Social Media Advertising: Resources & Latest AI Tools to Boost Your Campaigns

Core dna team

January 27, 2025 - (8 min read)

Content Marketing | Digital Marketing

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Whether you are a wholesaler, retailer, a novice marketer or seasoned one, you can not escape social media advertising. It has become part of every marketing strategy and the best way to reach your target audience.

Wether is its social media ads on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and, TikTok (if it lasts), you have to create different strategies and approaches for each channel to create a successful social media strategy.

From creating high-converting social media ads to understanding audience targeting, we've got you covered. Plus, with the rise of AI-powered tools in marketing, we’ll explore how artificial intelligence is revolutionizing social media ad targeting, content creation, and ROI measurement.

This comprehensive guide dives deep into the world of social media advertising, offering over 60 resources to help you optimize your ad campaigns.

Current Trends in Social Media Ads

Trends in Social Media are like shifting tides. They are constantly evolving and shifting with new algorithms hitting brands like a wave.

To succeed in social media, you need to be on top of it and constantly posting. As the saying says: "out of sight, out of mind", and this can not be more true for brands in the age of social media.

We tried to gather some of key trends currently shaping the world of social media advertising, hopefully these will still be accurate when you are reading this article.

1.Video Content is The Only Way to Go

Video content is undoubtably the hero in social media advertising. Not only does it increase engagement but it also straighten brand recognition and loyalty.

Platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts have transformed how brands communicate with their audiences, bring short form videos and digestible content to the forefront of marketing.

In fact, 81% of people are interested in receiving Interactive Video content from brands and they tend to stay 2 minutes longer if video content is present.

If your brand has still not embrace the short form videos, we are talking 15/30sec reels, then this is your sign to get on it. How to get started? Well Instagram Reels and TikTok are perfect for catchy, entertaining content, while YouTube Shorts offers a great platform for storytelling in under a minute.

2. Influencer Marketing – Bigger than Ever

Influencer marketing has redefined social media advertising. In 2025 we are no longer talking about the big mega starts but focusing on Nano and Micro-influencers.

These new wave of smaller, more authentic influencers comes as people are loosing trust in the for-profit influencers. Whether it's a fashion influencer or a foodie sharing your product, influencers are paying more attention to the brands they collaborate with and to the values their share.

Now, it's not about the influencers' followers but about creating genuine partnership. So, if you’re not already collaborating with influencers, it’s time to dive in.

3. Social Commerce – Shopping Where You’re Already Browsing

Social commerce represents 18% of eCommerce worldwide and it will keep growing year on year. Brands need to meet customers where they are an offer an omnichannel approach to shopping. is turning every scroll into a shopping spree.

All social media platforms have implemented an eCommerce ecosystem - Instagram Shopping, Facebook Shops, Tiktok shops and even Pinterest buyable pins. With 57% of users discovering new product on social, the seamless shopping experience on social media allows brand to shorten the purchase journey and have users make a purchase without leaving their favorite app.

With the whole experience from discovery to purchase happening right within the social app, social commerce is an opportunity you don’t want to miss if you’re looking to drive more sales.

4. AI & Automation – Your New Best Friend

Artificial intelligence and automation are taking over as expected. With smarter algorithms and AI-powered tools, creating hyper-personalized and hyper-targeted ads has never been easier.

AI has opened up new doors when it comes to content creation as it gives brands with smaller budgets to achieve high outcomes. They can now create content faster and cheaper than ever before. In terms of analytics, AI allows you to adjust your ads in real-time based on performance.

With AI supercharging your social media advertising, your strategies become more effective, targeted and scalable.

Platform-Specific Advertising Insights

When it comes to ads on social media, knowing what platforms your customer are is important and understanding the vibe of the platform is even more important. Yes, social media users have specific use for each platform.

For example: Millennial are still hanging out on facebook because of the parents groups and pictures to grand parents but will go on instagram for more trendy and lighter content.

Understanding the differences will help you tailoring your strategy to match each platform's unique strengths.

Let's take a look below:

1. The Meta combo: Facebook and Instagram

With 3 Billion monthly active users for Facebook and 2 Billion for Instagram, these two social platforms are still the big players.

If you're using Facebook Ads, you're probably already familiar with its powerful targeting options. You can zero in on just about any demographic, interest, or behavior you want, ensuring you're reaching the right people.

Over on Instagram, Reels and Stories are huge right now. They're great for high-impact, short-form content and can work for all brands, industries and subject.The Instagram Shop feature if another great feature that lets brands digital shops right on the app. This is a great feature for emerging brands that do not have eCommerce websites and want to test the market.

Meta’s new AI-powered ad manager helps fine-tune your budget and ad placements based on performance. This helps you optimize your budget and yields better results by working smarter not spending more.

2. TikTok: The never ending scroll

TikTok knows how to keep you entertained and they do it well. If you have not spend an hour aimlessly scrolling, then you are my hero. With 48% of consumers ready to make purchases directly through TikTok, it is responsible for the success of social commerce.

With the movement "TikTok made me buy it", products promoted on TikTok is having significant influence on consumer behavior these last few years.

For Tik Tok the magic lies in short-form video that’s fun, creative, and super engaging.

TikTok’s algorithm effectively shows users videos that match their interests, allowing brands to slide in with targeted products.

