking some time to reply to comments, questions and messages shows you value your audience – helping you build a great reputation. When other audience members see you engaged in active conversations, it can be encouraging for them to get involved too – helping you to form a community around your business. Algorithms also favour posts with interactions, so not only does responding build brand loyalty, but it also increases your reach. 

Post Consistently 

Consistently posting is key to growing your presence online – whether you do this by posting to your profile, stories or groups regularly, keeping your business visible helps it to remain relevant, keeping people engaged with what you’ve decided to share. Having an active presence gives your audience more opportunities to interact with you, boosting your visibility in the algorithm and allowing you to spark conversations and build relationships with members of your audience. Having a consistent schedule, and using scheduling tools to help you save time, allows you to remind followers you’re still around and lets you become a main-stay in their social feeds. 

Ask Questions 

One of the simplest ways to improve engagement is to just ask a question. Whether that’s a poll, a question about content, needing help with topics for a live stream – getting your audience to participate instead of passively scrolling back stops them in their tracks. It also shows you care about what your audience wants to see from you, can produce conversations, and gives you insights for future content and even product feedback. Your questions don’t have to be complicated, even a ‘this or that’ style can help to drive comments. 
Social Media engagement might not come instantly, but these tips can help with giving you the best chance at getting your audience to begin interacting with your posts. Begin looking through your current strategy and see where you can make changes to boost your engagement. 
 
Social media SEO is the art of optimising your social media profiles so that customers can find you when they search for your business, or a business like yours. With more and more consumers using social media to find brands, you need to ensure your profiles are fully optimised to ensure that your audience can discover you. 
 
Here are 5 ways that you can improve your social media’s SEO. 

Add Your Social’s to Your Website 

If you have a website, adding social media buttons to your site helps those who come across your website first then go on to find your social media profiles. These buttons are helpful to have on all pages of your website, and it’s also useful to point people towards your social media platforms in your blog posts too. Having your social profiles linked on your website allows your audience to be directed to the correct social media pages you own, which can help to prevent confusion – especially if your business name is similar to another. 

Keyword Strategies 

You should have a keyword strategy on your website already, so take this and apply it to your social media platforms too. If you don’t already have a strategy, here’s how you can create your own: 
 
1. Think about phrases people may use to describe your business or products if they can’t think of or remember the specific name of them. For example, phrases like ‘scheduling tool’ or ‘social media marketing company’ are useful. 
 
2. Use specific terms if you’re in a highly competitive industry. Using our example, adding in a descriptive word like ‘affordable scheduling tool’ may get better results for your business. 
 
3. Think of what your business wants to be associated with – if you have offers, then you can use phrases like ‘discount’ or ‘deal’. 
 
4. Look at keywords that are performing best within your industry and see if you can establish any for your website. 

Use Links 

Linking to your site outside of social media and using these links alongside your content in call to actions helps to drive traffic and potentially even draw in new customers. Whilst these links may not boost your sites authority, they’re important to have, providing more resources to your audience and boosting their engagement with your business on social media. 

Differences In Buying 

Auditing your social media profiles helps to align your socials with your website and your brand. In order to optimise your profiles, you can: 
 
1. Use a high-quality image for your profile picture and cover photo. You should be using your logo here if you have one, and must ensure it’s scaled to fit perfectly so it’s noticeable. Unless you rebrand, you shouldn’t change your profile photo too often – but you can use your cover image to display regular updates, releases and offers. 
 
2. Add your contact information and, if you have one, physical store address so that your audience can easily get in contact with you. 
 
3. Add links to your website and other social media so you can direct traffic to your other socials. Ensure your website is mobile-friendly, so customers clicking off your page and onto your website will get a seamless experience if they’re using their devices. 
 
4. In your about section, use SEO-friendly keywords, and make sure you’re only including key information about your business. 

Engage With Your Audience 

Responding to your audience, starting conversations and in general building relationships with them is a great way to boost your SEO. You’ll be generating traffic to your posts and pages, and you may also have opportunities to share links with those you’re interacting with. Whether you choose to keep this engagement strictly to responding to comments on your page, or you decide to create your own communities via groups or add in more social strategies by going live. Hubspot found that Facebook, Instagram and YouTube are the most effective platforms when it comes to creating communities, so if this is something you’re planning to do then these platforms are ones to consider. 
Optimising your social media channels and building an audience can take time, but by ensuring you’ve created a great social media SEO strategy you’ll put yourself on a path to success on your socials. 
 
