Excerpts from the blog on ‘Adwords, Facebook & LinkedIn Advertising – Which is best for my business’ by Ivan Galtsov of Pixi.
When it comes to marketing online, finding your ideal customer is the ultimate goal. Marketing 101 tells you that the first step is to define your target market. In a successful online campaign, this needs to be taken further – what is your ideal prospects background, dislikes, political alignment, financial situation, view of themselves? Paint your online campaign target with a broad brush, and you will see nothing but low relevancy traffic and time-wasters.
Once you have defined the target audience, you can determine the best platform with which to connect them with your product/service.
I. Adwords
Google AdWords – what may now be considered a “traditional” means of online advertising, is excellent for B2C businesses. The search network in particular is the most effective online marketing tool for local service providers. “Plumbers in South Sydney”, “Drycleaners in Venice Beach”, “Lawyers in Central London” – Businesses that are based in or service a particular location get the most out of Google AdWords.
According to statistics from Wordstream, consumer services (B2C) boast one of the highest conversion rates on Google AdWords of 5%, second only to insurance services (7%).
Best for: Local Service Businesses
Not so Good: Advocacy & Charity Organizations
II. Facebook
Facebook is a community based platform. People on Facebook are not actively searching for goods or services – they are unwilling consumers of advertising material.
Because they are not actively searching, Facebook Ads must entice the consumer to make an impulse purchase. This is why Facebook advertising is ideal for e-commerce businesses.
Treat your Facebook consumer as you would a shopper in a mall – entice them into your store with visually pleasing material. Facebooks Ad success relies heavily on visual elements, so stylish, professional photography is recommended.
Another area where Facebook marketing is effective is among charity and advocacy groups. When targeted effectively to align with the users values, successful campaigns elicit a strong emotional response and motivate people take action. Overlaying statistics with emotive imagery is particularly engaging.
People do not turn to Facebook to find a particular service they are in need of, therefore local trade businesses – builders, plumbers, electricians – do not do well out of a Facebook campaign.
Best for: E-commerce Businesses, Charities
Not so Good: Local Service Businesses
III. LinkedIn
Originally a marketplace for jobseekers and recruiters, LinkedIn has expanded into a thriving social network. However, people use LinkedIn for a different purpose – networking and sharing business ideas. LinkedIn Ads are for B2B marketing.
LinkedIn is best suited for professional’s services such as, marketing agencies, recruitment, law firms and consultancy groups. The difficulty with marketing on LinkedIn is that you must offer something of real interest and value such as thoughtful long form article and case studies. This means that achieving a successful LinkedIn campaign is often more time consuming than other platforms.
A LinkedIn campaign cannot be a hard sell either. It must be implicit and aim to create the impression that your business is a thought leader in your industry. LinkedIn campaigns are more difficult to measure than other online campaigns as they are more of a branding exercise.
Best for: Agencies & Consultants (B2B)
Not so Good: B2C Businesses
Ultimately each advertising platform is unique in its own way and can be a great addition to your marketing strategy. What you use, however, will depend on your goals and target market. We had a great success with all platforms and can help you with the Google AdWords Management, Facebook Advertising and LinkedIn Ads. Pixi will work with you to define the goals, your target market and select the platform(-s) that will deliver the best return on investment for your business.
Author Bio
Ivan Galtsov
Head of Search , Pixi
Ivan Galtsov is the Head of Search of Pixi as well as a founder of SEMCovean AdWords campaign set up service. Ivan’s been in the industry for over 10 years and helped more than 150 website owners to achieve their online marketing goals.
