Last year’s social media spending was estimated to increase by 20%, according to Zenith’s research highlighted in a previous blog post. And that estimate was made before the pandemic set in. Imagine how much that spending actually grew with advertisers pulling back on their traditional ad spending. Most companies, your clients included, probably aren’t ready to switch up their ad strategies just yet. Not until the pandemic is well behind us, anyway. So, they’ll probably either maintain or increase their social media advertising this year. They need to be selective in the social media platform they choose if they want to see the expected results.

Choosing the Social Media Platform That’s Right for Your Client

Facebook

First things first: Take a look at the age range of your client’s target audience. Then, consider that, according to a recent Search Engine Land article by Exults, “more than 65%  of Facebook users are older than 35 and the average user is 40.” It’s typical of younger generations to reject the trends of the past. So, it shouldn’t be surprising that members of Generation Z, along with some millennials, are no different. They've turned up their noses at Facebook in favor of newer social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. So, if your client’s target audience includes consumers over the age of 35, Facebook is probably a good choice. If not, they should look elsewhere.

Large corporations are among the most successful businesses advertising on Facebook. However, Exults discourages medium-​sized and small businesses from bowing out. “ No matter the size of your business, if you know who your ideal customer is, you can target them on Facebook,” Exults points out. “Highly relevant ads coupled with Facebook’s ability to humanize brands make this network almost universally applicable.”

Instagram

As previously mentioned, Instagram’s user base tends to skew toward younger consumers. Exults data says 50% of Instagram’s users are between the ages of 18 and 35. And many more are younger than that. For businesses that are targeting younger consumers and depend on visual content, Instagram is the perfect social media platform. Instagram is all about images and videos in lieu of text. Additionally, “With the Instagram Shopping feature, businesses can tag products on photos to show followers the price and then easily go onto the website to purchase it,” says Exults.

TikTok

While TikTok is primarily the younger generations’ social media platform, the pandemic influenced many older generations to give it a shot, as well. Your client can use sponsored content ads to pop up in TikTok users’ video rotation or they can make videos of their own. The key to successful TikTok campaigns is creating funny and/​or entertaining videos that are a minute or less and highlight your client’s products. Big and small companies alike can benefit from TikTok exposure, especially if they jump on or start trends. For example, Ocean Spray took advantage of the “Ocean Spray guy” to sell more of their product. Another example is a small plant/​gardening business that jumped on the trend of using Lizzo’s “Boys” song to show off their variety of plant sizes and varieties.

Find out exactly which social media platforms your client’s target audience is using on their AudienceSCAN profile on AdMall by SalesFuel.