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.
Pixel, Conversions API and the Insight Tag
Without tracking, the platforms cannot tell which clicks led to a form submission, and their delivery algorithms work blind. Setting this up is part of the job.
On Meta, the pixel runs in the browser and the Conversions API sends events from your server or a connected tool. Using both, with matching event IDs so events are not counted twice, makes tracking sturdier when browsers block scripts.
On LinkedIn, the Insight Tag records site visits and conversions, and LinkedIn also offers its own Conversions API for server-side events.
Most setups go through Google Tag Manager. The provider tests events after setup, and again after any change to your site or form. Native lead form submissions are recorded by the platform itself, without the pixel.
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
Should I use Meta or LinkedIn?
It depends on your buyer. LinkedIn targets by job title, seniority, company size and industry, which suits offers aimed at specific roles, and clicks usually cost more. Meta reaches business owners in their personal feeds and relies on interests, website visitors and customer lists. Many advertisers test one before adding the other.
How often does ad creative need changing?
There is no fixed schedule. Creative needs refreshing when the same people have seen it often and stop responding, which shows up as a falling click rate and rising cost per lead. Small B2B audiences, especially on LinkedIn, tend to wear creative out sooner than broad ones.
Can you produce the ad creative?
That depends on the service partner and the scope you agree. Some produce images, short video and copy; some adapt material you supply; some write briefs for your designer. Mention in your quote request what material you already have, and the partner will say how they would handle it.
Ready to hand off the setup? Send a short brief and get a quote. Nothing is agreed until you accept it.
Send your briefOther services
Google and Microsoft ads
New account setup or cleanup of an existing one, then ongoing management. You keep admin access to the account the whole time.
Page builds
Copy, layout, form setup and tracking for new landing pages, or fixes to pages you already send paid traffic to.
Conversion tracking
Google Tag Manager, GA4, the Meta pixel and the LinkedIn Insight Tag set up, tested and documented in your accounts.