What is a paid social agency?

A paid social agency is a specialist that plans, buys and optimises advertising on social media platforms — Meta (Facebook + Instagram), TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, Reddit and Pinterest — on behalf of a brand. Unlike a generalist media buyer, a dedicated paid social agency combines media buying with platform-native creative production: the team writing the brief and setting the bid is the same team building the hook, cut and format. OOB is a paid social and social media advertising agency based in London; the two terms are synonyms used by different audiences — practitioners say paid social, brand and finance teams say social media advertising — and we treat them as the same job.

Is OOB a paid social agency in London?

Yes. OOB is a London-based paid social and social media advertising agency, headquartered in Richmond (TW9). We run paid social campaigns for brands across the UK, Europe and North America from our London base. Our team holds TikTok Marketing Partner and Meta Business Partner accreditations. Our London location means we operate across UK, EU and US time zones for clients running always-on or burst paid social programmes.

What does a paid social or social media advertising agency actually do?

Paid social and social media advertising are the same thing under two names: practitioners say paid social, brand and finance teams say social media advertising. Either way, the agency runs the media buying, creative production, audience targeting and optimisation for paid campaigns on platforms like Meta, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn and Reddit. At OOB, the team that buys the media also writes the hook, edits the cut, and reviews what the algorithm is rewarding this week.

Which paid social platforms do you cover?

Meta (Facebook + Instagram Ads), TikTok Ads, YouTube Ads, LinkedIn Ads, Reddit Ads, Pinterest Ads, Snapchat Ads, X Ads. We are TikTok Marketing Partners and Meta Business Partners, with active campaign experience across all the above. We propose the right channel mix per brand instead of defaulting to whatever the team is most comfortable with.

How much should I budget for paid social?

Two budgets matter: media spend and management fee. Media spend depends on your category and goal. UK D2C brands typically start at £15-30k/month to generate enough signal for the algorithm; B2B starts at £8-15k/month. Management fees are usually 12-18% of media spend at OOB. Below £10k/month media we recommend a fixed retainer instead because percentage-of-spend math doesn't work at small budgets.

What ROAS should I expect?

Realistic targets vary wildly by category. D2C wellness and beauty: 2.5-4× blended ROAS within 6 months. Fashion D2C: 2-3.5×. Subscription apps: pCAC at 60% of LTV target. B2B: pipeline coverage of 3-5× target inside 90 days. We model the target with you in the audit phase rather than guessing, and we show our working.

How do you build paid social creative?

Every campaign gets platform-native creative produced by the team that buys the media. We test 4-8 creative concepts per audience cohort, kill the bottom 50% inside 14 days, and double down on what is working. Creator-led UGC, brand-led short-form, motion graphics and static carousels: the creative mix matches the funnel stage and the platform.

How quickly can a new paid social campaign show results?

Initial signal (CPM, CPC, hook rate, click-through rate) shows up in 3-7 days. Audience-level optimisation kicks in by week 3-4 once the platform has enough conversion events. ROAS movement is realistic to read by the end of month one if media spend is above the platform learning threshold (~£10k/month on Meta, ~£15k on TikTok).

Do you handle attribution and reporting?

Yes. Custom dashboards in Looker Studio (or wherever you already report) show platform-level ROAS, blended ROAS, MMM-lite when spend is high enough to be worth the modelling, and creative heat-maps showing which assets are driving incrementality vs which are just intercepting demand. If you can't see what is working, we have failed.

How is OOB different from other paid social agencies?

Three things. (1) We are a social media agency that does paid, not a media buyer that bought a creative team last year: the creative is built for the platform from frame one. (2) We will tell you when to NOT spend, including when to cut a channel that is not working. (3) Our retainer model is transparent: no hidden mark-ups on media or production, no creative fees on top of the management fee, no surprise add-ons.

Can you work with our existing in-house team or other agencies?

Yes. Many clients have an in-house performance lead and bring us in for creative production, channel specialisation (e.g. TikTok), or for new market launches. We will share data freely with your other partners and we have run alongside Tier-1 media agencies on multi-channel briefs.

Paid Social Agency · London

The paid social agency that delivers ROAS.

Paid social and social media advertising: same job, two names. ROAS-led media plans, platform-native creative and weekly optimisation across Meta, TikTok, YouTube and LinkedIn. One accountable team running the spend and the creative.

Start a brief →See our work

Meta + TikTok partners
No hidden mark-ups
£10k/mo minimum spend

Trusted by TikTok, Sonos, O'Neill and 198 other brands

Don't Take Our Word For It. Take Our Numbers.

the receipts ↓

01

200+

brands that stopped being boring

02

40

countries and counting

03

30+

awards and counting

04

6

agency partners

PROOF

Numbers Over Opinions

Meta spend turned into measurable ROAS. TikTok audiences built and converted. Paid creative that earns its budget every week.

Ann Summers

Creator · Organic Social · Content

+1,700%Shares (vs previous period)

201%Clicks to Site (vs previous period)

Reigniting a British icon through bold, culture-first social

Tiktok Shop

eCommerce · Social Media · TikTok

+17mViews

3.14%CTR21% above benchmark

Tiktok Shop Summer Sale

Indomie

Organic Social · Content Creation

271%Follower Growth

199%increase in engagement

Taking the world’s leading noodle brand back to the retro-future through standout social media

See every case study

OUR WORK · IN MOTION

WHAT CLIENTS SAY

Nice Things, Said By Smart People

We love OOB's sharp cultural insight and bold creative thinking. Their approach is fresh, relevant and perfectly aligned with our ambition.