 
If you’re starting out in your marketing journey, it’s likely you’ve heard the terms B2B and B2C. But what do they mean, and how do they both work? In this blog, we’ll be exploring the differences between B2C & B2B and the platforms best used for both. 

What Is B2B Marketing? 

B2B Marketing is also known as Business To Business marketing. This is where you’ll be targeting your content and ads towards other businesses or business owners, helping you build relationships and trust. The content you’d produce here would often be more straight-forward and informative, addressing audiences in a more professional manner and showing off your industry knowledge. 

What Is B2C Marketing? 

B2C Marketing is something we’ll often encounter every day from other businesses. Known as Business To Consumer marketing, this style of content often concerns general people who you’re looking to engage and turn into customers. You’ll need to convince them to purchase your product or service by answering their pain points and offering a solution, directly targeting a specific set of people that you desire to be the main target audience base for your business. 

Differences In Target Audience 

One of the biggest differences between B2B and B2C is the target audiences. Each marketing type has a niche audience set, which helps you curate a core marketing message and strategy that works for your business and the people you’re looking to reach. B2B marketing’s main focus is on people already in your industry – they’re often people you want to connect with, whether that’s to simply form valuable business relationships or you’re after some kind of partnership or investment opportunity. You’ll be looking for decision-makers, meaning your methods will be much more professional, the lingo you use will be industry-specific and you won’t often be bound by demographics. 
 
B2C Marketing however, is all about targeting based on demographics, such as location, age, gender, income and interests. You’ll be whittling your audience size down to a very specific group of people. Known as your audience persona, you’ll create your ideal customer and target you messaging towards that person – helping to turn them from potential customers to loyal ones. These are the people that will be buying your products and services, so perfecting your targeting, copy, graphics is key to ensuring you engage the right audience and persuade them to trust and purchase from your business. 

Differences In Buying 

Consumers are more emotionally-led with their purchasing decisions, so explaining to them what benefits your product will bring to their lives after solving the issue they have will help to drive their purchasing decisions even if they aren’t in instant need for the product at that moment in time. This is relatively similar for businesses – they’ll want to know the benefits of buying into your business, and what it’ll do for them. If you’re looking to solve their pain points, you need to clearly define how you’ll do this whilst also displaying what you will require in return for working with them. The funnel for B2B marketing is much longer than B2C marketing, as B2B will often require you to be in contact with more than just one person, or will require the person you are in contact with to communicate with others within their company. B2C marketing means you’re most likely reaching out to one singular person, making their decision to make a purchase a lot faster, speeding up their time in the marketing funnel. 

Differences In Relationships 

B2C marketing is about retaining relationships – delivering further benefits to consumers after their initial purchase, trying to retain them for a longer period of time rather than just one singular sale. With B2B, you’ll likely be fixed into a longer-term relationship which allows you to build up trust, grow and develop alongside one another. However, where B2C marketers continue to innovate their ideas to provide an excellent service to their customers, B2B marketers can often fall into a transactional way of relationship building – which eliminates that slight personal touch that can make all the difference for consumers when it comes to purchasing. 

What Platforms Should I Use For B2B Marketing? 

LinkedIn is the ideal place for B2B Marketing. The professional social media platform, LinkedIn has over a billion worldwide users who belong to thousands of industries. You’re pretty much guaranteed to find the people on LinkedIn you’re looking for, and connecting with these people allows you to build beneficial business relationships. Whilst you can try other platforms like Facebook or X for B2B marketing, LinkedIn has positioned itself as the go-to for B2B marketing, and can provide great value to your business if you choose to use this platform. 

What Platforms Should I Use For B2C Marketing? 

B2C Marketing can work on most social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X or even LinkedIn. Facebooks Ad options provide incredible targeting options that allow you to specifically reach out to the audience you desire, and create highly-optimised campaigns that, when done correctly, can bring great success to your business. 
B2B and B2B are both important marketing techniques, and hopefully this blog helps you to understand the differences between both, allowing you to adapt to the right method for your businesses marketing plans. 
 
 
We’ve come to the end of the first quarter of 2025, and as we head into Spring, we’ll be taking a look back at the social media and digital marketing news from March 2025! 
 
