The Best Social Media Platforms for Marketing in 2020

BY Kathy Crosett
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Will 2020 be the year of social media advertising? The format is set to take third place globally in 2019 ad spending. With a projected $84 billion in ad spend, only TV ($182 billion) and paid search ($107 billion) attract more advertiser money than social media. In 2020, markets will continue to invest in social media, but the experts say they will change the way they go about allocating these funds among the most popular platforms. So, what will the best social media platforms for marketing be next year?

Analyzing the Best Social Media Platforms for Marketing

Social Growth

Zenith analysts emphasize that the growth of social media in 2019 comes at the expense of newspaper and magazine advertising. Social media spending will jump 20% this year, while newspaper and print, with a 6% drop from 2019, will amount to about $69 billion. Put another way, by 2021, one in six ad dollars will go to social media.

Facebook and Visual Sites

In the early days of social media advertising, Facebook ruled. That platform boasted the largest consumer penetration and was at the top of the best social media platforms for marketing. Advertisers responded by channeling their money and messages to that platform. WARC surveyed about 800 marketers to determine their plans for 2020 social media and search spending.

Visual platforms will continue to be among the best social media platforms for marketing next year. Over 60% of marketers will increase spending on YouTube and Instagram. TikTok is also a growing force in the marketplace, with over 30% of surveyed marketers expecting to spend more on the site. Currently, only about half of marketers use TikTok, which is a social media platform that primarily targets teens.

Facebook could experience a bit of a wake up call in 2020. Just over 90% of surveyed marketers spend money on the site. Next year, 30% will boost spending and another 20% plan to decrease spending on that site. In addition, 19% of marketers will cut their Twitter spending and only 17% will increase advertising on that platform. It’s a similar story with Snapchat since 18% of marketers are planning cuts and only about 11% are expecting to spend more.

Advertising Sites and Paid Search

Marketers feel positive about advertising on Amazon, with over 30% saying they will increase spending on the site. Similarly, LinkedIn is likely delivering the returns marketers seek as 40% say they will spend more on the site next year, earning it a spot among the best social media platforms for marketing.

Paid search will continue to have a strong showing next year with 60% of marketers expecting to spend more on search with Google. Only 2% will spend less. The numbers indicate marketers’ belief that search delivers a strong ROI for them.

Have you run a Digital Audit on your clients? The report is available on AdMall from SalesFuel and can help your clients gauge whether they are spending ad money on social media sites used by their target audiences.


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