Written By: Andrew Weisz | CEO, Finden Marketing
The world of digital marketing has exploded in the last 10 years. This has left many business owners with the question “how should I market my business?”. This is an extremely common question that almost every business owner will ask themself. To find this answer, our team took a deep dive researching all the top ad platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Google, Bing, TikTok, Snapchat, Amazon, and many more. With all these options we hope to help our readers find the best ad platform for your business.
We took that information and compiled the top 7 platforms we recommend to put your money. In these top 7, we have broken it down into Budgets, How easy it is to do it yourself, the type of business we recommend, and the pro/cons of the ad platform. Like many things ad platforms work better for some businesses than others so make sure to read about all your options before spending your hard-earned money and if you aren’t sure make sure to talk to the experts.
About the platform
Facebook is one of the staple ad platforms. This simple yet effective platform allows any business the ability to advertise online without having to pay a fortune.
Facebook’s recommended minimum ad budget
At least $500 a month
Ad budgets can start within a few dollars a day. Our team recommends allotting a minimum of $500 a month for your Facebook ads to set a baseline. Companies will usually start seeing true results around the $5,000 a month range (this does vary by industry). If you would like a more detailed budget analysis make sure to set up a free consultation with our team.
Ease of Use
Relatively easy – Without much training, any business owner can create an ad on Facebook. With that being said, creating an ad versus creating an effective ad are two different things. We recommend working with an expert if you are looking for the best results.
The type of business we recommend using this ad platform
All Types of business – Unlike many ad platforms; Facebook works great for all business types (both b2b & b2c) and offers a wide variety of consumers to target.
Pro’s
- Ability to create a lookalike audience
- Ability to start with low cost and grow
- Almost everyone is on Facebook
- You can pinpoint target your audience
- It’s a trusted platform
Con’s
- It’s all about how much money you spend
- Facebook has been getting bad press recently
- Younger generations aren’t using Facebook as much
- You have to create your own ads
Conclusion:
Facebook is a great place for almost any business and should be a top option for said businesses. With budgets as low as a few dollars a day it really allows any business big to small the ability to get their name out there. With an experts help many businesses have continued to double their business through effective advertising
About the platform
Instagram is a social media platform that focuses on users’ imagery. This platform is owned by Facebook and creating ad campaigns will be extremely common to Facebook’s system. So common that it’s actually the same dashboard as Facebook allows advertisers the ability to hit two birds with one stone.
Instagram’s recommended minimum ad budget
At least $500 a month
Like Facebook, ad budgets can start with a few dollars a day. Our team recommends allotting a minimum of $500 a month for your Instagram ads to truly start seeing results. (this does vary by industry).
Ease of Use
Relatively easy – Again like Facebook, a business owner can create an ad without much training. Again, creating an ad and creating an effective ad are two different things. We recommend working with an expert if you are looking for the best results.
The type of business we recommend using this ad platform
Products / B2C / eCommerce – Instagram is a visual-heavy platform that is perfect for anyone trying to sell a product (especially eCommerce). With new integrations, Instagram has become even more friendly to sellers and allows them to sell straight from the app rather than having customers make the journey to their website.
Pro’s
- Instagram ads can drive traffic to your website
- Visual products shine in this ad platform
- It’s relatively easy to get started
- Low startup costs to get started
- Consumers are actively buying on Instagram
Con’s
- Instagram links are less effective than other platforms
- The majority of their users are younger (18-35)
- You have to sell yourself visually
About the platform
LinkedIn is another great platform when looking at promoting your business. This platform is great for any b2b company that is trying to gain brand awareness and get people to use their product or service. Unfortunately, since this platform is so catered there is a higher price tag associated with it compared to platforms like Facebook or Instagram.
LinkedIn’s recommended minimum ad budget
At least $1000 a month
Ease of Use
Leave it to the professionals – Though LinkedIn gives business owners the ability to create ads at relatively an easy option professionals will be able to make the ads pop and know the ins and outs of what people look for with ads. To learn more about how to know if a professional knows their stuff make sure to check out our blog on the topic here:
The type of business we recommend using this ad platform
B2B / Services / Products – If you are a B2B business you need to consider this platform. LinkedIn is a connecting place for anything business and is a great way to get your brand out to consumers that may be interested in you.
Pro’s
- It has a lot of buyers as users
- A wide range of ages use this platform
- Has a professional audience, and a safe space for businesses
Con’s
- It’s more expensive than other social networks
- Many of the users are just on it looking for a job
- LinkedIn is lagging behind when it comes to video ads
Google & YouTube
About this platform
If you haven’t heard of Google ads you may be living under a rock. Nonetheless, Google is the powerhouse of advertising platforms and a great start for any business looking to grow via ads. We do recommend working with a professional when you start on this ad journey as they can help save you thousands of dollars over time.