Here’s all you need to know from the last month… 

YouTube Changing How Shorts Views Are Measured 

Ever posted a YouTube Short and been confused about its engagement? Well, YouTube are now fixing things to make it a little clearer. Shorts views will now include when your Short begins to play or replay – instead of doing it based off of intent. It won’t impact monetisation or a creator’s position in the YouTube Partner Program. 

TikTok Updates On Desktop 

TikTok has primarily been used as a mobile app – meaning, that whilst they did have a desktop site, it wasn’t necessarily user-friendly. Now, that's changed - with TikTok updating and improving their desktop version in an effort to continue competing with YouTube. New features, as confirmed by TikTok, include : “a new modular layout, refreshed For You feed, a new Explore tab, immersive full-screen LIVEs, and a web-exclusive Floating Player. These updates bring popular in-app functionalities to the TikTok web app, creating a seamless, unified viewing experience that mirrors the features people love in the mobile experience.” 

AI Chatbots Launched In The EU By Meta 

Over the coming weeks, Meta’s AI Chatbot will be rolled out across Europe after delays due to EU regulations and privacy concerns. Whilst their Ai systems, which have rapidly been forming a key part of Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp’s newest features, will be a lesser-version of what other countries already are using, it is a huge step for Meta to have another one of their AI features rolled out and ready to use in Europe. 

LinkedIn Updates Campaign Manager 

LinkedIn have updated their campaign manager, adding in new features to improve the system and help marketers. Firstly, their new ‘media planner’ forecasts results before campaigns are launched using their AI-predictive formulas. They’re also introducing a ‘duplicate’ option, which now allows you to easily duplicate your ads across campaigns and accounts. 
 
Your dashboard should also now have more insights to show an account-wide campaign performance review and tips. They say this is to help marketers with their LinkedIn approach “by providing a detailed view of campaign performance across campaigns, ads, audiences, and the entire customer journey, beyond just the marketing funnel.” 
That’s all from March! Enjoy April and remember to keep an eye out for any updates over the coming month. 
 
Finally, your social media tip is: AI is creeping into every part of marketing, and social media advertising is no exception. The question isn’t whether businesses should use it, it’s how to use it properly. 
 
AI driven ads can analyse behaviour, optimise targeting, and even generate content in seconds. That means faster ad creation, more precise targeting, and better performance without endless testing. 
 
But, AI isn’t a magic fix... 
 
If you rely on it to do all the work, you’ll end up with generic, soulless ads that blend into the noise. The real power is combining AI with human strategy. 
 
Organic content creates trust. AI driven ads amplify what’s working. Together, they build a system that brings in customers faster and more effectively. 
 
The businesses using AI to enhance their marketing, not replace it, are the ones seeing real results. If you’re not looking into it yet, now’s the time. 
 
 
 
 
AI is rapidly transforming the way businesses approach their social media marketing. Artificial Intelligence has become a key tool on social media platforms and for many businesses it’s now a necessity for them if they want to continue to be competitive. 
 
The use of AI is evident across social media platforms – whether that’s through chatbots or content creation itself. Each platform is racing to become the leader in AI usage, testing and introducing features at a fast pace to put themselves at the forefront of the market. 
 
Here’s more about how AI is changing Social Media Marketing. 

Automating Customer Interactions 

Chatbots powered by AI are changing the way businesses interact with consumers on social media. Acting as virtual assistants to your business, these chat bots can provide help, answer questions and, if needed, connect people to a live chat agent when required. Unlike a regular customer service agent, AI chatbots are available 24/7 – ensuring that customers receive instant, timely support whenever they require it. Businesses of all sizes have started to adapt to AI chatbot models, which can be used to guide a customer’s journey and give them a more seamless, faster experience. Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp are just two places that use AI chatbots on social media to help audiences and businesses speed up their processes. 

Enhanced Advertising 

Advertising is one of the biggest areas where AI is making a difference in social media marketing. Traditional advertising often requires trial-and-error processes if you’re just starting out. AI features, like Metas Advantage+, combines what customer knowledge you have with AI to ensure you’re reaching relevant audiences and have highly optimised campaigns. If you aren’t looking to use something like Advantage+, then ensure you turn the feature off at each step of your campaign where Facebook has toggled the usage of it on - allowing you to design and set up your campaign the usual way
 
Marketers have also started to use generative AI to create their campaigns – but there are ethical issues that can arise here. Whilst not necessarily required, not disclosing where AI has been used can actually harm businesses in the long run – you have to make sure what you’re presenting, whether visually or in the copy, is true to what you’re advertising – which is why using generative AI is still a divisive topic, even if the platform you use offers generative AI features itself. If you do choose to go down this route, make sure you keep a close eye on what is being generated. Meta will add a label to images they deem to be made with AI, and noting where it has been used yourself will give audiences transparency, helping them to decide whether they want to take a chance on an AI generated Ad campaign image. 

