LinkedIn vs. Meta vs. TikTok - Which platforms should you be advertising on?

If you are considering advertising your product or business on social media for the first time, you might be feeling overwhelmed with the decision of which platform to advertise on. 

Choosing the wrong platform could mean that you end up wasting money by not reaching your target audience and missing the goal of your ad, so here are some of my top tips on how to select the social media platform that is right for you and your business. 

Know your audience 

The first step to any successful social media campaign is knowing your audience. If you have existing customer data to draw from, this will be a goldmine of information when it comes to understanding who is really using your products and services. 

LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok all have very different demographics and uses, so once you have established your audience, you can select the platform which will work best for your business. 

For example, if you are a B2B business looking to promote a service, then it’s likely that LinkedIn is going to be one of the best platforms for you. However, if you are an e-commerce brand selling cosmetics, then TikTok or Instagram could be the perfect platform to advertise on. 

If you already have a social media presence for your brand, it’s likely that you’ve already done this assessment to check that you are reaching the right people. However, if you didn’t consider this when setting up your channels, now is the perfect opportunity to evaluate if your brand has profiles on the right platforms. 

Consider your budget 

How much you have to spend can be a big factor in selecting the right social media platform to advertise on. 

If you have a large budget, then you are going to be able to advertise more easily on platforms like LinkedIn, where although there is a minimum daily spend of £7.50, there is a recommended daily budget of at least £50. 

It might also surprise you to learn that TikTok can also be one of the more expensive platforms to advertise on, with ads starting from a minimum budget of £20 per day. 

What are you advertising and where? 

The type of service or product you are advertising, plus the location you want to advertise on, should also influence your decision on which platform to use. For example, if you are a business within the property industry, you will be restricted on Meta’s platforms by their special ad categories. This means that you cannot make your targeting area any smaller than a 17km radius. 

TikTok advertising also limits you by location, with the only option available at the moment being national targeting. If you are offering services in a specific area, then this might mean that TikTok advertising isn’t for you; however, if you are an e-commerce brand trying to attract as much business as possible, then TikTok could be a fantastic use of your budget. 

LinkedIn offers more in terms of advertising for brands that would usually be restricted by Meta’s special ad categories. Overall, the number of factors you can target by on LinkedIn is quite comprehensive, with the ability to target by location, company name, job title, interests, etc. This is particularly useful for businesses that want to reach specific prospects with their advertising.  

If you are unsure of where to start with social media advertising, get in touch with us today and we can help you put together a strategy that works for your business.