When’s the right time for small businesses to invest in paid social ads?

We know what we’d recommend to our clients, but we’re curious about those of you running small businesses (or helping someone run one). When did you feel it was worth it to invest in paid ads?

Is it a must-have once you hit a certain follower count? Or does it depend more on your goals—like driving foot traffic vs. online sales? What metrics or moments tipped the scales for you?

Also, if anyone has horror stories about ads that didn’t work, we’d love to hear those too!

Drop your thoughts, what’s been your experience?