AI Generated Content Creation 

Content-creation can be time consuming, especially for small businesses with a few employees all focusing on different tasks. AI powered tools can now help to create post copy, blog wording, closed-captions and more, becoming a useful tool for businesses looking to hold a consistent posting schedule whilst putting the majority of their focus onto other tasks that require their full attention. However, whilst using AI can speed up the process, it has its limitations. Audiences appreciate authenticity and a human touch, and AI shouldn’t be solely used in place of creating the posts yourself. You can combine the efficiency of an AI tool with your own ideas – using AI to form the post but letting yourself reword and rewrite sections where they don’t align with your brands style or voice – adding a little bit of personality into an otherwise computer-generated approach. 

SEO Usage 

AI is also having a big impact on SEO, with algorithms now analysing user behaviour, trend an engagement to decide which content get displayed. AI makes things more user-centric, helping search engines tailor their algorithms to the most relevant content online It can also help businesses make their content more SEO-friendly, helping to discover where key words can be used, monitor backlinks and allowing you to continue to shape your SEO and AI strategies to be more user-friendly and aligned with the current scope of SEO. 

What Are the Issues With AI? 

Whilst AI on the surface sounds like a great thing to introduce to your marketing strategies, and whilst its being pushed to the forefront of digital marketing, it doesn’t come without it’s concerns and issues. Firstly, the use of AI comes with environmental issues – especially with generative AI, which has been a controversial topic when it comes to it’s power usage and energy consumption. There’s also concern over the job market, and whether the growing popularity of AI will eventually end up taking over digital jobs – again, hindering the human element that has managed to produce engaging content for years prior to the AI boom. We’ve already discussed concerns regarding transparency and the disclosure of AI content, which could affect brand trust from audiences if they would rather shop or engage with a business that isn’t using AI. Forbes Advisor research found 59% of Brits had concerns about the use of AI – 37% had issues over the ethical implications and potential misuse, 42% were concerned about dependence on AI and 39% had concerns over AI being used to make decisions without human involvement. 
AI has become an ingrained part of social media and digital marketing, and whilst there are many positives to its continuing rise, there’s also understandable hesitation towards embracing it entirely. Whatever you choose to do, AI is becoming difficult to ignore in the digital field – and it’s only likely to gain more prominence in the coming months and years. 
 
Copywriting plays a key role in your marketing campaigns – sitting alongside your visual elements in both ads and general posts as a way for you to get more information across, speak directly to your audience and generate interest and sales. 
 
Each platform requires different styles and lengths of copy that can be effective for your business when marketing on social media. Here’s how you can write copy for Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and X. 

Instagram 

Instagram is a visual platform, and your main efforts here should lie with your images and videos. Here, your copy can be used to give context to your visual elements, but it shouldn’t be too long. Instagram recommends using 3-5 hashtags, and using your call to action early on in your caption is more effective than leaving it to the end of your post. If you do have more to say, using infographics is a good way to keep followers hooked – as they’ll likely see on their feed before they see your copy. 

Facebook 

Facebook is still the third most visited website behind Google and YouTube, and has over 3 billion active users. Sprout Social research found that 60% of people use Facebook for product discovery – meaning it’s incredibly important you get your copy right if you’re using Facebook for your marketing efforts. Facebook has a character limit of just over 63,000, so there’s a lot of room for you to get your message across. Despite this, people aren’t coming onto Facebook to read long blogs or sales pitches – you have to grab their attention quickly – keeping in mind the KISS model (Keep It Short and Simple) when it comes to writing your copy. In fact, Buffer’s research recommends that using 80 or less characters give’s posts a 66% higher engagement rate. Anytime you post a link or a picture, use a short, persuasive and catchy piece of copy alongside it. 

X (or Twitter) is a little more complicated – whilst premium accounts have 10,000 characters to work with, non-premium accounts have 280 characters to work with – which isn’t a lot of room if you have a lot to say. With around 240 characters being the recommended amount, you should make sure your points are concise enough to fit, but also detailed enough to get your point across. Tweets with hashtags get 2x more engagement, but using more than 3 hashtags a post can see a drop in engagement. You can also create your own hashtag relevant to your business which helps people find your products and services. 

