How To Choose the Best Social Media Ad Platforms To Use

When hiring a paid social media agency, you must know what platform you want to use. Each social media app has a core audience made up of diverse demographics. Understanding which is right for your business helps you distinguish where your target market is and how to best plan your ad strategy.

This guide gives you the following:

• Five steps to follow when choosing the best social media platform for your business
• Critical information on the top platforms to help you decide when to use them

There is a lot to discuss, so get ready to take notes.

Let’s go!

5 Steps for Choosing the Right Social Media Ad Platform

Before making social media ads, decide where to post them because each platform gears its features toward certain ad types. Though the lines have blurred and all apps can display every kind of ad imaginable, some still work better than others in some instances.

When deciding which platform to use, follow these steps:

1. Write down your short- and long-term business goals.

2. Identify key performance indicators (KPI) to measure.

3. Determine what demographics matter for your business.

4. Learn as much about your ideal audience as possible.

5. Compare the data you gathered with the stats of each platform.

Here are nine examples of demographic markers typically used in marketing:

• Location
• Age
• Gender
• Educational level
• Socioeconomic status
• Race and ethnicity
• Employment status
• Political affiliation
• Hobbies and interests

If that takes too much time, hiring a paid social media agency to conduct market research is the best course of action.

7 Top Social Media Ad Platforms

Social media is not a one-size-fits-all means of outreach. People have individual preferences for apps, which can make advertising frustrating. Knowing which platforms serve the same customers as your business is crucial to building a successful ad marketing campaign.

Here are the top seven social media platforms in use today. To help you compare them, we also cover some basic data from the Pew Research Center and DataReportal.

Note that market data varies due to differing sources and methodologies. However, the data shows clear trends and indicators, which will help you as you determine the right social media platforms to use.

     1. Facebook, the Social Media Giant

According to the Pew Research Center, 70% of US adults use Facebook, the world’s largest social platform. Facebook’s options are what make this platform an invaluable tool for advertising.

Apart from publishing paid ads, you can create a business page and community group that allow customers to reach you. Facebook also has its own tracking pixel that makes retargeting campaigns flow smoothly on the platform.

Critical demographic information for your business includes the following:

• Around 70% of US adults use it
• It has a total potential reach of 179.65m US adults aged 18+, 63.7% of the US population
• It’s most popular with middle-aged and older users and is among the top social networking apps

     2. YouTube, Everyone’s Hangout Spot

YouTube is one of the world’s leading tech giants and has redefined how people spend their leisure time. The way people consume content on YouTube maximizes visibility, ensuring that  advertising on this platform gives you broad reach and appeal.

Ads on the platform come in many shapes, which are hard to miss due to how the platform builds them into the user experience. For example, midroll ads make sure that people see the first five seconds of your pitch. Banners, on the other hand, are visible without being intrusive.

Critical demographic information:

• Around 82% of US adults use it.
• Its total potential reach is 247m US adults aged 18+, 79.4% of the US population
• It has a relatively evenly-spread global user base across all age groups

     3. Instagram, for Life’s Best Moments

Instagram is so ingrained in people’s daily lives that the phrase ‘Instagram-worthy’ is synonymous with ‘picture-perfect.’

This app drives visual content to the max. Anything you can show off in a photo or video can get people talking about your brand. It could be a product reveal, demo, or sale video; as long as it appeals to the human need to explore and experience, you are doing it right.

Critical demographic information:

• Instagram is used by about 47% of US adults
• It has a total potential reach of 159.75m US adults aged 18+, 56.7% of the US population
• It mainly serves a global user base of young adults aged 18-34

     4. Twitter, People’s News Source

Twitter is the app of choice for US adults who rely on social media for news coverage. It serves that purpose well, too, because information travels fast on the app. Given that, this platform works well for companies that offer newsworthy or innovative products and services.

Critical demographic information on Twitter includes that:

• Around 27% of US adults use it
• It has a total potential reach of 91.7m US adults aged 18+, 32% of the US population
• It saw one of the highest reported quarterly increases in ad reach at +12% or +58m

     5. LinkedIn, Where Leaders Meet

As a service for professionals, LinkedIn is best for reaching businesses and industries. This app is perfect for B2B marketing and general networking. Beyond that, it can also serve as a source for potential study and survey participants for research firms.

Critical demographic information:

• Around 31% of US adults use it
• Its total potential reach is 180m US adults aged 18+, 69.1% of the US population
• It primarily serves highly educated individuals and established industry professionals

     6. TikTok, Gen Z’s App of Choice

This social media platform rose to prominence during the 2020 pandemic when it served as a way to produce and consume short-form video content quickly. It mirrors Twitter in that trends are the driving force behind the app. Ad ideas that involve the audience work great with it.

Inviting customers to share their experiences in a challenge-style campaign is a popular format.

Critical demographic information:

• Around 30% of US adults use it
• It has a total potential reach of 130.962m US adults aged 18+, 50.3% of the US population
• Twitter caters mainly to Gen Z young adults, who are often socially-conscious consumers

     7. Reddit, the Internet’s Front Page

Reddit is an app made up of self-moderating communities based on common interests. That makes it easier to target users from key demographics if you know which subreddits to include in your ad strategy. The ads appear to individual users and not exclusively to communities.

Critical demographic information on Reddit includes:

• Around 22% of US adults use it
• Its global user base is composed of a primarily male audience at 62.1%
• Users self-select into communities based on demographic factors such as interests

Positive mentions on apps like this boost your ranking because they give you social proof.

Summing Up

Every SEO agency recommends a data-driven approach to choosing an ad platform. That is because the demographic composition of each social media app determines the likelihood of getting leads.

Need help choosing the best social media platform for your brand? Contact us to learn more about how we can help.