When it comes to digital advertising, social platforms are a great way to increase brand awareness and drive website traffic, but with so many different social networks, it can be difficult to know where to focus your time and money. Here is Miller Ad agency’s overview of advertising on four of today’s most popular social platforms.
With over 2 billion users each month, Facebook is definitely the largest social platform today. If the reach of this network wasn’t enough, Facebook is also relatively inexpensive to advertise on with the lowest cost per thousand impressions across all online advertising options. That being said, it will be hard to get noticed without spending anything. Because Facebook heavily favors those paying for their content to be seen, businesses will find it difficult to reach high organic visibility. Even fans who have liked a page may not see its non-boosted posts.
Advertisers on Facebook can target audiences based on a wide array of factors including, age, location, employment status, income, relationship status, and interests. This means you can focus your ad spend on those who are most likely to be interested in what you have to offer. If your target audience is under 30, however, Facebook may not be the ideal platform for you, as the majority of its users are over 40.
Overall, Facebook’s user-friendly platform, relatively low costs, and large audience make it a great place for any business to start social advertising.
Instagram, sitting at just around 1 billion monthly users, is famous for its visual platform and influencer marketing. If you’re looking to build a more organic audience for your brand, Instagram may be the place to do this. Posting eye-catching images can pull in views from the explore page without being sponsored, and your followers will see your posts- no boost needed.
Advertisers using Instagram are able to target audiences based on specific factors much like on Facebook, but this platform’s audience looks much different. Instagram’s user base is much younger (83% of users under 34 years old) and primarily female (70%). Depending on what the business, this could be good or bad. Fashion and beauty brands targeting young female audiences have found success marketing their products on this visual platform through both sponsored ads and influencer marketing. That being said, Instagram’s update to take away likes may make it more difficult to track engagement, the selling point of most online influencers.
Twitter, at 330 million monthly users, is significantly smaller than Facebook and Instagram, but offers a much different dynamic. Twitter is a platform where celebrities, businesses, and everyday people interact on the same level. Companies like Wendy’s have used Twitter to build a loyal fan base through viral moments. This organic branding is where Twitter shines brightest.
Companies can also place sponsored ads on Twitter, but may find this platform more expensive and less user friendly than its alternatives. Twitter’s inferior analytics also make it more difficult to track the ROI of campaigns. Overall, companies are better off using this platform for organic branding and sticking to Facebook and Instagram for sponsored ads.
TikTok
TikTok is relatively new to the social networking market, but with 500 million monthly users, it has become an internet sensation. TikTok, designed much like its predecessor, Vine, is an app where users post short videos with little to no text. As of Q1 2019, the TikTok is third in worldwide downloads, only behind Whatsapp and Messenger. This app’s user base is younger than even that of Instagram, with the vast majority of users in their teens or early twenties. If you are trying to reach a younger audience, TikTok is a must.
Introduced only a few months ago, sponsored ads on TikTok are fairly new, but that’s not where this app’s marketing strengths lie. Influencer marketing and organic posts can drive insane amounts of traffic on this fast-moving platform, and short, low budget videos that go viral can pull in hundreds of thousands of views.
So which is best for you?
As with any type of advertising, it’s important to find what works best for you and your brand. Some companies may find it’s best to focus their efforts on one social platform while others may find more success using multiple platforms concurrently. Here at Miller Ad Agency, we can help you find out how to best use social media to take your business to the next level.
