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Beyond Facebook

Five Social Media Platforms that You Should Know About

When people think of social media advertising, the first platforms that come to mind are Facebook and Instagram (which is owned by Facebook). There are plenty of success stories about how Facebook advertising can create brand awareness and generate online conversions especially for eCommerce sites. Digital marketers have come to trust Facebook as a great channel to meet their business goals and objectives. This is why in 2019, Facebook reported $55.5 Billion in advertising revenue.

However, in 2020 more than 800 businesses including Disney, Unilever, and Coca-Cola have pulled hundreds of millions in ad spend following criticism of Facebook’s policy of hate speech. Coupled with the rise of TikTok and the drop of Facebook usage among younger audiences, Facebook is no longer the preferred advertising platform for many brands.As we pointed out in our DTC Trends of 2019 blog, a “reliance on Facebook ads is not sustainable.” This is why now is the perfect time to look beyond Facebook when creating a digital marketing strategy. Here are 5 platforms that could be perfect for your business to use when incorporating paid social media into the campaign.

1. Pinterest

Pinterest doesn’t get the same buzz as other platforms but it has a large dedicated user base with more than 367 million unique visitors every month. Plus Pinterest is a good mix of PPC and Social Media advertising as users are actually searching for items to purchase or inspire their next purchase in Pinterest. This is why Pinterest delivered $2 in profit for every $1 the advertisers spent. Pinterest provides ad formats for every goal and the highly visual nature of the advertising helps to drive conversions. The use of promoted pins with a clear strategy and objective can help to drive sales.

2. TikTok

With more than 500 million active monthly users, TikTok in only a few years has been able to surpass Snapchat and Twitter in popularity. On top of it’s large audience, TikTok is the perfect platform for reaching a younger demographic as more than 41% of TikTok users are between the ages of 16 and 24. At the end of June, the Chinese social media platform launched TikTok for Business. 

A new ad platform for helping businesses manage and learn how to create successful ads. The biggest cons to running ads on TikTok is the advertising dashboard is new with the company promising to improve the reporting and analytics over time. Additionally, TikTok ads are expensive as the spend for both daily budgets and total budgets must exceed $50. If your target audience is young and you have the budget then TikTok is the perfect platform for your brand. TikTok advertising is currently available in Ireland.  Available formats for Irish advertisers, including  branded takeovers and in-feed video.

3. Snapchat

Some would argue that Snapchat never reached its full potential after Instagram launched the Stories feature and the arrival of TikTok, but with 203 million daily active users, this video and photo sharing platform has great potential. Snapchat provides an avenue for reaching a younger audience plus has the benefits of a more established advertising centre and cheaper costs. Snapchat is great for driving website traffic and conversions with easy Swipe Up ads. Additionally, the use of sponsored filters and lenses help to create fun and engaging ways to increase brand awareness.

4. LinkedIn

LinkedIn advertising can often be overlooked because of the niche audience and its reputation for being expensive. However, these are actually benefits to the platform. LinkedIn argues that the reasoning behind the higher CPMs and CPC is because you’re reaching a highly targeted audience that is more likely to convert. This platform is perfect for promoting a B2B service or if your product is ideal for professionals or job seekers.

5. Spotify

In 2020, Spotify has made substantial gains in making their streaming platform a great place for audio ads. The Spotify Ads Studio lets brands create and manage their advertisements. They’ve also expanded their offerings to include advertisements through Podcasts. Spotify even has opportunities for banner ads and advertisements through music videos. Spotify is the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service with 286m users and a great platform to explore for advertising.

Ultimately, as more social media platforms are created and the interests of users change, it’ll be important to have a mix of social media advertising among different platforms. When creating the plan, the key item to remember is who is your target audience and which is the best platform to reach them. Then when creating ads, it’s essential to remember that each platform is different and ads that work on one platform won’t work on others.

izest Marketing is an award-winning agency that has helped eCommerce companies drive sales and conversions through social media and content marketing. If you’re looking for strategy and guidance on how to improve your online presence, then reach out to the team at [email protected]