Working in digital advertising, one of the first questions we often get when a client is considering an advertising project is this: Which platform should I be on? Should I use Google, Facebook, Youtube, Tik Tok, or something else?
After advertising tons of products and services with all kinds of mediums, we’ve learned a few things when making recommendations to a client. It all comes down to the product or service and where users are at in the buying process.
Here are a few examples of questions we ask ourselves that help us narrow down platform usage and a strategy that makes sense for that platform:
- Is the product or service something you only need when you have an immediate problem, or is it something that they can be convinced could improve their life and make a purchase decision any time? For instance, if you are an HVAC or plumbing company, potential customers are typically ready to make a transaction only when a problem arises. This customer will likely perform a Google search at this time. If you are selling a self-heating lunch box, a customer doesn’t know they need one until they see the ad. They may need to see the product in action on social media.
- Is the product or service an impulse purchase or a long-term decision? If you’re selling a course or an info product or a non-immediate service that could make someone’s life easier, someone may not be ready to purchase right away. We may need to give them some free information a few times, then follow up in a cost-effective medium such as email or SMS messaging. In the case of the self-heating lunchbox we mentioned previously, many people are ready to make this purchase right away since the product is below $50, and gives them the hope of less money spent out to eat and more health meals daily.
- Are interest groups or search terms available to target with relevant ads? We can perform preliminary research to determine if there are internet users that commonly engage with the topics we want to bid on. To do this, you can use tools such as Google Trends or SemRush for keyword trend research and simply create a test campaign to analyze audience sizes for interest on Facebook or Tik Tok. For Youtube, you can target users with pre-roll ads directly before any video related to the topic of the video. So all it takes it looking for similar videos that fit our demographic and making sure they have high enough view counts to target! It also helps to preview targetable videos within the Google Ad platform before making concrete decisions.
How Different Channels Work:
This might be a lot of information. Many people start out thinking that they just need to use some kind of advertising. It can be helpful to use multiple media channels to advertise your product or service, Here’s a brief explanation of how each channels works and what works well with each:
Google Search Ads:
Google Search Ads:
Google Search ads respond to the search queries of users to help them find what they’re looking for. These work well for local services. As mentioned before, if you’re searching for an HVAC technician or a mechanic, you’re probably going to search for one. If you advertise this service on Facebook, you’ll spend a lot of money reaching people who are not in need of your service at that moment. Google search ads typically cost a lot more per click than other ads, but the intention of users is much higher. What’s great about Google Search is that you only pay when users click. On average, you’ll pay 10-20 times more for Google search traffic as with social ads, but more times than not, if your product/service is competitive it’s often worth the difference!
They look like the example you can see here. Simple, text based & informational.
Google Shopping ads:
With Google shopping, ads are placed with thumbnails among other similar products. These work great when you know users are directly searching for the product you have to offer. You’ll have to be sure to compete with price and relevance as your ad will be served alongside all others. The best part is, as with Google ads, you only pay when the user clicks!
Shopping ads aren’t really useful if you’re advertising a service – but they’re very helpful for showcasing specific products that can meet a users needs & search criterion!
Youtube Ads:
Youtube ads work great for topic-related services and products. For instance, I pulled up a video of “Chill Vibes – Low Fi Hip Hop Mix.” I received a pre-roll ad for Monday.com, a work management tool. If I’m listening to low-fi hip hop, there’s a good chance I’m working on a project that Monday.com would be useful for! Youtube is great for serving ads to audiences with a specific interest. As another example, if I’m searching for information on how to file 1099s for contractors at the end of a tax year, it’d be a great time to serve me an ad about your tax service!
here’s an example of a pre-roll ad played over a video about Bitcoin. The ad is for NFT domains – an obvious fit!
Facebook & Instagram Ads
Facebook & Instagram are both owned by Meta, so it’s easy to use the same targeting on both. Advertising on Facebook is similar to getting a recommendation from a friend, which also happens on Facebook! You may not even realize you need the product or service in your life. Facebook & Instagram allow targeting based on interests through web browning data. For instance, I may visit websites related to digital marketing topics, and I’ll receive ads for digital marketing services and tools.
For example, I recently visited Applebees (half off apps, am I right?) Of course, Applebees wants me to return as frequently as possible. If I go out for dinner 10 times in a month and maybe one of those trips is at Applebee’s, they want to make it 3 times the next month.
They know I visited their website, so they served me an ad attempting to have me come back.
Facebook & Instagram are a great place to get customers to take an action they may enjoy, but might not have thought about before.
Tik Tok Ads
Tik Tok is similar to Facebook or Instagram, but better yet, users often have their sound on when on Tik Tok, so they’re more engaged. They may also be more bored than they are on Facebook or Instagram. Tik Tok is more of an entertainment medium than Facebook or Instagram, so it may be a great time to get them to whip out their credit card!
The downside is that Tik Tok has more limited targeting options than Facebook. The targeting options are continually growing, but in the meantime, it’s a great place to get more affordable traffic than Facebook or Instagram. Another note is that users expect more organic-style content. No matter how cool a graphic looks, they’ll likely relate more to a low-quality video of someone talking about the use-case of a product or service. You have to get creative!
For example: You might visit Taco Bell occasionally, but you may not know about their Cantina Crispy Chicken tacos. Thanks for Tik Tok, now you do!
We hope this helps choose an ad platform that makes sense for your business!
Whatever platform you choose, the key to a successful ad campaign is always properly measuring the objective you have, whether that be more leads, product sales, or simply brand awareness. If you need any help setting up your campaign, just send us a message!
Happy advertising!
-Chandler