Leveraging active user bases and exclusive first-party data, social media platforms have become invaluable traffic sources for marketing professionals. It’s no surprise that a Hanapin study revealed 88% of advertisers currently utilize Facebook for advertising, with 30% of these marketers extending their efforts to Twitter.
However, the same study unexpectedly showed other social media networks like Quora, Pinterest, and Snapchat are employed by less than 10% of marketers, despite their popularity among users. In fact, Reddit, the sixth most-visited global website, doesn’t even rank within the top eight platforms used.
Many advertisers may question the need to explore alternative ad platforms when Facebook and Twitter already deliver substantial reach. However, it’s crucial to remember that larger platforms often breed higher competition. A comprehensive social media marketing strategy necessitates testing ads across multiple platforms. Smaller, less saturated social platforms frequently offer more cost-effective advertising. Additionally, depending on your specific industry, specialized platforms may allow for more precise targeting of receptive audiences. By venturing into new platforms, you open doors to fresh audiences, uncover novel ad formats, and potentially unlock untapped avenues for success. With this in mind, let’s explore five alternative social media networks worthy of your consideration:
- Snapchat
- Quora
- Reddit Now, let’s delve into some helpful advice on navigating the world of marketing and advertising on each of these platforms.
Pinterest: A Lifestyle Powerhouse
Pinterest emerges as an ideal platform for B2C brands with visually-driven lifestyle products. My current feed showcases ads for sneakers, an abdominal workout, meal prep recipes, and an Apple Watch, all emphasizing imagery over text to promote their offerings. Pinterest, however, might not be the best fit for complex B2B software solutions. Last year, Pinterest reported 250 million users and over 175 billion pins. Additionally, the platform shared that users perceive Pinterest ads as 1.4 times more relevant than ads encountered on other social media networks, presenting a compelling argument for incorporating Pinterest into your advertising strategy.
Pinterest Ads
Pinterest offers “Promoted Pins,” which are essentially standard pins that advertisers can elevate within a user’s feed. These ads are characterized by their simplicity, featuring an image, concise text, and an external link, seamlessly integrating into the overall Pinterest experience.
Their self-serve dashboard simplifies the advertising process, offering basic targeting parameters such as gender, age, location, language, and device. Moreover, you can refine your targeting by leveraging nearly 250 pre-defined interests (e.g., Toys, Travel Tips, Oral Care) and specific keywords of your choosing. You also have the flexibility to control whether your ads appear in search results, browsing feeds, or both. When crafting a Pinterest ad, opt for a vertical image at least 600 pixels wide. Remember that Pinterest users are on a quest for inspiration and new ideas. Visually appealing ads that hint at improving the user’s life tend to perform exceptionally well. Pinterest video ads also present a compelling option worth exploring.
Snapchat: The Gen Z Haven
Similar to Pinterest, B2C brands are more likely to thrive on Snapchat than B2B on Snapchat. If your B2C business caters to a younger demographic, experimenting with Snapchat ads becomes imperative. Despite accounting for only 1% of total digital spend, Snapchat boasts 27% of Americans, making it a prime avenue for engaging with a youthful audience (with a remarkable 78% usage rate among 18 to 24-year-olds).
Snapchat Ads
Snapchat has multiple ad types, notably their “Sponsored Filters.” These branded overlays allow users to enhance their photos, injecting a touch of whimsy and personality. For optimal impact, these filters often combine a relevant phrase with a logo, such as “Feliz Navidad” paired with a Corona logo during the Christmas season.
Snapchat’s “Story Ads” reside within the Discover tab, nestled among organic stories from prominent figures and media outlets. In this space, you have a single image and a mere 34 characters to capture attention and entice clicks, leading users to a sequence of at least three video Snaps you’ve uploaded. Snapchat also features “Snap Ads,” subtly interjected between Snaps in a user’s story, available in static or video formats. While repurposing video ads from programmatic channels is common, these often feel out of place on Snapchat. Authentic engagement often stems from Snapchat-specific short videos, particularly those shot on smartphones and depicting real people interacting with the product. Snapchat’s self-serve ad platform allows for targeting based on age, gender, language, carrier, and predefined audiences (e.g., Yoga Enthusiasts, Bank Visitors). It integrates data from Experian, Datalogix, and Nielsen for enhanced demographic targeting. However, it’s worth noting the $50 minimum daily spend cap, considerably higher than other platforms.
