.

Social Media Ads: Which Platform Is Right For Your Business?

Molly Berard • August 26, 2019

With so many social media platforms to choose from, deciding where you should market your business can be tricky. When it comes to social media ads, it is very important to choose the platform(s) that are most likely to achieve your goals. Each platform offers something different, and not all social media sites are suitable for all businesses.

A woman is holding a cell phone with social media ads written on it

Marketing has changed dramatically over the last few years. With digital marketing on the rise, businesses and agencies must adapt to utilize the ever-growing social media platforms. In addition to organic posting on a business profile, you should also utilize social media ads to help raise brand awareness, drive people to your page and website, and promote sales. To be successful in your ads management, it is important to choose the platforms best suited for your business. Each platform has different pros and cons associated with them. Let’s take a closer look shall we?


Facebook Ads

Facebook Ads are one of the most popular types of social media ads. Facebook is the largest and most-used social media site in the world. More than 2 billion people use it every month! That is a huge audience just waiting to be targeted. Over 65 million businesses have a Facebook page, and more than 6 million businesses/agencies utilize Facebook Ads. With such a huge pool of competition you may be wary to advertise on Facebook, but we can assure you, it is in your best interest. Very few businesses are NOT suited for Facebook advertising. Whether your business offers products or services, Facebook can help grow your following and brand awareness.


Targeting: Excellent targeting options make it easy to show your Facebook Ads to those it best applies to. However, Facebook has been editing the targeting options recently, eliminating any discriminatory options including race and household income.


Top Industries: E-Commerce, Fashion, Auto, Real Estate, Sports, Health and Wellness


Unacceptable Industries for Facebook Ads:

Tobacco Products                 Drugs & Drug-Related Products

Unsafe Supplements                Weapons, Ammunition, or Explosives

Adult Products, Services, or Content          Surveillance Equipment

Personal Health                 Payday Loans/Paycheck Advances

Multi Level Marketing               Penny Auctions

Counterfeit Documents               Spyware or Malware

Automatic Animation               Unauthorized Streaming Devices

Circumventing Systems                Prohibited Financial Products

Sale of Body Parts


Benefits: Facebook Ads are easy to create and control, making them a good candidate for those just starting out in ads management. In addition, you are able to carefully target where your ad ends up, giving you a good chance of placing your ad in front of the right people. Finally, Facebook allows many types of ads including photo, video, carousel, and boosted posts.


Instagram Ads

Instagram has really grown in popularity since it first launched in 2010. This platform is extremely useful for marketing businesses with highly visual products. Because the importance lies more heavily in the photo, it is crucial to have appealing content that showcases your business in the best light. Instagram Ads are a great way to improve your follower count. Hashtags can be used to increase organic reach but Instagram Ads place your business in front of people who likely would not have found it otherwise. This type of social media ad is extremely simple to create. Instagram allows you to boost posts that you have already created, effectively turning them into advertisements. As with Facebook, you can set a budget for Instagram Ads, adjusting as needed.


Targeting : Because Instagram is owned by Facebook, the targeting options are very much the same. This is great news for ad managers, because any and all Instagram Ads can be shown to those most likely to respond to it.


Top Industries: Travel and Hospitality, Fashion, Health and Wellness, Crafts/DIY, Food, Beauty, and Photography.


Unacceptable Industries for Instagram Ads:


Tobacco Products                 Drugs & Drug-Related Products

Unsafe Supplements                Weapons, Ammunition, or Explosives

Adult Products, Services, or Content          Surveillance Equipment

Personal Health                 Payday Loans/ Paycheck Advances

Multi Level Marketing               Penny Auctions

Counterfeit Documents               Spyware or Malware

Automatic Animation               Unauthorized Streaming Devices

Circumventing Systems                Prohibited Financial Products

Sale of Body Parts



Benefits: Instagram Ads are often linked to Facebook Ads. You can run the same ad on both platforms simultaneously, and there are ads management tools and teams that will post to both from one place (including BusySeed!). The highly-targeted options allow you to spend money where it is most likely to benefit your business. If your business is very visual, you will thrive on the photo-centric platform.