LinkedIn 

When creating copy on LinkedIn, you need to approach it a little differently to how you approach your other social media platforms. On Facebook, Instagram and X, you’re talking to consumers – on LinkedIn, you’re talking to other businesses, so you’ll have to change up your language and marketing plans too. Whilst you can use LinkedIn to push simple posts or job offers onto your connections’ timelines, it’s also a great place to repurpose your blogs and get them out in front of other industry leaders – showing your expertise and building trust in you and your business. You can upload these as articles – picking a catchy title, writing or pasting in your content and using an attention-grabbing picture. 
Copywriting forms a big part of your social media marketing efforts, and understanding the different methods and styles to use on different platforms can help you form your plans for each site more effectively. By tailoring your approach, you and your team will have a clearer idea of how to approach your social media sites, and improve your engagement. 
 
2025 is well underway, and now we’ve reached the end of February - which means it’s time for another social media and digital marketing roundup! 
 
Here are all the stories from this month! 

Meta Updates Advantage+ Ads 

Meta have revealed new features and updates to their Advantage+ Ad campaigns, continuing to grow their focus on AI tools and solutions. They’re currently testing a streamlined Advantage+ campaign setup to help shopping and app campaigns benefit from AI optimisation. They’re also introducing an Advantage+ leads campaign, which now lets advertisers find the highest-quality leads using AI. Opportunity score will be expanding to more advertisers, letting users improve their campaign performance using recommendations from Facebook, including AI optimisations. 

Threads Performance 

Threads has reached 320 million monthly users, and with ads being slowly tested and rolled out on the platform the site’s growing audience is certainly something to keep an eye on. A survey by Sprout Social discovered that 53% of marketers are using Threads, with 23% looking to add it to their upcoming strategies. In Buffer’s analysis of 10 million posts on both platforms, Threads actually drove more engagement than X – with a 6.25% engagement rate compared to 3.6% on X. 

Text-To-Speech Introduced on Shorts 

Don’t want to do your own voiceovers? YouTube have rolled out text-to-speech on IOS for Shorts, currently allowing 4 different voice options for users. The feature has been popular on TikTok for some time, with YouTube quickly optimising their Shorts feature to continue to challenge the popularity of the platform – especially during a turbulent few months for TikTok, especially over in the USA. 

TikTok Marketing Calendar 

TikTok have released their 2025 marketing calendar, allowing users to see key dates, events and trends that are currently ongoing so they can leverage engagement and take advantage of the current landscape of the platform. TikTok provides quarterly overviews, but you can print out an overview of the whole year with important dates highlighted. 

Instagram Adds New Metrics 

Instagram has added new metrics to their system. Called Views Over Time and View Rate, Instagram now lets you see how many views your content is getting compared to your average viewership, if your views are coming from followers or non-followers and what percentage of people continue watching after the first 3 seconds. They are also providing tips to users, letting them know about their reels performance and if it’s resonating with viewers – helping to shape your marketing plans for Instagram going forwards. 

Introducing Edits 

Edits, a new app by Instagram, was introduced last month – and now we have more information on what you can actually do using the app. Designed essentially to be a CapCut competitor, Edits works in a very similar way – allowing users to streamline the process, turn static images into videos using AI, add captions and have enhanced video quality. They’re also teasing a future feature, allowing collaborators to leave comments in real time to help improve videos before they're posted. 
That’s all for February! Have a great March and remember to keep an eye out for any updates over the next month…. 
 
Finally, your social media tip is: One of the biggest misconceptions I hear is that Facebook ads should start delivering instant results the moment they go live. It’s like expecting to plant a seed and have a tree grow overnight—it doesn’t work that way. 
 
Here’s the truth: ads need testing and optimisation to perform. When I run campaigns, the first thing I focus on isn’t instant sales—it’s gathering data. 
 
➡️ Is the targeting right? 
➡️ Are people engaging with the ad creative? 
➡️ Is the message connecting with the audience? 
 
This testing phase is where the magic happens. It’s where you figure out what works and, more importantly, what doesn’t. Then you tweak, adjust, and refine. 
I’ve seen campaigns that started slow but, after a few tweaks, turned into major wins. The key is patience and a willingness to dig into the numbers. Ads are a process, not a quick fix. 
 
