8 Best Social Media Advertising Services in the UK for SMBs

You need paid social to actually drive leads and sales, not just impressions. But choosing the right partner is hard: platforms change weekly, creative burns out quickly, attribution is messy, and “full-service” promises rarely come with clear KPIs or pricing. If you’re an SMB with a finite budget, you can’t afford long learning curves or vanity metrics—you need an agency that knows Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn and YouTube inside out, tests fast, protects your spend, and reports on outcomes you can take to the board.

This guide shortlists eight UK social media advertising services built for SMB realities. Each entry explains what they do best, their core paid social services (from strategy and creative to campaigns and optimisation), how they handle data, AI and measurement, who they’re best for, and budget/pricing guidance—plus why they earned a spot. We’ve prioritised clear value, proven results, sector fit, and transparency over hype. Expect straight answers on typical retainers and ad spend ranges, the industries each excels in, their tracking approach (pixels, server-side, MMM where relevant), reporting cadence, and whether they produce creative in-house. Ready to find a partner that turns ad spend into revenue? Let’s get into the list.

1. MR-Marketing — tailored social media advertising services for SMBs

MR-Marketing is a consultancy built for small and medium-sized businesses that need social media advertising services tied to measurable outcomes. Led by Chartered marketer Michael Rushby (35+ years’ experience), you get senior expertise on your account, precise strategy, and practical execution that connects paid social with CRO, content and website performance to maximise ROI.

What they do best

MR-Marketing excels at translating business goals into lean, test-and-learn paid social programmes. Expect rapid context gathering, clear hypotheses, efficient creative sprints, and disciplined optimisation—plus conversion-focused landing pages and on-site fixes that turn clicks into leads and sales.

Key paid social services

MR-Marketing covers the full funnel, from strategy to optimisation, with deliverables sized to SMB realities.

• [Paid social strategy](https://mr-marketing.co.uk/sostac-digital-marketing-plan/): Audience research, positioning, offers, messaging and funnel design.
• Ad creative and copy: Social-first concepts, static/short-form video variants, and iterative testing.
• Campaign build and optimisation: Prospecting, retargeting, frequency control, budget pacing.
• CRO and landing pages: Offer refinement, page templates, forms, CTAs and speed improvements.
• Analytics and tracking: Pixel/Tag setup, UTM governance and conversion validation.

Data, AI and measurement

Data drives every decision. MR-Marketing uses AI to improve media efficiency, personalise journeys and streamline workflows, while keeping humans in the loop for strategy and creative judgement. Clear KPIs (leads, sales, CPA/ROAS), validated tracking and concise performance reports keep stakeholders aligned.

Who it’s best for

Owner-led SMBs and marketing teams that want senior attention, pragmatic budgets, and accountability. Ideal if you need paid social to generate qualified leads or sales and want CRO and content handled alongside media.

Budget and pricing guidance

Engagements are scoped to goals after a discovery/audit. Fees are transparent and separate from ad spend, with a start-small, scale-on-proof approach and reporting aligned to agreed KPIs.

Why it made the list

A genuinely SMB-first, ROI-focused partner: senior expertise, tailored plans, rigorous measurement and smart use of AI—without big-agency bloat.

2. Prohibition PR — paid social campaigns with PR integration

Leeds-based and award-winning, Prohibition PR combines PR firepower with social media advertising services to turn stories into performance. They describe themselves as an innovative social and PR agency delivering insight-led creative campaigns, with 20+ industry awards in the last five years backing that up. If you need brand credibility and paid reach working hand-in-hand, they’re a strong contender.

What they do best

Blending newsworthy hooks, influencer moments and PR content with targeted paid distribution. The result is campaigns that build trust and authority while driving outcomes across reach, traffic and conversions—ideal for product launches, announcements and seasonal pushes.

Key paid social services

Prohibition PR offers a broad paid social toolkit shaped by strategy and optimisation.

