Meta Description: Want to build your business’s revenue? Advertise on social media following this ultimate guide to the most popular social media apps and their ad features.
Social media is a powerful tool that has completely transformed online interactions. People today use social media for creating connections, messaging friends, sharing information, shopping, gathering news, and so much more!
Businesses also joined in with the crowds to take advantage of the huge audience available through social apps such as:
- YouTube
The average person spends 145 minutes a day on social media – which is why businesses should learn how best to advertise on social media to reach that growing market and increase advertising revenue.
Key Takeaways:
- Social Media is a HUGE industry with limitless marketing potential
- You can target a specific audience through social media advertising
- Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok are the top social media apps of 2021
Why You Should Advertise on Social Media
Your business presence on social media is crucial for lead generation, audience retention, and diverse advertising.
Unlike organic search, social media targets a specific audience. Those who use social media already have profiles that include their demographic information. Every time users interact with the platform, social apps track that activity.
This tracking allows you to target specific groups and demographics with your content, generating more leads related to your business.
Social media is also a hotspot for customer reviews and feedback. When people post on your business page or tag your business in personal posts, you can see how people talk about your brand.
Because of the social nature of these apps, you also have the chance to respond to feedback. This interaction builds trust and brand loyalty among your customers, since 90% of customers consider customer service a top reason for doing business with a brand.
Because of social media’s large user base, you have dozens of opportunities to advertise your business and products – you just need to decide on the best social media advertising strategy.
How to Advertise on the Top Social Media Platforms of 2021
According to the latest statistics from 2021, the top four social media sites (excluding messenger apps) are Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.
Here are several examples of social media advertising on each of these sites.
Facebook is the largest social platform and offers the most diverse advertising options. Through their Facebook for Business page, you can select your company’s goal, and find the ideal solution that fits your budget and generates the most leads.
Facebook advertising requires three basic steps:
- Create a business page
- Publish and share marketing content
- Sponsor ads
Your business page describes who you are, how people reach you, and what you offer. When you create your page, fill out as much personal information as you can, so you will show up in people’s Facebook searches.
Once you have a strong business page, you can begin publishing content. This content may range from announcements to shared posts from your website. Consistently sharing new material shows you are active and ready for interactions.
The first two steps are free for any business. This last step is where you invest money. If you sponsor a post, your Facebook post shows up on the feeds of your target audience. Sponsored ads, on the other hand, pop up in people’s sidebars or specified ad sections.
YouTube
YouTube is a massive platform for video content. You can’t use blog posts and website content in your YouTube ads like with Facebook. Instead, your focus is creating short, engaging videos that play before, during, or after other content.
Just like Facebook, YouTube ads are displayed on relevant content to reach a specific demographic.
The three most popular types of YouTube ads are:
- Skippable Ads – Video ads that viewers can skip after the first 5 seconds. You only pay for these ads if customers continue to watch.
- Non-Skippable Ads – Customers need to watch a full non-skippable ad if they want to continue their viewing experience. However, this means you are limited to creating ads that are 15 seconds or shorter.
- Bumper Ads – Bumper ads are short, 6-second sponsored clips that appear before, during, or after other content.
Instagram’s platform supports sharing images with room for large amounts of text under the post that promotes your business. Instagram ties in seamlessly with Facebook, which simplifies sharing content and ads between the platforms.
When you create an Instagram post, you can opt to sponsor the post. Sponsoring a post adds a link that directs customers to your business website.
TikTok
TikTok has a unique platform that is incompatible with regular content. Instead, you need to create your videos using their app. These videos are shot in one sitting and limited to the effects available within the app.
TikTok offers two primary forms of advertising.
- Regular Ads – Sponsored TikToks that include a link to your business.
- Spark Ads – Organic content posted by other users that you sponsor and link back to your business.
Getting Started with Social Media Advertising
You don’t need to advertise on all four social media sites. In some cases, you shouldn’t. For example, a nursing home would waste valuable resources by advertising on TikTok, which is an app with users mostly in their 20s.
Know your audience and choose where they are most likely to congregate. Those are the social apps that will have the highest ROI for revenue generation.