So, if your first ad doesn’t deliver instant results, don’t panic. It’s not about the quick win—it’s about building a campaign that delivers sustainable, consistent results over time. 
 
 
If you’re looking for leads, you need to have a quality strategy in order to generate them. Social networks all require different forms of engaging, compelling pieces of content and ads that hook in audiences and bring you the leads you require to take your business and social media marketing to the next level. 
 
In this blog, we’ll discuss how you can generate leads on social media… 

What Is Lead Generation? 

Lead Generation is where you use marketing strategies to retrieve information about your audience – such as through forms or signups – which can help you identify interested audience members and contact them, building your relationship and potentially finding you brand new clients. 

Optimise Your Profiles 

Your pages are the first point of contact for potential customers, and therefore you need to make sure your profile communicates what your business is, what you offer and how people can reach you. Here are a few things you can: 
 
• If you have a logo, use this in your profile picture; if you have a headshot, use this. Either way, your images need to have a high quality, professional appearance. 
• Write a compelling bio that uses relevant keywords, communicating to your audience what you do and your business' tagline. 
• Link to your websites landing page or a form. 
• Include your contact information so potential leads can easily reach you; this should include your location (if you have a physical store), your phone number and your email. 

Engaging Content 

How will you generate leads if you’re not posting? Your content is key to attracting an audience and keeping them engaged – the more value your content has, the more likely it is that people will want to purchase from you or work with you. The type of content you produce will have to align with your business’ style, goals and brand voice: you can try educational content, go behind the scenes, share user generated content, carry out polls and surveys or host live videos or webinars that get your audience interacting in the moment. Eye catching visuals and compelling copy will help to draw in new leads. 

Use Lead Magnets 

A Lead magnet is a free incentive that encourages a user to share their contact details with your business in exchange for something that will, as mentioned, provide them value. Examples of a lead magnet include e-books, exclusive discounts, free trials or demos, webinars or giveaways. You can promote these through your posts and ads to drive sign-ups. 

Run Targeted Ads 

Ads can be staple of your lead generation campaigns when done correctly. On Facebook, you can create lead generation campaigns by directing audiences to a form, to message you or to call you. Meta says that in 2023 over 1 billion instant forms were submitted through ads – so, if you weren’t considering it before, you definitely should now. 
 
If you’re directing them to a landing page like your website, make sure it’s user-friendly, professional and easy to navigate. You’ve managed to get someone interested enough to click on your call-to-action, so don’t fall at the last hurdle with a website that’s not up to the same standard as your social media accounts. 
Generating leads on social media requires time, a good strategy, consistency and lots of valuable content. By optimising your profiles, creating engaging content, leveraging lead magnets and targeted ads, you can turn your followers into loyal customers. Start practicing these ideas today and watch your business grow! 
 
Are you currently running a Facebook Ads campaign? 
 
If you are, but it’s not working out well, or if you think you could make improvements but don’t know where to begin, then this blog is for you. 
 
Facebook Ads can be a huge source of success for your business if they’re optimised right. Here are 5 things you can do to improve your Facebook Ads. 

1. Audience Targeting 

Your target audience is the key to getting your ads working. If they’re not seeing your ads, then you won’t be getting the sales or clicks you’re looking for. Check to see who your ads are being targeted towards against your ideal customer, and see if they match up. If they don’t, then use Facebook’s targeting options to ensure you’re reaching the right people. 
You can choose their gender, location, age, interests, job titles etc – anything that aligns with your target customer. If they do match up however, it could mean your audience size is too small. Whilst it’s better to be specific with your targeting, it can also be an issue if you’re too specific. Shrinking your audience size down too much will mean your ad won't be shown to enough people - impacting your click through rate and sales. By taking advantage of Facebook’s targeting options, you will be able to fix any issues with your ad’s audience, improving your reach, impressions, click through rate and sales. 