Youtube is also owned by Google and offers a similar ad platform due to this.
Google’s recommended minimum ad budget
At least $1,000 a month.
This number varies drastically from business to business. Our team recommends meeting with an expert to discuss what budget would work best for you, and what strategy would be most effective for your growth.
Ease of Use
Leave it to the professionals – Google is the #1 advertising on the planet and has been for countless years. Our agency recommends that all businesses should start their ad journey with at least some of their budget going to Google. With that being said Google is not an easy platform to pick up and we recommend hiring a professional to manage your ads. This will allow you to see the best results and usually doesn’t cost a whole ton. For example, Finden Marketing charges our customers based on how much they spend and it ranges anywhere from 5-25% of the amount of ad budget we manage. This ad platform has the ability to put companies on the map and with experts’ help, it becomes lightyears easier.
The type of business we recommend using this ad platform
We recommend that all businesses use Google ads and its ad platform. It’s a great way to show up when people Google your business and can bring a unique group of customers to your page that otherwise would never have found you.
Pro’s
- You can target a specific audience
- Easily measurable
- Works faster than SEO
Con’s
- People trust organic results a lot more than the ads
- The best keywords are usually really expensive and don’t always convert
- There are so many tiny settings and tools within the platform to worry about that in order to see success you might as well hire a professional to do it
Amazon
About the platform
Amazon has quickly become one of the biggest platforms for ads. This platform allows sellers to directly get their buyers. Businesses can start with a relatively low budget, but we would recommend working with a professional when looking at these ads.
Amazon’s recommended minimum ad budget
At least $500 a month to get started, and around $5,000 to really start seeing results (It does very by industry).
Ease of Use
Hire a professional for the best results. Like Google, Amazon ads are a powerhouse and offer tons of features for businesses owners to utilize. If you aren’t an expert you can definitely make ads but will leave money on the table if you don’t utilize the knowledge that ad marketers have.
The type of business we recommend using this ad platform
B2C / Products / Products on Amazon
Pro’s
- Relevant Traffic
- Great Performance Metrics
- Offers Faster Results than other platforms
- You Reach Buyers, Not Viewers
- Increases your Organic Ranking
Con’s
- Involves budget risks
- You pay for clicks, not sales
- It’s hard to find the right audience to advertise to
TikTok
About the platform
TikTok is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms on the planet. Boasting a ridiculous amount of users TikTok is great for any business trying to attract young consumers. This platform is easy to set up, cheap, and offers a lot of great functions that other platforms don’t offer.
TikTok’s recommended minimum ad budget
At Least $500 a month.
As a newly added advertising platform TikTok is trying to get more people to use their advertising. Because of this the price to enter is a lot lower than some other platforms on this list. To learn more about TikTok advertising make sure to click this link:
Ease of Use
Easy to set up, but easy to mess up and spend way too much. Again let a professional do the work and you will see incredible results.
The type of business we recommend using this ad platform
B2C / Product based companies
Pro’s
- Ad performance metrics are easily trackable via TikTok Advertising
- Reach younger demographics
- Low barrier of entry for smaller advertisers
Con’s
- Advertising costs can balloon
- Low ad engagement
- Broad targeting (you can’t get as indepth as other platforms)
Snapchat
Recommended minimum ad budget
At least $500 a month
Snapchat is another one of the more forgotten advertising platforms. This platform offers companies great potential in attracting a younger audience to their business. To start seeing real results we recommend using at least $1,500 a month. To learn more on Snapchat ads click here:
Ease of Use
Easy to set up, but easy to mess up and spend way too much. Again let a professional do the work and you will see incredible results. This ad platform is easy to set up, but allows users the ability to accidentally spend a lot more than wanted if they aren’t careful.
The type of business we recommend using this ad platform
Products / Services / B2C / Aimed towards young consumers
Pro’s
- Reach a younger audience
- Not heavily used by other brands
Con’s
- A large amount of users are young
- Has to be visual only (you only have 10 seconds)
Want to learn more about how you can stand out using ads? Finden Marketing is Duluth, Minnesota’s leading Gen Z & Millennial marketing agency. With years of experience, hundreds of thousands of dollars managed, and a dedicated team we can help grow your business to its true potential. Our team offers a wide range of services, including PR, Branding, Content Creation, Paid Media, Graphic Design, and Web Development. With over 50 projects in the bag, Finden Marketing is becoming a staple marketing agency in Duluth, Minnesota. To learn more about Finden Marketing, check us out here, or visit us at our office in Duluth, Minnesota.
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