If your business is not yet on social media, perhaps this year is a good time to finally start building on your social presence. Currently, there are billions of social media users worldwide, with the number expected to rise to 3.43 billion by the year 2023. Advertising on social media is one marketing strategy you’re better off doing sooner than later.
But, which social networks provide the best advertising platforms for websites and e-commerce sites? What are the best types of social media advertising you can try today?
Here we take a closer look at advertising opportunities available through the following social networks:
Facebook Advertising
Did you know that Facebook is considered to be the primary content marketing distribution platform for marketers at present? This is isn’t surprising considering that Facebook has the biggest social media population. There are currently 2.6 billion active users on Facebook monthly, as per first quarter 2020 data. Ads on Facebook could potentially be seen by billions of users per month.
If you operate an e-commerce site, you can expect for Facebook to give you some of the best lead generation results. The social platform also allows for specific targeting and re-targeting so you know your ads are being seen by the right prospects. Facebook ads may be visible in newsfeeds as sponsored posts, viewed in real-time within video uploads, or placed in the messenger app.
Instagram Ads
Instagram is in a league all its own, with a billion users presently active on the social network. According to HubSpot 2020 marketing reports, Instagram boasts of the second-highest ROI among all the social channels.
Instagram, a photo-and-video sharing platform, is huge on influencer marketing, with approximately 3.8 million brands advertising on the site through their choice of influencers as endorsers.
Unlike Facebook, which allows you to play around with text-heavy posts along with images and videos, Instagram is more visual-laden. It is great for businesses who wish to be more creative with their ads or those that want to experiment with influencer marketing for local penetration. Businesses can not only advertise but also sell on Instagram through their direct shopping features and checkout options.
Twitter Advertising
For 2021, Statista has reported on as many as 166 million active users on Twitter. Twitter joins Facebook and Instagram as the top three social channels with the highest ROI, according to marketers. And in terms of advertising, 87 percent of Twitter’s 2019 total income hadcome from advertising.
This can only mean one thing — businesses all over the world are actually advertising and marketing on Twitter.
Twitter makes it easy for businesses to advertise through their Advertising Page, with options ranging from Promoted Accounts to Promoted Tweets. Specific target locations and budgets could be set from the start, much like how you could advertise through Facebook.
Pinterest Ads
While Pinterest used to be expensive and more geared toward the big-name brands, it has now opened its doors to small businesses and start-up brands. With their more accessible advertising rates today, connecting with Pinterest users has never been easier.
According to 98% of Pinterest users, they’ve purchased new products mainly due to Pinterest discovery. As of the first quarter of 2020, active monthly users on Pinterest have already reached 367 million worldwide.
LinkedIn Advertising
For businesses catering to other businesses as customers, or B2B companies, LinkedIn is an ideal social channel for advertising. It is also an efficient network for businesses to reach out to professionals and decision makers within companies and organizations.
Video marketing is especially huge at LinkedIn, with more than 50% of video marketers in the previous year planning to use LinkedIn for marketing strategies. In the US alone, there are approximately 160 million active users on the platform.
Snapchat Ads
Snapchat is extremely popular for young social users in the US, ranging from 18 to 34 years old. And the features that make Snapchat a huge hit — from face filters to augmented reality — are the same features advertisers could use for their own brands.
The three ad types available on Snapchat are Snap Ads, Filters, and Lenses.
According to Statista 2020, 44% of teens in the US chose Snapchat as their most important social channel for 2019, withmajority of Snapchat users using mobile phones to access the site.
Do I Need to be Advertising on All Social Platforms?
Ideally, you would want to try advertising on social media where your target audience is.
And despite the number of social networks available, not all of them can be a good fit for your marketing objectives.
Advertising can cost you some money so it’s important to spend each dollar wisely. Plus, you don’t want to end up spreading your efforts too thinly to the point of irrelevance.
If you’re new to social media advertising, don’t fret. Experimentation and practice can go a long way.
And, with the help of a digital marketing agency, fine-tuning advertising efforts on social media need not be as daunting as it looks, whether this year or in the years to come.