Best Social Media Adverts of 2023

Did you know that the social media advertising industry is the second largest market within digital advertising? And with a huge global revenue of $226 USD as of last year, social media as a whole holds significant opportunities for businesses of all sizes to reach a wide audience and market their products/services.

At Aura Ads we are constantly scanning the web and social media for social media adverts that deliver on both potent impact and high conversion to inform our own ecommerce video ad service.

Before we look at the best social media adverts/campaigns of this year so far, here’s a deeper look into what they are and the types of social media ads available:

What Are Social Media Ads?

In short, social media ads are paid advertisements that appear on social media platforms to promote a business’s content, products or services to a specific target audience. Social media ads are a key element of digital marketing strategies, allowing brands to reach a wider audience beyond their current organic followers.

Types of Social Media Ads

The most common types of social media ads include TikTok ads, Instagram ads, Facebook ads, Snapchat ads & YouTube ads. 

TikTok Ads

With 45% of brands using TikTok in their marketing campaigns, it’s no wonder the number of brands using TikTok is growing year on year. These ads are designed to capture the attention of the platform's primarily younger audience.

Discover the best TikTok ads here. Or alternatively, you can book a call with a TikTok specialist to get your TikTok advertising strategy going.

Instagram Ads

Instagram is the second most downloaded social media app in the world, and there are countless benefits of using Instagram ads in your marketing strategy. Instagram offers various ad formats, including photo ads, video ads, carousel ads, and Stories ads.

Facebook Ads

As one of the most popular social media apps there is, the opportunities that businesses face by advertising on the app are huge. Facebook ads can appear in users' news feeds, Stories, and the right-hand column, and can target specific demographics, interests and behaviours.

Discover the best Facebook ad creative best practices here. 

Snapchat Ads

Snapchat offers various ad formats, including snap ads (full-screen vertical video ads), story ads (ads in users' stories), and more. Snapchat ads are designed to engage users in a mobile-first and visually engaging way. 

With 186 million people using Snapchat every day, there’s no doubt that snapchat ads are worth it, especially if your demographic is predominantly the millennial generation. 

YouTube Ads

In 2023, YouTube still remains one of the most popular platforms in the entire world (seeing approximately 122 million users per day) making it a hub for immense business opportunities. The platform offers various advertising options that allow businesses to reach their target audience through video content, such as in-view stream ads, non-skippable stream ads & bumper ads.

Here are some of our top tips for creating engaging YouTube ads.‍

Best Social Media Adverts of 2023

So, now we have a full understanding of what they are, here is a round up of 5 of the best social media ads this year has seen (so far). 

The best social media adverts of 2023 are:

1. Gillette - “Say Pubic”
2. Nike - “Choose Your Winter” 
3. Netflix - "Wednesday" 
4. Starbucks - “Energy That’s Good”  
5. Dove – “Detox Your Feed”

1. Gillette - “Say Pubic” Campaign

As a result of the success of Gillette’s 2021 #SayPubic campaign, which aimed to de-stigmatise the term, Gillette Venus again hired rapper Princess Nokia to help introduce new additions to the company's line of women's intimate care shaving products.

The brand's social media channels feature a video of Princess Nokia’s  song "It's Time to Care (For Your Pubic Hair)" in posts promoting the Venus Gentle Trimmer and Venus Hair + Skin Softening Oil. Princess Nokia also composed and sang "The Pube Song" for the social media ad, which was incredibly successful. 

The idea for the campaign follows the results of research regarding the mention of the word "pubic", with only 18% of American women feeling comfortable using the term. 

2. Nike - “Choose Your Winter” 

Nike’s #ChooseYourWinter ad campaign leveraged the power of user-generated content to turn their followers into influencers.

By asking their followers to share their stories about overcoming the challenge of working out in the cold weather with the hashtag #ChooseYourWinter, they were able to use a hashtag trend to encourage active participation from users, leading to higher engagement rates.

This campaign resonated deeply with Nike’s audience because it not only felt personal and authentic, but also showcased real people conquering their own challenges, which made the campaign super relatable and inspiring.

For more tips and tricks on creating engaging user generated content for social media, check out this blog.

View Nike’s ‘Choose Your Winter’YouTube ad below.

3. Netflix - "Wednesday" 

Another highly successful ad that took social media by storm was Netflix’s “Wednesday” campaign where they applied their new series' dark humour into the social and traditional marketing mix.

The streaming service's marketing team combined stunt marketing, billboards, and social media to prepare Netflix fans for Wednesday Addams.

Uploaded on Netflix’s YouTube was the release of the "Thing" - Wednesday's companion in the series - in the streets of New York, capturing the startled (and extremely entertaining) reactions of passers by. 

Watch Netflix’s ‘Wednesday’ YouTube ad below.

Netflix also uploaded a photo of the Thing on its Twitter account as it held onto a subway handrail. The caption says, "Hang in There". In addition to this, the official Wednesday Addams Twitter account posted a photo of the main character drenched in blood and the caption: "I love to start my weekends with a good blood bath." 

4. Starbucks - “Energy That’s Good” 

Starbucks smashed it with their ‘Energy That’s Good’ Instagram campaign, jumping on one of the latest post-pandemic trends that is health. The coffee brand promoted its new vitamin infused drink, Baya, by partnering with influencers and talking directly to the more health-conscious audience that has arisen in the last few years.

The bright colours of the ad captured the user's attention and the up-beat content from Dancing with the Stars winner, Jordan Fisher was incredibly engaging.

Starbucks also created a 30-second film as the flagship content of its 360 marketing effort for Baya titled "Energy That’s Good." 

Watch Starbucks’s Energy That’s Good ad below.

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5. Dove – “Detox Your Feed” 

Dove’s marketing campaigns mostly target women, as they are their main target customers, and Dove prides itself on always focusing on social causes in their social media ads, especially women’s empowerment, inclusion, diversity, and breaking beauty stereotypes. 

In Dove’s latest #DetoxYourFeed ad campaign, the brand showed how influencers could hold as much authority as parents in young girls' lives, particularly in shaping their beliefs about beauty. The powerful campaign aimed at more than exposing toxic beauty advice on social media, it also encouraged mothers to promote their daughters' self-esteem through open communication and healthy social media habits, for example unfollowing individuals who advocate harmful practices, such as cosmetic surgery and unrealistic beauty standards.

Dove called on social media users to use the #DetoxYourFeed hashtag to share their experiences on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. The campaign also featured survey results where one in two girls said that social media content featuring beauty stereotypes lowered their self-esteem.

How We Can Help You Create Powerful Social Media Adverts

If you’d like to find out how we could help your business create successful, engaging video campaigns for social media, get in touch today. At Aura Ads, we will do everything for you; from developing the creative concept to final delivery, our creative team exists to bring our ideas to life through beautifully bespoke direct response creative.

For more tips and tricks from our experts, head over to our social media marketing blog page.

Written by Kate Jones for Aura Ads.