Brands can run TikTok campaigns with Shoppable Ads, and In-Feed ads which are customizable depending on your business needs. These ad options include:

For-you Feed Ads: Because the “For You” page shows users content based on their interests, ads on this page get the most attention.

Swipeable Ads: Create detailed product ads that allow your audience to select multiple options with a gallery display.

Other Ads:Segment your target audience(s) based on demographics and create customized ads to reach them. While these require a deep understanding of your customers, it’s an effective way to appeal to their preferences.

TikTok Live Shopping is a valuable resource for creators and influencers gaining popularity. It allows sellers to feature and link products in live sessions, so customers to shop directly from the video stream.

As Facebook and Instagram, TikTok has also implemented AI-driven targeting. It is incredibly smart at showing your ads to the users who are most likely to engage.

3. LinkedIn: The B2B Power Play

Linkedin is your 24/7 virtual networking event and it relies a lot on personal branding. People want to buy from people and building your personal brand on Linkedin will help you connect with peers and potential customers.

On Linkedin finding the right balance between Sponsored InMail, Text Ads and organic content is key to create trust and genuine connections.

If you are promoting a B2B service, focus on educating, sharing insights, tips and tricks that can be useful for your target audience. Leverage the personal profiles of managers and C-levels and create a cohesive business strategy that uses all their strength and unique personalities to promote the brand/business.

In 2024, LinkedIn announced it is ramping up its dynamic ads and automation features to give advertisers more options to fine-tune campaigns and personalize messaging.

4. WhatsApp: Personalizing Customer Interaction

Yes, while it started as a messaging app, WhatsApp has grown into its own powerful advertising platform. Similar to SMS but device agnostic, it allows you to connect with customers directly.

WhatsApp’s Business app allows you to have one-on-one conversations and can enhance customer experiences for retailers or hospitality businesses.

Click-to-WhatsApp ads are an easy way to get customers chatting with you without ever leaving their social media app.

Thanks to WhatsApp’s focus on privacy and high engagement rates, it’s a great option for building trust and loyalty.

A lot of businesses are using Whatsapp as a customer service channel to respond to questions, resolve issues, and even process orders—all in a personal, direct way. It also helps eliminate boarders as it is a universal platform and communication across continents is free.

Pro Tip: If your customers are already using WhatsApp, offering them a way to reach out quickly with your ads could boost conversions.

Learn more about how to craft the best B2B strategy B2B eCommerce: The Definitive Guide

28 Tools for Creating Successful Social Media Advertising

Today, marketing is about using the right tools too boost productivity and optimize every step of the process from ideation to analytics.

This is our top list of tools that can help streamline your social media advertising campaigns and drive better results:

Buffer’s AI Assistant – Create a variety of post variations and repurpose content seamlessly.
Narrato AI Content Genie – Generate social media and blog content with ease.
HubSpot AI Social Media Caption Generator – Craft catchy social media captions quickly.
Mentionlytics – Monitor real-time social conversations to stay on top of trends.
Meltwater – Track every brand mention across social media networks for real-time insights.
Predis.ai – Analyze competitor content on social media for strategic advantages.
Rival IQ – Gain competitor analytics to help refine your social media content.
Unmetric – Benchmark your social media ad performance to optimize your strategy.
Canva – Design eye-catching social media graphics and videos in minutes.
Let’s Enhance – Improve the quality of your images for a polished, professional look.
Pictory – Create AI-generated videos to amplify your social media presence.
Supermeme.ai – Transform text into engaging memes that resonate with your audience.
Picsart – Use AI to generate GIFs and visual content to elevate your posts.
Kapwing AI Meme Generator – Create AI-powered memes that capture attention and drive engagement.
Lumen5 – Turn your articles or blog posts into engaging videos for social ads in minutes.
Biteable – Create stunning video ads quickly with customizable templates, ideal for platforms like Instagram and Facebook.
Wistia– Use AI to predict video performance and optimize ad creatives for better results.
AdCreative.ai – Generate high-performing ad creatives across multiple social media platforms using AI-powered optimization.
SocialBee – Schedule and create content for social media ads, helping with content curation, and boosting reach with automated posting.
Hootsuite Ads – Manage all your social media ads from a single platform, offering advanced targeting, retargeting, and real-time optimization.
Animoto – Easily create professional-quality video ads with drag-and-drop features for fast and high-impact content.
Vista Create – Design high-quality ad visuals quickly with access to thousands of templates for all social media platforms.
Syte – Leverage visual recognition technology to create ads that respond to real-time visual cues for product recognition on platforms like Instagram.
Smarly – Automatically generate optimized video ads from your brand assets and scale your campaign with minimal effort.
ClearScope – Optimize your ad copy and social posts with keyword insights to improve visibility and relevance.
Wave.video – Create and edit engaging video content tailored for all social media platforms with intuitive tools and pre-set templates.
StoryStream – Manage and distribute branded content for social ads, utilizing AI to analyze and recommend the best-performing content for ad campaigns.
SocialPilot – Manage, schedule, and analyze ad campaigns across social media platforms, providing insights to optimize ad strategies.

These tools can make your social media advertising efforts more efficient, effective, and data-driven. Whether you need help creating eye-catching ad visuals, optimizing ad copy, managing your campaigns, or analyzing performance, these tools will empower you to scale your campaigns and improve your return on investment.

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Core dna team

Our team of digital and marketing experts share their practical insights on technology, digital experience, and business transformation. If you have questions or would like to learn more feel free to contact us.