Social Media Advertising: Choosing the Best Platform

While marketing is so much more than advertising, it is an important part of creating an effective marketing strategy. Social media advertising helps your business unlock new clients and customers, and can really drive your company’s growth. That being said, not every platform offers the same tools or provides the same benefits. It is essential to consider which platform best aligns with your company and audience and which provides the tools you value. In this blog, we’ll highlight some of the pros and cons of advertising on social media platforms!

On the majority of platforms, there are advantages, such as reaching a new audience and disadvantages, such as audience fatigue. Keeping that in mind, we will focus on more platform-specific pros and cons to give a clearer idea of the social media advertising landscape. Another thing to watch out for is AI tools as platforms start to integrate them into their advertising platforms!

Facebook

Pros

• Largest audience with the highest monthly active users

• Running ads across Facebook and Instagram 

• Recognized as one of the easiest social media ad platforms to use 

• Cost-effective options 

Cons

• Less trendy/popular with younger generations

• Algorithm flaw of irrelevant ads

• Large issue with fake profiles and spam accounts (clicks do not equal engagement)

Instagram

Pros

• Running ads across Facebook and Instagram 

• Unique ad formats (photo, story, carousel, video)

• Shoppable posts and large online shopping platform 

• Detailed targeting capabilities 

Cons

• Younger audience won’t work for all businesses

• Limited link sharing

•  Focus on images isn’t ideal for all types of advertisements

TikTok

Pros

• Exploding popularity with younger audiences

• Algorithm accuracy and high user engagement

• Native advertising and authenticity (sponsored posts blend in well with the feed) 

Cons

• Not much content type variety (videos are not ideal for all brands and can be more expensive to produce)

• Unlikely to reach older audiences

• One of the more expensive social media advertising platforms 

X (Twitter)

Pros

• Real-time nature allows for participation in current trends, conversations, and events to stay relevant

• Writing tweets is a low-cost form of content productions

Cons

• Easy to get lost in fast-paced stream of content 

• Limited character count can make it difficult to convey all necessary information

• Controversial platform

• One of the more expensive social media advertising platforms 

Pinterest

Pros

• Equal playing field for brands (interest-based rather than brand name-based)

• Visually showcase products/services

• Cost-effective social media advertising option

• See related items your target market pins to improve targeting 

Cons

• Limited demographic

• Long-term commitment (building presence and understanding the algorithm takes time and consistency)

• Often used for inspiration rather than online shopping

LinkedIn

Pros

• Professional audience is useful for networking and B2B clients

• Simple interface makes it easy to use

• Targeting and analytics capabilities 

Cons

• Not as effective for B2C businesses, limited reach

• Simple interface lacks advanced features

• Limited ad formats and creativity

• Low user engagement and slow results   

While these pros and cons can give you an insight into what each platform offers, your business’s needs and resources play a significant role in your social media advertising decisions. For marketing expertise, contact unLOCKEd! Let us help with your marketing so you can focus on running your business.

Author: Sarah Murphy