2. A/B Testing 

If your ad isn’t performing, then A/B testing is a great option for ensuring you’ll get a return on your investment. With A/B testing, you’ll change one ad variable and run separate ads at the same time – analysing the results afterwards to see which worked the best (or if you use Facebooks A/B test function, they’ll select the best performing one at the end of your test period). Changing anything like the graphic, wording, headline, audience etc might be the key for taking an ad that currently isn’t working at its best to an ad that brings in more clicks and sales than you predicted. You can’t assume which ad will be successful, which is why A/B testing is such an important step in running Facebook Ads. To read more about A/B testing, click here

3. Set Your Goals 

It may sound simple, but knowing what you want to achieve from your ad makes the entire process easier, and more likely to bring you your desired results. Aimlessly going in and setting up an ad with no plan, no idea what you want from it and minimal understanding on how Facebook Ads actually work will not work out for your business. Instead, set your goals before you go into creating an ad, which will help you with each step of the process. The type of campaign you select has to align with your goals – want website visits? Use a Traffic campaign. Sales campaigns are great if you want someone to buy a product or service. Awareness campaigns are good for brand recognition. Having a clear cut idea of your needed outcome will also help you with tailoring the right message to your audience and creating a suitable visual component to go alongside it. 

4. Be Concise 

Your copy needs to be concise and to the point. You need to grab the audience’s attention instantly – telling them that you have a solution to their problems. Having great, eye-catching graphics and a clear message that work well together can make a great impression, and if you have the option, using video allows you to get even more of your points across outside of a long stream of text. Speak to their pain points, explain how you can fix it, and then tell them what they’ll gain from using your products. This gives your audience a straightforward overview of what you’re offering them, and is much more attention-grabbing than lots of text that takes a long time to get to the main point of the subject. 

5. Measure Your Analytics 

Your analytics are telling you how your ad is doing, but if you don’t pay attention to them then you’re just putting money into something that might not be bringing you anything back. This links to you knowing your goals – if you wanted sales for example, you can use your analytics to see how many sales are being brought in by the ad you’re running. If you want link clicks, look at how many you’re getting and what this is costing you. You analytics relate to everything we’ve already discussed – strengthen your targeting if your ad isn’t working, run an A/B test and compare your analytics, ensure you are getting a concise message across and set your goals so you know exactly what to look for. Keep a track of your metrics, so you can see when things begin to improve. 
Facebook Ads often are a game of testing and changing things until they work – you can hope something sticks, but that’s not always going to be the case. If you’re thinking of making changes to your campaigns, hopefully you’ll find these tips useful in turning a poor campaign into a winning one. 
 
When it comes to creating Facebook Ads, you may have run a campaign that hasn’t worked as well as you expected, or are thinking of creating a campaign but aren’t 100% sure on whether you’ve chosen the right ad creative. 
 
If you’re in this position, then you should use A/B testing. This allows you to change different elements of your ads, run them, and then analyse the results to see which one works the best for your business. 
 
Here’s how you can use A/B testing with your ad creative. 

What Is A/B Testing? 

A/B testing is the method of changing elements of your ad and then running both variants at the same time. The point is to see which variant works the best, and then to choose the best working ad to run on Facebook.  
This helps you keep your cost-per-click low, and means you won’t be wasting money on ads that aren’t performing or are giving you a much higher cost-per-click than an ad that may be successful if you run an A/B Test. 

Testing Variables – What Should I Change? 

To do an A/B test with your ad creative, you can change multiple variables, including: 
 
- Ad headline 
- Ad copy 
- Graphics 
- Type of Ad – static, video or carousel 
- Call To Action 
 
You should only change one variable at a time. If you run an ad with a different graphic, copy, and call to action for an A/B test, you’re essentially running an entirely separate ad. You can do multiple A/B tests If you want to try different things to get the best result from your ad, using the past results to create the ultimate ad that gives you the best return on your investment. 

How To Do An A/B Test 

To do an A/B test, select your campaign and on the toolbar, click A/B test. Then, you can select the variable you want to change. Alternatively, you can do this by creating your initial campaign, copying your ad in the ad level and changing the variable for however many ads you plan to test. So, if you begin by changing the graphic, choose the alternative graphics whilst leaving everything else the same and then you can publish your ad. To get a good idea of the result, Meta suggests that you run an A/B test for 7 days, but can also run it for up to 30 days to get a full scope of how your ad has been performing. If you want, you can then keep the best performing graphic, but change the copy to see which copy connect most with people. You can test as much as you like, but you shouldn’t constantly be testing these ads and spending more and more money when you could already have an ad that works perfectly well without the need for constant changes and tests. 