• Social media strategy and optimisation: Channel plans, content optimisation and paid amplification.
• Paid content marketing: Boosting high-value PR and social content to priority audiences.
• Retargeting campaigns: Structured sequences to re-engage visitors and warm prospects.
• Campaign setup and management: Audience builds, flighting, pacing and ongoing optimisation.

Data, AI and measurement

They run insight-led campaigns with clear KPIs, validating tracking (pixels/UTMs) and reporting on what matters—reach, engagement, traffic and sales/lead outcomes. Expect test-and-learn across creative and audiences, and PR impact tied back to paid performance.

Who it’s best for

SMBs that benefit from PR + paid synergy—consumer brands, hospitality, eCommerce and regional businesses running launches or always-on credibility plays.

Budget and pricing guidance

Pricing is proposal-led and scoped to campaign complexity. Plan for content/creative support alongside media spend, with a sensible pilot to prove channel–message fit before scaling.

Why it made the list

A rare mix of PR storytelling and paid social execution, grounded in insight and proven by awards—plus service depth spanning strategy, optimisation, paid content marketing and retargeting.

3. Soap Media — performance-led social media advertising

Soap Media offers social media services geared to growth, describing themselves as a social media management company that creates campaigns to drive the volume of your audience. They also utilise AI for community management, helping brands build and sustain engagement that supports performance on paid and organic channels.

What they do best

Turning social channels into growth engines by pairing day-to-day management with campaign thinking. Their focus on building audience volume and active communities gives SMBs the consistency and momentum needed for scalable paid outcomes.

Key paid social services

While best known for social media management, Soap Media’s approach complements paid social by ensuring your content, community and campaigns pull in the same direction.

• Audience growth that fuels paid: Engagement and follower growth to expand high-intent remarketing pools.
• Creative built for placements: Social-first assets and copy variants that adapt cleanly to ad formats.
• Always-on campaign support: Calendars, boosts and content sequencing that align with paid objectives.
• Community signals for relevance: Prompt moderation and responses to improve ad relevance and lower costs.

Data, AI and measurement

They utilise AI for community management to improve responsiveness and efficiency, and underpin campaigns with performance reporting aligned to growth KPIs—so you see how audience gains and engagement support your paid goals.

Who it’s best for

SMBs that want managed social presence and community activity to directly support paid performance—eCommerce, hospitality, professional services and regional retailers.

Budget and pricing guidance

Pricing is typically proposal-led and scoped to channel mix, creative volume and community workload. Plan for a phased start, then scale activity once content–audience fit is proven.

Why it made the list

A growth-focused management partner that uses AI in practical ways, builds audience volume, and aligns social activity with paid outcomes—ideal for SMBs that need consistency and performance without fluff.

4. Giraffe Social — human-first social ads for growing brands

Positioning itself as a human-first social media agency, Giraffe Social focuses on smart, targeted social advertising that blends creativity with data. Their aim is simple: reach the right people, spark genuine interest, and turn awareness into meaningful actions for growing brands.

What they do best

Creating empathetic, scroll-stopping creative and pairing it with data-informed targeting. They specialise in taking brand stories and shaping them into full-funnel social campaigns that feel personal, build trust, and drive performance without losing the human touch.

Key paid social services

Giraffe Social’s social media advertising services cover strategy through to optimisation.

• Paid social strategy: Audience definition, messaging and funnel planning.
• Creative production: Social-first static and short-form video variants.
• Campaign setup and optimisation: Prospecting, engagement and conversion builds.
• Retargeting sequences: Smart follow-ups to move users to action.
• Performance reporting: Clear insights tied to campaign objectives.

Data, AI and measurement

They balance creativity with data-led testing, using platform automation and AI features pragmatically to scale what works. Expect clean tracking (pixels and UTMs), clear goal setting, and concise reports centred on CPA, ROAS or qualified leads.

Who it’s best for

Growing consumer and service brands that want emotive creative with disciplined optimisation—ideal if you need brand-building and performance outcomes to work together.

