Which Advertising Platforms Are Most Effective For Small Businesses?

Paid ads can increase brand awareness by 80% and generate up to 200% return on investment, according to Techjury. With increasing pressure to reach relevant audiences and increase conversions, small businesses need to understand which advertising platforms can best meet their needs.

Preparing A Paid Ads Campaign

Carissa Richardson, founder and CEO of Kindred Strategy, advises small businesses to start by selecting a campaign goal before choosing an advertising platform. Some of the goals objective she recommends considering are: 

• Building awareness: Enable more people to see the brand and drive website traffic 

• Generating more sales/leads: Acquire X new customers, generate $X in revenue

• Growing customer retention: Generate X repeat customers or $X in revenue from repeat customers

• Influencing consideration: Generate X sales/leads from people who didn’t convert the first time on-site

The goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound to monitor progress and adjust efforts as needed. SMART goals need to include a budget, target audience, and metric benchmarks.

Choosing Paid Advertising Platforms

Source: Carissa Richardson, founder and CEO of Kindred Strategy.

After the campaign’s primary goal is established, the next step is deciding on the type(s) of ads to run: display/banner ads, paid social ads, paid search ads, or online video ads.  Each has advantages and works well on specific advertising platforms. 

Google Ads

Statista reported Google as the largest digital ad publisher in the U.S. during 2021, with 28.6% of total digital ad revenue. Facebook took second place with 23.8% and Amazon with 11.3%.

Google’s popularity as a search engine makes it the best place to start a paid media campaign. Businesses have two choices: pay-per-click search ads appearing on top of search pages or Google display ads that show up when someone is browsing a website within their network.

Campaigns aiming for brand awareness could use Google display/banner ads, while search ads could be used to generate site traffic and warm leads. Google’s ownership of YouTube also means video ads could be created via Google Ads, adding additional awareness.

Meta Ads

Source: https://www.facebook.com/

Social media platforms offer affordable and effective advertising options for small businesses. They are best for awareness, site traffic, and retargeting ads.

The best-known is Meta Ads, which includes ads on both Facebook and Instagram and allows for seven different ad formats, including image ads, video ads, and carousel ads.

Ad Espresso explained the importance of understanding Facebook’s ad types. “By understanding your Facebook ad format and ad type options, you can design Facebook ads that cater to your specific audience and marketing goals — and make the most out of your Facebook advertising experience.”

Other Social Media Advertising Platforms

Source: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/

Beyond Meta, advertising platforms like LinkedIn, Pinterest, and TikTok present a variety of ad types and audience targeting choices.

It’s important to recognize budget structures for each platform when creating a campaign.

LinkedIn requires a $10 daily minimum and a $100 minimum lifetime budget. 

Pinterest offers daily and lifetime budget options. While they do not have a minimum, they recommend spending $50 per day on consideration (web traffic) campaigns to see the best results.

TikTok mandates a minimum daily budget of $50 at the campaign level and $20 at the ad group level.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: Which advertising platforms are most relevant for my small business?

Answer: It depends on where your target audience is most active online. Demographic data about the platforms’ users should indicate where you can find your prospects.

You should also consider whether you’re a business-to-business or business-to-consumer company. Mindset is important to getting audiences to engage with your message. Therefore, B2B is better suited for LinkedIn, and B2C would find more engagement on Meta. Additionally, checking on where your competitors advertise might be helpful.

You might also find the blog post “Maximizing Impact with Social Media Ads: A Comprehensive Guide to Platforms and Benefits” helpful!

Question: How many platforms should I be on?

Answer: To maximize your budget, it’s recommended that you begin with one or two platforms, such as Google Ads and Meta. This will allow you to monitor your ads and adjust them without overextending your budget. 

The key is to make sure you have enough budget to run on one platform effectively before adding another. Once you’ve optimized your first ads, then you can expand to new platforms.

Question: What role does ad creative/content play in platform selection?

Answer: Your ad creative, such as photos, videos, product listings, and text, should align with the platform. For example, Google Ads uses text more than visuals, while Instagram relies on images, carousels, and video for its ad content. 

This may mean that you need to narrow down the advertising platforms you choose based on the assets you have available for your business.

Question: How important is mobile optimization when choosing platforms?

Answer: Being mobile-friendly is essential for the success of digital ads. The majority of digital ad traffic now comes from mobile devices such as smartphones. Advertising platforms with good mobile ad experiences should be prioritized, and you should ensure your landing page is optimized for a seamless user experience on mobile.

Need More Help?

Choosing the best advertising platforms for your needs can be a challenge. But Kindred Strategy can guide and support you every step of the way. Our team of experts specializes in crafting tailored advertising strategies designed to resonate with your local market.

Schedule a free introductory consultation today and discover how we can help transform your local advertising efforts and boost your results.