In today’s world, it seems like everyone has a social media account. From Facebook to Instagram, businesses of all sizes are inextricably connected to social media. However, not every business is ready to jump on board with the whole marketing-as-a-service thing just yet. That’s okay because there are so many different advertising platforms out there for businesses that aren’t ready for prime time just yet. It doesn’t mean these companies can’t grow once they have the right strategies in place. Let’s take a look at 5 advertising alternatives to Facebook and Instagram advertising if your business isn’t ready to fully commit yet.
What is Facebook advertising?
Facebook advertising is a form of advertising that allows you to place ads on the walls of other people’s dreams. If you’re unfamiliar with the whole dream thing, let me explain. When we’re dreaming, we’re actually in another part of our brain called the limbic system. The limbic system is responsible for emotions, survival instincts, and everything that’s instinctual about a human being. It’s also responsible for creating intense neural pathways that can create intense experiences. The same is true for your customers. They’re in another part of their brain called the neocortex which is responsible for reason, logic, and critical thinking. When customers encounter your brand, they have the same limbic system experience that your brand has. You feel the need to buy from them, they feel the need to buy from you.
What is Instagram Advertising?
Advertising on Facebook provides businesses with an opportunity to target a specific demographic or consumer base. Businesses can use Facebook ads to target people based on their interests, location, age, gender, and more. This allows businesses to tailor their ads to the people who are most likely to be interested in their product or service. Facebook also offers businesses a variety of ad formats, such as videos, images, carousels, and stories. This allows businesses to create engaging, eye-catching ads that will capture the attention of their target audience. In addition to targeting the right people, businesses must also create compelling ad copy and optimize their campaigns to ensure that their ads are seen by the most relevant audience. Optimizing campaigns can include setting the right budget, using the correct metrics, and adjusting bids to maximize results.
Google Ads
Google Ads let you create ads that appear on Google search results, cost-per-click ads on Google’s network of partner websites, and ads on Google’s partner auction-based ad exchange. Once you create an account, you can upload your ads and choose which categories your ads appear in. You can also choose which Google-owned properties your ads appear on like YouTube, Google Images, Google Maps, and Google Search. Google Ads are a great way for new businesses to gain exposure to new audiences. You can create ads that appear in search results and on partner websites, which will help you get your name out there to a potentially infinite number of people.
YouTube Ads
YouTube ads let you create ads that appear in people’s YouTube videos, as they watch them. You can target your ads to people who have already watched your competitor’s videos, which can help you reach those people more easily. Other features of YouTube ads include creating landing pages that automatically play a video ad when visitors click on them, measurement and reporting features, and the ability to create ads that appear on multiple YouTube properties, like your YouTube channel and other channels you’ve teamed up with on YouTube.
Google Adwords Advertising
Google Adwords let you create ads that appear on Google search results, YouTube videos, and other partner websites. You can also create ads that appear on your own websites, as well as ads that appear on Google Images, Google Maps, and other Google properties. Google Adwords is a great way for established businesses to gain new customers. You can create ads that appear on search results and partner websites, which is a great way to gain exposure for your brand.
Snapchat Advertising
Snapchat ads let you create ads that appear in a person’s Snapchat story, as they view the story. This means your ad will appear to all of that person’s friends, many of whom may have never even heard of your brand before. Ads in a person’s Snapchat story are only viewable for 24 hours, so after that person views the story, your ad disappears. This means you only have one chance to get that person’s attention, so you need to make sure your ad is worth showing.
Stylust Ads
Stylust ads let you create ads that appear in the feed of users who have a certain amount of style points in their accounts. This can be especially useful for businesses with a diverse audience, like a clothing brand that appeals to both hipsters and dads. Style points are tracked through Zapier’s network of apps and websites and are a great way for those businesses to gain new customers.
Conclusion
Marketing as a service is the best thing to happen to B2B marketing in a long time. But just because you’re ready to fully commit doesn’t mean you can’t benefit from some of these alternatives to Facebook and Instagram advertising. Take advantage of these options while they’re still available to you, and your business will be better off for it.
