Paid ads: steps to choosing the best online ad platforms

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Written by Yoana Radoslavova Yordanova

Goals | Marketing | Social Media

October 15, 2019

Many different people are delving into digital marketing and have an interest in the topic of goal setting in ad campaigns. Therefore, we decided to continue with our goal-setting series by helping you choose the best online ad platforms and set goals for them. Let’s start by defining what online ads platforms are, what they consist of and where you can find them.According to BusinessDictionary, an ad campaign is a coordinated series of linked advertisements, that has a single idea or theme. Ads are broadcasted through several media channels and are directed at a certain segment.We are sure most of you are familiar with the topic. You have even been a frequent target of such advertising online. In recent years some SoMe channels have become notorious for their aggressive advertising. Moreover, for their narrow targeting.Facebook, for example, is one of the best online ad platforms for its marketing. Most of its users are accustomed to frequently seeing advertisements. Another example is Instagram. There, brands are present not only in promoted posts. They often appear through sponsored influencer content as well.Paid advertising is so common nowadays that apps and websites use it as their primary income. Even though we see this phenomenon both in our professional and private social media, most of us don’t delve into the details of their execution. However, for those of you interested in learning more about the topic, here are the best online ad platforms.

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.

Facebook

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.

Instagram

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.

Twitter

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.

As we already mentioned, you must consider your company’s target audience and resources when making decisions. Thus, we have prepared an infographic for you, comparing the best online ad platforms and their users.

We hope we have helped you get an idea of the advantages and disadvantages of each of the best online ad platforms. Stay tuned for the second part of this series, which will go deeper into how you can implement goals in those best online ad platforms.

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