Maria Hollins, CEOAnn Summers

OOB have a sharp eye for content in this fast-moving space. They know what works on social and apply that knowledge seamlessly across their clients. Their content is slick, engaging, and effective. On top of that, their team is a perfect cultural fit, making collaboration effortless.

Phil, Marketing ManagerBip

OOB have transformed our social presence in just a few months. Their ability to spot and leverage trends keeps our content fresh and engaging, and their work has truly elevated our brand. Working with them has been a pleasure, and I'm grateful for everything they've achieved so far.

Kunal, FounderNikura

RECENT WORK

Paid social campaigns where the spend turned into measurable revenue, not just impressions. The same team built the creative and bought the media.

SocialeCommerceSocial Media

Tiktok Shop

Tiktok Shop Summer Sale

+17mViews
3.14%CTR21% above benchmark

Social

Nikura

OOB has been instrumental in guiding us through this, ensuring that our digital ads resonate with our audience and deliver a good ROAS.

3.7xROAS
121%Sales increase

See every case study →

DISCIPLINES

What a paid social agency owns

Channel-native paid social, end-to-end. Strategy, creative, media buying and optimisation under one roof; no blame games when the numbers shift.

Looking for the full picture?

See everything we do as a end-to-end social media agency — strategy, content, paid, influencer, community and brand inside one team.

View the hub →

FAQS

Common Questions

Hire the paid social
agency that proves
every pound spent.

ready when you are

Start a brief See our work

Also explore

Content Marketing Agency →Fuel paid campaigns with content that actually converts Social Media Agency →Full-service organic social to complement your paid spend Google Ads Agency →Search + Shopping to capture demand your paid social creates

Loading…

Paid Social Agency · London

The paid social agency that delivers ROAS.

Paid social and social media advertising: same job, two names. ROAS-led media plans, platform-native creative and weekly optimisation across Meta, TikTok, YouTube and LinkedIn. One accountable team running the spend and the creative.

Start a brief →See our work

Meta + TikTok partners
No hidden mark-ups
£10k/mo minimum spend

Trusted by TikTok, Sonos, O'Neill and 198 other brands

Don't Take Our Word For It. Take Our Numbers.

the receipts ↓

01

200+

brands that stopped being boring

02

40

countries and counting

03

30+

awards and counting

04

6

agency partners

PROOF

Numbers Over Opinions

Meta spend turned into measurable ROAS. TikTok audiences built and converted. Paid creative that earns its budget every week.

Ann Summers

Creator · Organic Social · Content

+1,700%Shares (vs previous period)

201%Clicks to Site (vs previous period)

Reigniting a British icon through bold, culture-first social

Tiktok Shop

eCommerce · Social Media · TikTok

+17mViews

3.14%CTR21% above benchmark

Tiktok Shop Summer Sale

Indomie

Organic Social · Content Creation

271%Follower Growth

199%increase in engagement

Taking the world’s leading noodle brand back to the retro-future through standout social media

See every case study

OUR WORK · IN MOTION

WHAT CLIENTS SAY

Nice Things, Said By Smart People

We love OOB's sharp cultural insight and bold creative thinking. Their approach is fresh, relevant and perfectly aligned with our ambition.

Maria Hollins, CEOAnn Summers

OOB have a sharp eye for content in this fast-moving space. They know what works on social and apply that knowledge seamlessly across their clients. Their content is slick, engaging, and effective. On top of that, their team is a perfect cultural fit, making collaboration effortless.

Phil, Marketing ManagerBip

OOB have transformed our social presence in just a few months. Their ability to spot and leverage trends keeps our content fresh and engaging, and their work has truly elevated our brand. Working with them has been a pleasure, and I'm grateful for everything they've achieved so far.

Kunal, FounderNikura

RECENT WORK

Paid social campaigns where the spend turned into measurable revenue, not just impressions. The same team built the creative and bought the media.

SocialeCommerceSocial Media

Tiktok Shop

Tiktok Shop Summer Sale

+17mViews
3.14%CTR21% above benchmark

Social

Nikura

OOB has been instrumental in guiding us through this, ensuring that our digital ads resonate with our audience and deliver a good ROAS.

3.7xROAS
121%Sales increase

See every case study →

DISCIPLINES

What a paid social agency owns

Channel-native paid social, end-to-end. Strategy, creative, media buying and optimisation under one roof; no blame games when the numbers shift.

Looking for the full picture?

See everything we do as a end-to-end social media agency — strategy, content, paid, influencer, community and brand inside one team.

View the hub →

FAQS

Common Questions

Hire the paid social
agency that proves
every pound spent.

ready when you are

Start a brief See our work

Also explore

Content Marketing Agency →Fuel paid campaigns with content that actually converts Social Media Agency →Full-service organic social to complement your paid spend Google Ads Agency →Search + Shopping to capture demand your paid social creates

The paid social agency that delivers ROAS.

Don't Take Our Word For It. Take Our Numbers.

Tiktok Shop Summer Sale

OOB has been instrumental in guiding us through this, ensuring that our digital ads resonate with our audience and deliver a good ROAS.

What a paid social agency owns

Common Questions

Hire the paid social agency that proves every pound spent.

The paid social agency that delivers ROAS.

Don't Take Our Word For It. Take Our Numbers.

Tiktok Shop Summer Sale

OOB has been instrumental in guiding us through this, ensuring that our digital ads resonate with our audience and deliver a good ROAS.

What a paid social agency owns

Common Questions

Hire the paid social agency that proves every pound spent.

Hire the paid social
agency that proves
every pound spent.

Hire the paid social
agency that proves
every pound spent.