I often get new leads telling me that they’re spending a lot of money on ads but not getting any conversions. One of the reasons is because they aren’t using the right ad platform. There are a few things to consider while picking the best paid ads platform, which I’ll share with you today. The right choice can maximize your ROI and reach your intended audience.
Understanding Your Campaign Goals
First, you need to understand what you want to achieve from your ad spend. A few common goals I work toward with clients are:
- Brand awareness
- Lead generation
- Sales
- Website traffic
- Product promotion
- Event promotion
Having clear goals is essential for guiding your campaign, measuring success, and optimizing resources. Setting goals before spending money on paid ads ensures your marketing efforts contribute to your overall business objectives.
Knowing Your Target Audience
You hopefully know who your target audience is! But the key here is understanding where they spend their time. If you’re utilizing social media for marketing, you need to know what platform they use to focus your efforts there. The same goes for the best paid ads platform for your audience.
A few things to analyze about your audience to choose the best paid ads platform are:
- Demographics (age, gender, and location)
- Behavior (online habits, content preferences, and buying behavior)
- Review the user demographics of each platform
- See how much users interact on the platform
Before spending money on ads, you need to know your audience is actually on that platform! Otherwise, you’ll be spending money with no results.
Budget Considerations
Budget is often an area of concern. You want to know that you’ll get an ROI from the money you spend. Evaluate the cost per click (CPC), cost per thousand impressions (CPM), or cost per acquisition (CPA) on each platform. Some platforms are more budget-friendly depending on your industry and target audience.
Different platforms fit different budget sizes. If you have a smaller budget, try social media ads first. If you have more wiggle room, try Google Ads.
Picking the Best Paid Ads Platform
Now onto the fun stuff! Let’s talk through each of the paid ad platforms out there and some pros and cons of each. This should hopefully help you narrow down the best paid ads platform for your audience and goals.
Google Ads
Google Ads target users based on search intent and browsing behavior. Virtually everyone uses Google to perform searches. You’re bound to reach your target audience with Google Ads.
There are several types of Google Ads you can use:
- Text Ads: Your ads appear on Google search results pages when users search for keywords related to your business.
- Display Ads: Banners or images appear on websites and apps that partner with Google, reaching users as they browse online.
- Video Ads: Ads that play before, during, or after videos on YouTube.
- Shopping Ads: Product-specific ads that display images, prices, and product details to users who are searching for those products.
This is one paid ads platform where basically any business owner could utilize it and reach their audience. You have a lot of options for the type of ad you want displayed and with a few targeting options, you can achieve your business goals with Google Ads. But should you DIY your Google Ads? Find out here.
Meta (Facebook) Ads
Meta Ads include Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. With Meta Ads, you get a lot of targeting options and ad formats, similar to Google Ads. It’s a powerful tool for businesses looking to reach and engage with their audience on social media.
Within the platform, you can:
- Define your campaign objectives
- Choose your audience
- Pick ad placements
- Set a budget
- Schedule ads
- Create ad content
It’s more straightforward than Google Ads, which makes it the best paid ads platform for beginners.
There’s also a lot of ad formats to choose from:
- Image
- Video
- Carousel
- Collection
- Stories
- Messenger
- Slideshow
Billions of people use Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. By utilizing Meta Ads, you can promote your business and engage with your audience.
LinkedIn Ads
LinkedIn Ads are very effective for businesses in the B2B space. The audience targeting sets this paid ads platform apart from others. You can connect with people based on:
- Industry
- Company
- Company size
- Job title
- Seniority level
- Skills
- interests
You can choose from image, video, carousel, or event ads. The ad formats and audience are more limited than other platforms. You need to be 100% certain your audience is active on LinkedIn for this paid ads platform to be successful for your business goals.
TikTok Ads
TikTok Ads are something I personally haven’t dabbled in too much but am having fun learning about! It’s the perfect platform to reach a younger audience. Did you know more Gen Z’ers use TikTok for search than Google? If your audience is under 30 years old, TikTok might be the best paid ads platform for you!
Since TikTok is a short-form video platform, your ads need to be the same. You can choose between in-feed ads (blend seamlessly with organic content) or TopView ads (ads that appear when users first open the app.)
Since TikTok is a newer social media platform, the target options aren’t my favorite. They still need to be developed further to compete with Meta, in my opinion. But, TikTok’s unique culture of creativity and engagement makes it a powerful tool for businesses looking to connect with users in a fun and authentic way.
Start with Paid Ads
Choosing the best paid ads platform for your campaign is how you’ll achieve your business goals and have a positive ROI. By understanding your goals, target audience, and budget limitations, you can choose the platform best for your business. If you need help picking a paid ads platform and managing your campaigns, reach out to us! As a paid ads agency, we’re happy to help you with your advertising strategy.