LinkedIn: Your Professional Network
LinkedIn advertisers predominantly fall under the B2B umbrella, making it a must-try platform for this target audience. However, B2C advertisers can also find success thanks to LinkedIn’s robust work-based targeting capabilities and extensive network of more than 560 million professionals. Imagine the possibilities of targeting by job titles, employees at specific companies, skills, pre-defined interests (like Computer Graphics or Organic Farming), field of study, education, and more. This positions LinkedIn as a perfect channel for, say, a luxury brand aiming to reach high-income households, achievable by targeting job titles like CEO, VP, Director, and so on. Brands with demographic segments such as “young professionals” or “mid-career engineers” can readily connect with these groups on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn Ads
LinkedIn presents three primary ad units, all seamlessly integrated into the platform: Sponsored Content, Sponsored InMail, and Sponsored Job Results. While the latter two primarily serve sales and hiring teams, Sponsored Content empowers marketers to reach their target audience as they navigate their LinkedIn feeds. These ads mimic organic posts, even revealing which of your connections follow the sponsoring companies.
These ads typically promote content such as eBooks or blog articles. On desktop, you’ll also encounter commercial-quality auto-playing videos. Does this mean directing users to a product page is out of the question? Absolutely not. However, remember users are often in a work-oriented, analytical mindset rather than a buying mode, positioning LinkedIn as more of a top-of-funnel traffic source.
Quora: The Q&A Hub
Advertising on Quora might seem unconventional, but this Q&A platform boasts over 300 million unique visitors each month. With its diverse range of topics, Quora holds relevance for almost every marketer—the key lies in pinpointing your audience and strategically positioning your ads.
Quora Ads
Quora’s self-serve portal offers two main ad units: Promoted Answers, where a specific answer gains prominence in a user’s home feed (excluding within the question itself), and image/text ads strategically placed within answer results. Quora’s strength lies in its hyper-targeting capabilities. Beyond pre-defined Topic and Interest Targeting options (with thousands to choose from) and their newly introduced keyword targeting, you can laser-focus on specific questions. The platform even provides estimated weekly views for each question, aiding in your decision-making.
A winning Quora campaign hinges on thorough research to identify relevant questions. Consider this missed opportunity: A search for “What are the best running shoes?” reveals no footwear advertisers. Securing a top spot in these results could be remarkably cost-effective for brands like Adidas or New Balance. This research is far from daunting. Simply conduct a Quora search for a relevant question or keyword, note its associated Topic, and then explore other questions under that same Topic. With limited ad text space (105 characters), brevity is key. Feel free to guide users directly to a product page; these questions inherently suggest buying intent, potentially leading to Quora ads having the highest conversion rate among the listed social networks.
Reddit: The Crowd-Sourced Favorite
While past controversies might deter some marketers from Reddit, its reach is undeniable. As the sixth most-visited site globally, Reddit boasts 234 million unique monthly users. Mirroring Quora, Reddit encompasses a vast array of topics with over 1.2 million subreddits, catering to both B2B and B2C audiences.
Reddit Ads
Reddit has skillfully crafted native ads that blend seamlessly into a user’s feed, creating an intuitive self-serve ad UI and offering targeting options based on specific subreddits. While often perceived as a meme-centric platform by outsiders, Reddit users value it as a news aggregator and a space for sharing insights and trends. While your ads don’t have to strictly adhere to a “Reddit-esque” tone (many Reddit ads mirror standard Facebook ads), aligning with the prevailing tone of relevant subreddits can be advantageous.
Begin by identifying the most fitting subreddits to target. One strategy involves searching for a relevant keyword and then navigating to the “Communities” tab, which unveils subreddits linked to that term along with subscriber counts, enabling you to prioritize your targeting efforts. For example, searching for “running shoes” reveals subreddits like “r/Sneakers” (650,000 subscribers), “r/running” (580,000 subscribers), “r/RunningwithDogs” (10,000 subscribers), and more, highlighting an untapped opportunity for footwear brands.
Embracing New Horizons in Social Media Marketing
While success across every single social media marketing network is unlikely, these five platforms are worth exploring if your goal is to expand your reach beyond established platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Each network boasts a substantial following and user-friendly self-serve dashboards, simplifying the process of launching and managing ad campaigns while minimizing the risk of wasted ad spend. So why wait? Embark on your testing journey today!