Budget and pricing guidance

Proposal-led and shaped to goals. Expect retained campaign management with creative sprints and a sensible test budget before scaling once efficiency is proven.

Why it made the list

A genuine blend of human-first creative and data-driven performance—targeted social ads that turn interest into outcomes, without overcomplicating the process.

5. Digital Next — multi-channel social media advertising for SMEs

Digital Next offers a full social media marketing service with a clear multi-channel approach—combining content creation, community building and paid social ads. For SMEs that need one partner to align organic momentum with performance campaigns, their blend of creative production and day-to-day management helps ensure paid media doesn’t operate in a silo.

What they do best

Orchestrating cross-channel activity so your ads benefit from consistent content and active communities. This joined-up approach builds larger, warmer remarketing pools and improves efficiency when you push spend into Meta, TikTok or LinkedIn.

Key paid social services

Digital Next’s social media advertising services cover strategy to optimisation with in-house creative support.

• Multi-channel strategy: Cohesive plans across organic and paid.
• Creative and content creation: Social-first assets to feed campaigns.
• Community building: Engagement that strengthens ad relevance.
• Paid social ads management: Prospecting and retargeting builds, pacing and bid control.
• Ongoing optimisation: Creative iteration and audience refinement.

Data, AI and measurement

Expect sensible tracking (pixels, tags, UTMs) and regular performance reporting against agreed KPIs such as leads, CPA and ROAS. They use platform-native tools and structured testing to scale what works without wasting budget.

Who it’s best for

SMEs that want one team to handle creative, community and paid distribution—eCommerce, local services and B2C brands needing always-on activity with conversion-focused campaigns.

Budget and pricing guidance

Proposal-led and tied to channel mix and creative volume. A phased pilot is typical—prove creative–audience fit, then scale spend and production based on results.

Why it made the list

A practical, multi-channel partner that unites content, community and paid ads—giving SMEs the structure and consistency needed to turn social into reliable performance.

6. Wizard Pi — custom paid social ads and optimisation

Wizard Pi provides custom paid social advertising built around research and iteration. Their service spans strategy development, ad creation and management, audience research and campaign optimisation—helping SMBs turn channel complexity into efficient, predictable outcomes.

What they do best

They excel at shaping bespoke campaign structures from robust audience insights, then refining creative, bids and budgets through disciplined testing—keeping performance tight while minimising wasted spend across major social platforms.

Key paid social services

Core social media advertising services that can be shaped to your objectives and timelines include:

• Strategy development: Audience definition, messaging and funnel mapping.
• Ad creation and management: Social-first assets, copy, builds and pacing.
• Audience research and segmentation: Interests, lookalikes and smart exclusions.
• Campaign optimisation and scaling: Structured testing, budget shifts and retargeting.

Data, AI and measurement

Expect data-led testing with clean tracking (pixels and UTMs), agreed KPIs (CPA, ROAS, qualified leads) and concise performance reporting. Regular reviews prioritise the highest‑impact variables to protect efficiency as you scale.

Who it’s best for

SMBs that need a specialist to build, run and continually improve custom paid social—without paying for unnecessary extras. Well suited to eCommerce, local services and B2B lead generation where clarity and control matter.

Budget and pricing guidance

Pricing is proposal-led and scoped to goals, channels and creative volume. Plan for a proof‑of‑concept phase before scaling; fees are typically separate from ad spend with transparent reporting and agreed milestones.

Why it made the list

Clear focus on custom paid social ads plus the essentials—strategy, ad creation/management, audience research and optimisation—delivered in a way SMBs can execute and measure.

7. ExtraDigital — data-driven social media marketing and ads

ExtraDigital brings a pragmatic, data-driven approach that aligns social media management, paid social advertising, content creation and influencer marketing into one joined-up programme. For SMBs that want dependable execution backed by clear reporting and measurable outcomes, their breadth of service makes it easy to keep strategy, creative and campaigns moving in sync.

What they do best

Turning data into practical plans and steady optimisation. ExtraDigital excels at building structured social programmes where content, cadence and paid distribution reinforce each other—so your ads benefit from warmer audiences and better creative fit.

