To Ad or Not to Ad: Should You Invest in Facebook or LinkedIn Ads?

Paid social media advertising is a powerful tool for any business, when utilised correctly. Cutting through the noise and delivering engaging ads that make your audience stop scrolling and take action requires an intricate approach. Two giants in the social arena, Facebook and LinkedIn, offer powerful advertising platforms with unique strengths and audience appeal. But how do you know which platform is right for your business and where do you focus your attention to maximise your spend? The opportunity is there for businesses of every scale – let’s see how you can capitalise.

Who Is Your Audience?

The first step in choosing between Facebook and LinkedIn ads is understanding where your target audience spends their time online. Facebook sits at a staggering 3.65 billion+ monthly active users, showing us that it is still a behemoth of social media.

LinkedIn, on the other hand, has a more ‘modest’ but highly focused base of 1.15 billion+ monthly active users. Users on LinkedIn are primarily interested in professional networking, career development, and industry insights. Depending on your product, service or offering, each platform will hold its merits in audience specific advertising.

B2B vs. B2C: Where Do You Fit?

If you’re a B2B company offering products or services to other businesses, LinkedIn’s professional environment might be your ideal playground. The platform’s user base consists of decision-makers, industry professionals, and individuals actively seeking business-related content.

For B2C brands, especially those in e-commerce or offering consumer goods, Facebook’s vast and diverse audience often proves more fruitful. The platform’s personal nature makes it ideal for brands looking to connect with consumers on a more emotional level.

Considering the headspace in which you find your audiences on these respective platforms is also an important factor. If someone has both Facebook and LinkedIn accounts, they will be logging into each with different intentions. If someone is being greeted with professional, corporate messaging on Facebook, they could be less receptive than if they see it on their LinkedIn.

Ad Types and Creativity

Both platforms offer a variety of paid socail formats, including image ads, video ads, and carousel ads. However, Facebook takes the lead in terms of creative options. With interactive ad formats like Slideshow, Playables, and Stories, Facebook provides more opportunities for engaging, visually driven campaigns.

LinkedIn’s strength lies in its professional ad formats, such as Sponsored InMail, which allows you to send personalised messages directly to users’ inboxes. This can be particularly effective for B2B lead generation and relationship building.

Targeting Capabilities

Facebook’s targeting options are incredibly detailed, allowing you to narrow down your audience based on demographics, interests, behaviours, and more. The platform’s Lookalike Audiences feature is particularly powerful, helping you reach new users similar to your existing customers.

LinkedIn’s targeting is more focused on professional attributes such as job titles, industries, and company sizes. This makes it excellent for account-based marketing strategies and reaching specific professional demographics.

Bang For Your Buck

Let’s talk money. When it comes to cost, Facebook generally offers a lower cost-per-click (CPC) compared to LinkedIn. With a median CPC of £0.41, Facebook is often more budget-friendly, especially for businesses just starting with social media advertising.

LinkedIn’s higher median CPC of £4.47 reflects the platform’s more specialised audience. While the initial cost may be higher, LinkedIn ads often result in higher-quality leads, particularly for B2B companies. In fact, ad clicks on LinkedIn are reported to be 500% more likely to convert to quality leads compared to Facebook – very hard to ignore if you are a service provider.

Analytics and Performance Tracking

Both platforms offer robust analytics tools to help you measure the performance of your campaigns. Facebook’s Page Insights provides detailed information on reach, engagement, and audience demographics. You can track everything from page likes and post reach to video views and audience behaviour.

LinkedIn’s analytics are divided into three main sections: Updates, Followers, and Visitors. These tools allow you to monitor your content performance, follower growth, and visitor demographics, giving you valuable insights into your professional audience. Data doesn’t lie, and the more insightful your data is, the more you can tailor your marketing efforts to produce future results.

Choosing Your Weapon

Ultimately, the choice between Facebook and LinkedIn ads depends on your specific business goals, target audience, and marketing strategy. Which one do you choose?

Choose Facebook if:

• You’re targeting a broad consumer audience
• Your product or service benefits from visual storytelling
• You have a limited budget and want to reach a large audience

Choose LinkedIn if:

• You’re targeting professionals or B2B clients
• Your goal is to generate high-quality leads
• You’re focusing on thought leadership or industry-specific content

Remember, it’s not always an either/or decision. Many successful businesses use both platforms strategically, tailoring their approach to each platform’s strengths and audience.

Both Facebook and LinkedIn offer powerful advertising tools that can significantly boost your digital marketing efforts. By understanding your audience, goals, and the unique features of each platform, you can create targeted campaigns that drive results and help your business grow in the digital space.

Or you can give the Reech experts a call. We know paid social media platforms inside and out, not to mention our winning in-house creative and digital teams love nothing more than to stop a scroller stop dead in their tracks to take some action.