A Practical Software Directory for Solo Builders
Introducing your offer through paid social campaigns
Social advertising helps you reach people beyond those who already follow your business.
Tools in this category will help you to...
Choose campaign goals, prepare advertisements, select audiences and manage spending. The networks provide their own campaign tools, while separate services can help create and assess advertising content. Start with a clear offer and a destination that delivers what your advertisement promises. Account access may be free, but running campaigns costs money. Compare meaningful outcomes such as enquiries or sales alongside clicks and engagement.
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Canva helps you create images and short videos for social advertising. Start with an advertising template, then add your own wording, photographs, colours and logo. Its drag-and-drop editor makes it approachable for beginners preparing different versions of an advert. Download the finished designs to upload to your chosen advertising platform. A free account includes templates, editing tools and free assets; some images, templates and features, including certain resizing options, require payment. Canva handles the creative work, while campaign settings, audience targeting and advertising spend are managed separately through the advertising platform.
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Facebook Ads lets businesses promote products, services and content through Meta’s advertising tools. Build campaigns around goals such as awareness, enquiries or sales, using images and video across supported placements. Meta Ads Manager also manages Instagram advertising, so you can work across both networks from the same campaign system. Audience settings, budgets and reports help you plan and review activity. Managing your own account does not require a separate software subscription, but running advertisements incurs charges. Check placement settings, prepare suitable content and connect reporting to the customer action you actually want before increasing spending.
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Metricool brings advertising results from Google, Meta and TikTok into one dashboard, helping you compare campaign performance without repeatedly switching between accounts. You can create Google and Meta campaigns within Metricool, choosing objectives, audiences and budgets, while TikTok campaigns are created through TikTok and monitored here. Review figures such as impressions, clicks, conversions and costs to see where your budget is going. An ongoing free plan provides a starting point for one brand. Paid plans expand reporting and other account features. Advertising spend is separate, and connecting accounts requires the appropriate access permissions.
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Pinterest Ads promotes products, services and ideas to people exploring visual content and planning purchases or projects. Use image, video and other supported formats to introduce an offer and direct interested visitors towards your website. Campaign tools provide audience selection, spending controls and performance reports, with options varying by objective and market. A business account provides access to advertising tools; running campaigns requires a paid budget. It can suit offers that benefit from strong visuals and a useful destination, such as a product collection, demonstration or guide. Advertising availability depends on the country and account eligibility.
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TikTok Ads Manager helps businesses plan and run advertisements around goals such as reach, website visits, enquiries and sales. Set audience and budget options, upload suitable content and review results through the advertising dashboard. Its wider business tools include creative resources for researching formats and preparing video material. An advertising account is needed, and campaigns require paid spending subject to budget requirements. Available features vary by market and objective. It suits offers you can communicate clearly through engaging visual content, with enough time or resources to prepare and test different creative approaches.
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