What Should I Look For 

If you’re using Facebook’s A/B test function, they will automatically select the best performing ad at the end of your testing and display it to all of your audience. If you do it in the ad level, you will have to judge yourself based on the goal you set out to achieve – whether that’s the lowest cost per result, link clicks or conversions. You can use this to determine your best performing ad – switching off the others so your budget is directed at the ad that’s bringing you your desired results. 
A/B testing is an important component in your paid digital marketing efforts, allowing you to get the best results from your ad campaigns, taking a poor campaign to one that becomes a key part of your business’s marketing strategy. Try it today and see how it works for your business. 
 
Happy New Year! We’re at the end of the first month of 2025, and there have been quite a few updates over the last couple of weeks that would be worth noting if you’re using digital marketing for your business. 
 
Here’s all the news for this month! 

Reels Time Limit Expanded 

Instagram Reels have been extended to a 3-minute time limit – so if you want to make longer content to post on your Instagram, you’re no longer restricted to getting everything into a 90 second clip. This move, despite Instagram initially saying keeping Reels under 90 seconds is ideal, allows them to be much more competitive with TikTok – who has been allowing longer videos for quite some time now, and YouTube Shorts, who updated their time limit to 3 minutes earlier this month. 

Google Introduces AI Agents For Retailers 

AI remains a big topic in the digital marketing space for 2025 – with Google now offering retailers the chance to use an AI Agent that helps shoppers find exactly what they’re looking for. With AI now giving shoppers access to answers in seconds, Google expects this to be the way forward for future consumers. Here’s what they had to say: “Retailers can now use AI agents to personalize the customer experience by offering tailored product recommendations, answering questions in real-time and guiding shoppers through the buying process. AI agents can also streamline operations by automating tasks like inventory management, customer service and even loss prevention, allowing employees to focus on higher-value work.” 

The TikTok Ban 

Recently, TikTok was banned in the USA…then unbanned less than 24 hours later. President Trump gave the app a 75-day extension – with suggestions it could be purchased by Elon Musk or Microsoft, allowing it to stay operational within the United States. Whilst it doesn’t directly impact the European market, if TikTok is to get permanently banned in US, it could possibly open up a world of opportunity for businesses in the UK to capitalise on a market that has been freed up by the exit of American companies. We’ll have to wait and see what happens, but it’s certainly something that will remain a big topic in the news until the app does – or doesn’t – leave pp stores in the USA. 

Instagram Updates 

Instagram has started off the new year updating user profiles – saying goodbye to the square format on grids, and introducing a rectangular one instead. If you need to change your graphics, the new ratio is now 4:5. Boss Adam Mosseri said that the change reflects how people now use Instagram the most, but reassured those with carefully curated grids that they will be able to make changes to re-align their images: “We started with the tall grid because most photos and videos that are uploaded to Instagram at this point are vertical and rectangles do a better job showing off those photos and videos. That said, I know some of you spend a lot of time tweaking your grids and this blew all of that up, so we’re going to improve the ability to customize those thumbnails to make it easier to get back to a place you’re happy with.” 

Threads Makes Long-Awaited Updates 

Threads have made some big updates this month – which may make the platform much more attractive to marketers who’ve either been using the app or thinking of adding it to their social media marketing plans. Firstly, users can now schedule their posts within the app – giving people the choice whether to do it natively, or by using a third-party tool. Secondly analytics have been rolled out for everyone – a great sign for those using the app for marketing purposes, as now you can check how well your content is performing – whether that’s overall or based on specific posts. Finally, Meta have announced that Ads will be coming to the platform – with tests being carried out in the US and Japan before being rolled out globally. 
That’s all for January! Keep an eye out over the next month for more updates, and have a great February! 
 
Finally, your social media tip of the month is: Are You Leaving Money on the Table by Ignoring Your Email List? 
 
When I talk to business owners about their Facebook ads, one of the first questions I ask is, “Are you using your email list?” And honestly, I’m surprised how many people say no. 
 
Your email list is full of warm customers—people who already know your business and are more likely to buy. Yet so many businesses focus on cold audiences and ignore the huge opportunity sitting right in front of them. 
 
Using your email list for ads lets you: 
 
✅️ Re-engage customers who haven’t purchased in a while. 
✅️ Cross-sell or upsell to people who already trust you. 
✅️ Turn warm leads into paying customers with the right message. 
 
I’ve seen it happen time and time again. Clients who thought they’d “maxed out” their sales started targeting their email list, and the results were incredible. Warm customers are the ones who convert the quickest—and often at the lowest cost. 
 
If you’re running ads without leveraging your email list, you’re leaving money on the table. It’s that simple.