Key paid social services

Their social media advertising services span strategy to optimisation, with in-house support to keep campaigns consistent.

• Data-driven social strategy: Objectives, audience focus and channel planning.
• Social media management: Day-to-day scheduling, moderation and optimisation.
• Paid social advertising: Campaign build, creative variants, budget pacing and ongoing improvements.
• Content creation: Social-first assets and copy to feed organic and paid.
• Influencer marketing: Sourcing and managing creators to extend reach and credibility.
• Tracking and reporting: Pixel/tag setup, UTM governance and performance dashboards.

Data, AI and measurement

Measurement underpins delivery: clean pixel/UTM setup, validated conversions and reporting against agreed KPIs (leads, sales, CPA/ROAS). They apply platform automation sensibly, but decisions are steered by data integrity and human oversight rather than hype.

Who it’s best for

SMBs seeking one partner to manage social presence and paid campaigns together—eCommerce, local services and B2B teams that need consistent activity turning into qualified traffic and conversions.

Budget and pricing guidance

Proposal-led and scoped to goals, channels and creative volume. Expect transparent fees separate from ad spend, with a sensible pilot to prove efficiency before scaling.

Why it made the list

A comprehensive, data-first offering—strategy, management, paid social, content creation and influencer support—delivered with clear measurement SMBs can trust.

8. Hurricane Media — creative-led social advertising campaigns

Hurricane Media takes the pain out of paid social and specialises in helping clients grow and connect with their audiences through emotive campaigns. If your brand story deserves bold creative that actually moves people to act, their creative-led approach to social media advertising services is an excellent fit.

What they do best

Turning emotion into action. Hurricane shapes scroll‑stopping, story‑driven social ads that build connection first, then channel that attention into measurable outcomes—ideal for launches, brand moments and campaign bursts that need impact without waste.

Key paid social services

Expect a creative-first, end‑to‑end service that brings strategy, production and optimisation together.

• Emotive creative: Social‑first video and visuals built to stop the scroll.
• Campaign build and management: From audience design to live optimisation.
• Paid amplification: Smart distribution to priority segments and lookalikes.
• Retargeting sequences: Follow‑ups that nudge interest towards action.
• Creative iteration: Rapid testing of hooks, formats and messages.

Data, AI and measurement

Creativity is paired with disciplined testing, clean pixel/UTM setup and clear KPIs (reach, engagement, leads, sales). They use platform-native automation and structured experiments to scale what works, reporting succinctly on efficiency and impact so you can see where budget is winning.

Who it’s best for

Brands that need emotionally resonant creative to cut through and convert—consumer, hospitality, events and eCommerce teams planning launches, seasonal pushes or high‑impact campaigns.

Budget and pricing guidance

Proposal-led and shaped to creative scope and channel mix. A sensible pilot proves message–market fit before scaling production and media; fees are transparent and separate from ad spend.

Why it made the list

Because many SMBs don’t need more noise—they need emotive creative that connects and a paid engine that makes it perform. Hurricane delivers both, removing friction and focusing on outcomes.

Final thoughts

The right social media advertising partner should turn spend into predictable pipeline, not pretty graphs. This shortlist gives you eight credible options—spanning PR-integrated campaigns, human-first creative, multi-channel management, custom optimisation and data-led delivery—so you can pick the best fit for your goals, market and budget. Keep selection grounded in measurement and execution clarity, then prove efficiency before you scale.

• Set success criteria: Define KPIs, payback window and non-negotiable guardrails.
• Run a pilot: 6–8 weeks, clear tests for audiences, offers and creatives.
• Validate tracking: Pixels, server/events, UTMs and conversion QA before launch.
• Agree cadence and calls: Reporting rhythm, decision rules and scale thresholds.

If you want senior attention, pragmatic budgets and ROI you can defend in the boardroom, talk to MR-Marketing about a tailored SMB-first paid social plan.