Social media advertising has become a major part of the digital marketing mix as platforms advance their targeting tools and user-bases grow. For many businesses, it’s a great way to bring marketing campaigns in front of select audiences for more conversions per-investment.
As a more direct method to advertising, some businesses are taking advantage of untapped markets. Yet, many limit their potential reach to the big three networks – Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Like everything else on the internet, behaviors and trends change overtime. Competition continues to grow tougher for a share in the next big thing. To maintain a high level of competition, businesses should consider venturing their paid advertising in other social platforms. Here’s a list of three underutilized social networks and their distinct advantages:
Since March 2010, Pinterest has grown to over 110 million active users with an average of 6 site visits generated by a single branded pin. The platform offers two types of campaigns – Traffic and Engagement – with target settings that best serve different strategies. The Traffic Campaign has a true-PPC targeting scheme where posts show for users who are interested in leaving the site. The Engagement Campaign is targeted towards audiences who will either view or repin (share) your advertisement. While the Traffic Campaign is a more traditional feature where the intent is to get audiences onto a landing page, the Engagement Campaign does result in more user data as you’re tracking behaviors over conversions. For new product launches or niche audiences, it may be beneficial to start with an Engagement Campaign for more data. Also launched in 2010, Instagram has grown to over 500 million active users with over 4.2 billion likes per-day.[2] According to a Pew Research Study, 55% of users between 18 and 29 years-old, making Instagram the second largest social network that is actively used by this age group.[3] One distinct advantage that Instagram has over other platforms is its ease of use for interactions. A recent study by Forrester research found that users on Instagram are far 58 times more likely to engage with brand posts than on Facebook and 128 times more than Twitter.[4] Another advantage that Instagram has is its uses of Facebook’s demographic data to target audiences. Since Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram in 2012, Facebook has merged many of its paid advertising features, updates, and data tracking into Instagram. With Facebook’s rich demographic and behavior data, many businesses will find Instagram’s command of high engagement rates and extensive targeting tools effective. When it comes to internet tastemakers, Reddit is one of the largest discussion-based networks with archives of pages covering even the most niche of topics. Reddit’s paid advertising platform is similar to Google’s search engine where advertisers can invest in top positions on the front page. Advertisements have space for a title and external URL, making it easier for advertisers experienced in Google and Bing’s PPC to transfer their skills. However, to effectively advertise on Reddit, you must first understand its caveats. The communities on Reddit are known to be protective of the site’s culture and actively discredit direct advertisements with dislikes and negative comments. If the product or promotion you’re advertising is highly sales-driven, then Reddit may not be the best platform for your investment. As a rule of thumb, if your advertisement isn’t contributing to the community¸ then advertising on Reddit will be challenging. The most important component of your advertising campaign is your Ad Copy. As you develop your advertising campaign, remember to be transparent about your intentions and carry a casual tone in the messaging. This becomes easier when you’re promoting something that Redditors find inherently valuable like insider information on a query or product demos. To learn more about writing effective Ad Copies, see our blog. Advertising on these underutilized social networks can open new opportunities in unexplored markets. Finding the right social network mix is a matter of trial-and-error. But they pay-off can lead to a lower cost-per-acquisition and improved efficacy of already successful campaigns. With nearly 10-years of experience in digital marketing, Strongpages has generated significant results for clients across major industries. To learn more about how Strongpages can help you reach your digital marketing goals, fill out our form and an expert will reach you soon! Also, don’t forget to follow our Twitter: @Strongpages & LinkedIn: Strongpages for more PPC, content development, and SEO tips! [1]Paul S, Evan S, Ben S. “Pinterest User Statistics 2016”. Global Media Insight. http://www.globalmediainsight.com/blog/pinterest-users-statistics/ [2]“Press News”. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/press/?hl=en [3]Maev D. “Mobile Messaging and Social Media 2015”. Pew Research Center. http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/08/19/mobile-messaging-and-social-media-2015/ [4]Nate E. “Instagram Is The King of Social Engagement”. Forrester. http://blogs.forrester.com/nate_elliott/14-04-29-instagram_is_the_king_of_social_engagement