Choosing the best online ad platforms
There are numerous ways of displaying ads and sponsored posts online. Of course, no company wants to mindlessly spend their budget, so choosing a channel that suits your target market, strategy and price point is essential.Step 1: Know your target group!
First, it is important to narrow down which is the preferred media for your target market. Are they interested in educational content, entertainment or news? Do they prefer to see photos, articles or videos?Step 2: Evaluate your current assets
Moreover, how does this fit with your already existing strategy? Do you have the resources and personnel to produce the content needed for the campaign? Are you present on the needed channels already?Step 3: Consider your finances
But, don’t forget to consider finances. Online ads can be the cheapest way for a company to reach its customers. However, it can also turn out to be quite expensive. Especially when you spend money on ineffective channels. In addition, if you are using several of them, it is important to consider how to relocate your budget.Step 4: Choose the best online ad platforms for your company
Some of the best online ad platforms include Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube. They all provide different user-friendly platforms for individuals and companies. They also are equipped with guides and tutorials on how to work with them. All of them have different benefits and target audiences.
At the time of writing, Facebook is the most widely used social media platform, with 2.23 billion users active every month.
What makes it appealing to marketers is not only the wide reach. It is the user’s dedication to the platform, as half of them use it up to an average of 50 minutes per day. Business users, however, face challenges with Facebook’s constant changes in the algorithm. They often make it hard to reach their audience organically. So, it can push them towards paid ads. Therefore, as of 2017 the number of Facebook advertisements is above 5 million.
There is a good reason why most professionals chose Facebook for advertising. Facebook Business is the platform’s way to connect to companies around the world, educate them and promote their products. It has an interactive and user-friendly design. In addition, it also provides tons of information about the platform, advertising online, as well as courses the users can take.
What is important to know in the case of Facebook advertising is the advertising costs. What influences them are the audience you target, your competition and aim. Moreover, the type of ad, placement, schedule, and quality.
Facebook provides great opportunities for both B2B and B2C companies. Therefore, it is the platform a marketer should consider as one of the best online ad platforms.
As mentioned previously, Instagram is a platform that provides advanced options for advertising. It is a sister company of Facebook, so they share many of the advertising options we went through above. Many brands have managed to utilize the platform in a new way and collaborate with users. Together they can create sponsored content, which advertises the product in a more subtle manner.
The benefits of using the platform include its amazing potential reach of up to 802 million users and the high engagement and conversion rates.
However, as the business space on Instagram is so crowded, with more than 25 million business profiles, brands need to put a great effort to differentiate themselves.
YouTube
YouTube is not the first platform, which comes to mind when someone mentions SoMe.
However, it hides great potential with its 1,9 billion monthly users. The platform pushes constant content to the audience due to its 50 million active creators and gives companies around the world a great new opportunity for advertisement.
YouTube is a great advertising option if your ad campaign consists of video content. Due to its many users, it provides an enormous potential reach. Also, it gives the opportunity for highly segmented targeting. A further benefit is its pricing strategy. This includes paying only for the ads watched.
Much like Facebook, YouTube’s guide to advertising on the platform includes informative content. It teaches its business users to create compelling ads. Moreover, it provides help from an expert to set your account.
LinkedIn is widely known by companies as the best online ad platform for B2B. Like Twitter, it provides opportunities for advertisement and promotional posts.
LinkedIn is the largest professional network in the world with 630 million users. Therefore, it can aid B2B marketers to connect with new and existing customers. It is appointed as the number one platform for marketers, as 94% of them use the platform to distribute content. Moreover, LinkedIn is responsible for more than 50% of the traffic to B2B websites and blogs.
Similarly, Twitter can promote tweets, accounts, and trends. The platform has a reach of 326 million monthly users, almost 50% of which use it daily.
However, looking into the options Twitter gives, you will notice they have some key similarities with LinkedIn. They also give their business users the opportunity to target a highly segmented market. Moreover, you can also receive creative help with advertising, control, and bidding of the marketing budget.
