In a time when every dollar counts, consumers aren’t just buying products, they’re buying trust, values, and familiarity. Paid social ads aren’t just about visibility anymore; they’re about connection. And if your brand doesn’t feel known or relatable, you’re getting skipped.
When it comes to creating a foundation of connection, the building blocks start with a skill we all easily possess, which is providing a human connection through the screen. In a world filled with an endless push for technological advances, offering an old-school introduction helps to break through the noise and the virtual wall that has been created between brands and their clientele. Until the wavering tides of the time calm, consumers and businesses will have a tight grasp on budgets. This is why nurturing a brand’s connection is essential and a main reason why investing in paid social ads is not only justifiable, but also smart.
Storytelling Through Authenticity
Although there are benefits to constantly improving AI technology, in turn, it has started to create a rise in hesitation and disbelief in content that is being shared. The unease has started to stem from images and videos that have become too realistic since they’re distorting and creating a false reality of events and people. This hesitation in believing what is real or not is a gap where you can come in – the authentic human element. As mundane or obvious as this benefit may feel, it is one that has become less of a standard.
From customer service to knowing the face behind the brand, there is a certain yearning for connection all around. At the end of the day, humans are curious creatures who value emotions, whether it’s through understanding a business’s story, goal, or even the functionality of a product that will help to make their life easier. The benefits of the “why” and being authentic while sharing the product and the owner’s story will benefit your prospecting and current audience you’re trying to market towards.
Through each growing connection you gain from person-to-person, this will then translate beyond just conversions. While the traditionally magical keyword may still hold a significant amount of weight, truth be told, it’s not the only metric you should be seeking, especially in a time where consumers are looking for quality products as well as experiences.
Growing your brand awareness and customer engagement is key to gaining trust with potential customers since it provides the perfect avenue to sharing the brand’s story and faces behind the screen. Increased brand visibility naturally results in a community of buyers who trust in what you’re selling, which leads you right back to the trusted conversions territory – if not strengthening them to become higher conversion rates.
Practical Tips To Build Up Your Brand By Using Copy & Visuals
Realistically, the best place to start is with yourself! The personal brand you create will become the foundation that helps propel your company’s story and authenticity forward to captivate your target audience.
Take Shay Mitchell’s luggage company, Beis, for example. This company was founded by the actress in 2018 when she found herself in the market for travel gear that was affordable and functional without sacrificing style. This desire to find said product is one of the main reasons why it caused Mitchell to end up creating Beis, while also creating a strong and thriving community of customers that continues to flourish each year. In an interview by The Cut, Mitchell said, “People started to know me as somebody they could trust when it came to traveling.”
When Mitchell and her team took to social media, they didn’t just rattle the luggage market, but they changed the marketing game across the board. From creative campaign concepts to an endless Rolodex of user-generated content and striking branded marketing graphics, this brand serves as inspiration for elements you can adapt and reimplement into your own best practices.
With paid social ads, there are various avenues you can go down depending on the style of campaigns you created based on your specific goals. No matter the objective, paid social ads effectively support business goals at every stage of the funnel by delivering uniquely targeted reach and scalable results.
Video is a highly preferred ad format on the platform right now, as it is highly consumed by social media users. As seen in this video, not only is the face of the brand featured, but Mitchell is also walking the customers through the new product they can expect to receive. This type of creative format has become a standard for the company and has come to be expected from Mitchell. It not only highlights product value to build interest and trust, but also encourages users to stop and engage.
As a video format – currently the preferred ad format – it combines eye-catching visuals with short, compelling copy. This format also makes it easy to boost an organic post into a paid ad on Instagram, reaching your ideal audience. Yes, it really can be that simple!
Other intriguing forms of organic content that can easily be turned into boosted ads or used for catalog ads, carousel ads, or collection ads (to name a few) include static image ads and GIF-style videos, which can also function as static images. Although these specific examples don’t feature Mitchell directly showcasing or explaining the product, this video and even the videos displayed above highlight a customer interest or need that’s been effectively addressed and shared in an engaging, easily replicable way.
The trick to creating captivating paid social ads, creatives, and connecting with your audience through storytelling is putting yourself in your customers’ shoes. For Mitchell, creating travel accessories wasn’t about breaking new ground – it was about filling a personal gap she experienced and bringing character to an otherwise lackluster market.
Another noteworthy concept is the way her product line naturally evolved as her life did. Beis expanded from luggage to work essentials, and then to a family collection filled with a variety of accessories designed with parents in mind as she entered that new chapter of her life. Taking the static image ad for example, Beis leaned into Mitchell’s new lifestyle since it continued to spark conversations around functionally stylish pieces while also allowing the brand’s voice to strengthen and gain new community members through witty, enticing, and relatable content.
Shopping Habit Reboot
Just like anything else, there is a time and place for using AI’s benefits, but there’s also something to say about there being nothing quite like the human connection. In recent years, especially amid economic uncertainty, consumers have increasingly gravitated toward vibrant communities built around the products and services they use. These communities often turn everyday purchases into conversation starters or make ordinary moments feel more meaningful. Ultimately, there is an elevated amount of trust that is unlocked between consumers and businesses, which can be continuously nurtured through the endless wheel of paid social ads on social media platforms.
Once the foundation blocks mentioned above are in motion and occurring under a typical cadence, the client’s mind will begin to form a familiarity bias, which, in turn, creates cognitive mechanisms. The goal? Creating a new decision-making perspective that influences and reduces the feelings of perceived risk within your choices. As explained by Muhammed Tufekyapan in Familiarity Bias: Building Trust Through Consistency,
“Trusting the known is not a new concept; there are evolutionary origins. Familiarity bias helps us navigate this overwhelming choice landscape by creating mental shortcuts. . . . In an overwhelming world of endless choices, familiarity serves as our mental shortcut to trust.”
Paid social stands out in a time when every dollar counts and budgets are tight. This marketing channel is not just a tool utilized for reach, although this does help cater to brand awareness, it also holds the greatest power when it comes to real brand connection. Social platforms provide a unique form of direct targeting and customer interaction, while also allowing your brand to have a voice and personality that customers can relate to.
Embracing the new and leaning into this form of accessibility increases trust and loyalty, which can drive long-term value. Investing in paid social isn’t just about driving sales, it’s about deepening relationships in the moments that matter most.
