Simply Jack
Industry Insights by Jack
Which Advertising Platform To Use?
With so many advertising platforms available and the potential to throw money down the drain, it can feel daunting deciding what platform is best for your business.
As someone that has worked across 50+ accounts with some huge names, I want to offer some insight to help you understand the options available.
If you're using a marketing agency or freelancer than feel free to keep reading and see if my thoughts below align with what you've been advised.
Search Platforms
What are search ads?
Search ads are any ad that appears when a user searches on a browser - be that Google, Microsoft (Bing), Yahoo etc.
What makes them so beneficial?
By their nature they are high intent. If a user searches "dog food near me" then you know they are very likely in the market for dog food and are ready to go get some!
Imagine your ideal customer is a car coming down the road. Search ads are the ability to step out into that road and make them stop and hear what you have to say.
How much do they cost?
Well, there's no fixed answer here I'm afraid. Let's set aside the set up costs for a moment and assume your ads are running.
If you're ideal customer is any body and every body and the need for your product/service is high then expect pretty low costs - this could be anywhere from £5 per conversion to £20 depending on your business.
If however you want to reach decision makers in large corporations, then expect this cost to be higher. A quality lead could be anywhere from £50 into the hundreds. But if this lead is worth thousands to your business, it's often a worthy expense.
One other factor to consider when it comes to cost is that most advertising platforms are bid-based, i.e. you directly bid against your competitors. Your bid takes into account factors such as your budget plus your ad/website relevancy to the users search term so you don't always need the most money to win a bid!
TLDR? Search ads are a viable option for any business but costs will vary greatly depending on your target demographic and demand for your product/service. It's also worth considering lower intent options such as social/display ads that often have a lower cost per click at the downside of casting a wider net of targeting. Read below for pro's and con's of social/display ads.
Social / Display Ads
Okay so you understand search ads now, what about social media or display ads?
What are Social/Display ads?
When people refer to social ads, paid social etc they're talking about ads on platforms like Meta (Facebook & Instagram), LinkedIn, X (Twitter), TikTok, Pinterest etc.
Display ads generally regard the image based advertising found on browsers, such as Google Display ads, Microsoft (Bing) Display ads and in some cases programmatic banner advertising.
What makes them so beneficial?
Rather than targeting users actively searching for your product/service, you can reach users who are likely to show interest. Yes this means they are less likely to convert but because you can cast a much wider net and reach people at a lower cost it means that the price you pay for a conversion can actually be as good if not lower.
Think of it this way - if you were to go fishing would you rather try your luck with high quality bait, or lower quality bait but 10x more of it for the same price? There's not a right or wrong answer, you might catch 100x more small fish with the latter but a few big tuna with the former.
Which social platform is right for me?
Without going into the specifics of each platform, Meta (Facebook & Instagram), X and TikTok offer great but broader methods of targeting for most B2C and some B2B industries. They can be the poorer option when it comes to B2B leads, but it completely depends on your business - for example, I've seen them do wonders for B2B leads for automotive parts dealers. The bonus of platforms like Meta or X is that you can run with incredibly low costs per day, albeit not always advisable.
LinkedIn on the other hand is a powerhouse for B2B ads and can see substantially lower costs per lead than Google search ads. It's proven itself particularly useful for reaching senior decision makers due to it's use of job title, job function and job seniority targeting. It can also be useful for recruitment advertising given the job-focused nature of the platform.
Just like search ads, there's no guarantee-able cost. I've seen Facebook ads achieve £5 per newsletter sign up for a healthcare company. Automotive clients returning £10 for every £1 they put in. I've seen real estate ads acquiring new leads for as little as £50 and as much as £100. LinkedIn B2B leads varying anywhere from £20 all the way up into the hundreds for the same audience but different client offerings.
TLDR? Social media and display advertising can be a very powerful tool to reach audiences that are unachievable via search ads. No matter your business, there is likely to be a platform that is worth trying with the right professional guidance. Even if you're thinking of just giving it a go yourself, feel free to contact me for some advice, I'm happy to have a chat!
Get in touch
Whether you know exactly what you want, or need help deciding what's right for your business, contact me to discuss.