Twitter Ads

Twitter shot up in popularity during and following the 2016 election. It is now a place for news, updates, memes, and the like. If you are considering Twitter Ads for your company, make sure you have a proper ads budget. There are three types of Twitter Ads: Promoted Tweets, Promoted Accounts, and Promoted Trends. Promoted Tweets boost an already-existing post and shows it on your followers’ timelines again as well as shows up in relevant search results. On Twitter, you cannot pay per impression like you can for other social media ads, and each engagement costs around $1.40. Promoted Accounts encourage more people to follow your page for a cost of $2.50-$4.00 per follow. Promoted Trends is a list of topics that are specific to each user’s account based on where they are and what they tweet. These Twitter Ads are extremely effective, but cost $200,000 per day! All three forms of Twitter Ads cost more than Facebook Ads and Instagram Ads, so make sure you believe that Twitter will truly benefit your business.


Targeting : Twitter offers a pretty extensive list of targeting options to better the chance that your promoted content is seen by your target market. Like Facebook and Instagram, there are targeting options that are not available because they move into the realm of discrimination. Twitter Ads can be targeted to devices, carriers, and OS versions in addition to the typical demographic and location targeting. You can target to audience who like certain types of pages or content, and you can target to those who tweet about products similar to yours.


Top Industries : News and Information, Retail, E-Commerce, Health and Wellness, Travel.


Unacceptable Industries for Twitter Ads:

Adult Sexual Content         Counterfeit Goods

Drugs and Drug Paraphernalia      Endangered Species

Illegal Products and Services      Malware and Software Downloads

Prohibited Content for Minors      State Media

Tobacco and Tobacco Accessories    Weapons and Weapon Accessories

Alcohol Content (Restricted)      Gambling Content (Restricted)

Political Content (Restricted)     Financial Products and Services (Restricted)

Health and Pharmaceutical Products and Services (Restricted)


Benefits: Twitter Ads can be great for your business if you want to target people 18-29 years old. If you already have a Twitter account and get good engagement, you should definitely consider talking to an ads management team about utilizing promoted tweets. If you have the money to spend, you can see a lot of increased engagement rate , follows, and purchases with Twitter Ads.


If you are considering adding any of these social media ads to your business’ repertoire give BusySeed a call! We are experts in ads management and guarantee to grow your business. We have worked with all three of these social media ad types, as well as Pinterest, Google My Business, YouTube, and more! We want to help you succeed. Call today to get started: (888) 353-1484.

A row of blue mountains on a white background.
By Michael Brooker April 23, 2025
A/B testing is a game-changer for email marketing, but knowing what to test and how to analyze results is key. Explore the essential elements to test, from subject lines to calls to action, and how the data can help you optimize your email campaigns for higher conversions.
The science of subject lines : how to increase open rates
By Michael Brooker April 23, 2025
Unlock the secret to increasing open rates with subject lines that get noticed! Learn the strategies behind crafting attention-grabbing subject lines that boost open rates and drive engagement with your audience.
Remarketing techniques done right : how to win back lost customers
By Michael Brooker April 18, 2025
Mastering remarketing techniques is essential for any business looking to win back lost customers and maximize their ad spend. Investing in retargeting campaigns with targeted segmentation, optimized ad creatives, and multi-channel strategies will help you stay ahead of the competition.
By Michael Brooker April 16, 2025
Google and Bing Ads each have unique advantages, but the key to success lies in optimizing for the right audience. Learn how to refine your targeting, ad copy, and bidding strategies to boost conversions on both platforms.
By Michael Brooker April 14, 2025
Boosting your e-commerce store's visibility is all about mastering SEO. In this post, we’ll show you how to implement effective strategies that drive traffic, increase sales, and elevate your online presence, much like the leading advertising agencies in New York.
How to optimize your website content for seo success
By Michael Brooker April 11, 2025
Optimizing your content is key to standing out in search results. Learn actionable strategies to fine-tune your website’s content, boost SEO performance, and improve your online visibility, just like the best NYC advertising agencies do.
Unlocking the power of ai : practical strategies for smarter campaigns
By Michael Brooker April 9, 2025
AI is transforming how we run marketing campaigns, and it’s time to unlock its full potential. Explore simple yet effective strategies for integrating AI into your campaigns, helping you achieve more imaginative, more targeted results, just like the top NYC advertising agencies.
By Michael Brooker April 7, 2025
In AI marketing, finding the sweet spot between personalization and privacy can feel tricky. Let’s dive into how you can use AI to tailor experiences without crossing privacy lines, just like the leading agencies in New York do.
How to Build a Lead Generation Funnel That Converts
By Michael Brooker April 4, 2025
Building a lead generation funnel doesn’t have to be complicated! Let’s break it down and show you how to guide your leads through every stage—whether it’s awareness, interest, or conversion—just like the top NYC agencies do.
Show More