Social Media Marketing
– Choosing Between Facebook & Twitter

A question we get from many small business owners and budding entrepreneurs on a regular basis is ‘Should I advertise on Facebook or Twitter?’.  Whilst it may appear to be a very simple question, unfortunately the answer is ‘it depends’.  We hate that answer as we are sure you do too so we’ve tried to break it down for you a little further.
Whilst not ideal, ‘it depends’ IS the correct answer from an overview standpoint.  ‘It depends’ on hundreds of factors relating to you, your business, your target demographic and your desired outcome.  It depends on so many things that it can be quite overwhelming for anyone new to social media marketing – heck even some veteran social media gurus have trouble navigating such a seemingly small question.
2018 will be very similar to the trend that has been seen since 2015, Facebook and Twitter still dominate the online marketing space for social networks PPC (pay per click).  It’s no surprise to anyone in the industry since Facebook and Twitter boast somewhere north of 2 billion users between them.  There aren’t very many marketing opportunities where your message can reach 1/4 of the whole planet!
What is VERY different between the two platforms is marketing and advertising as well as the strategies that go with them.  Each have their strengths and weaknesses and depending on your business niche those weaknesses may be actually strengths and vice-versa.
Whether you are new to social media marketing or undertaking a new niche, it can be difficult to decide between the two when looking to spend your marketing budget efficiently.  Both can see advertising budgets obliterated with little to no results when done badly.  On the flip side it could be the best money you have ever spent and take your business to the next level.
Below we take a look at the options of pro’s and con’s when choosing to advertise on Facebook or Twitter.  We give you an overhead view and recommendations based on different niches.

Facebook Advertising

Facebook is one of the first and largest social media network in the World.  Originally designed to connect people, it has consciously grown to be a huge marketing platform for businesses of all industries and niches.  It is no surprise that the social media platform with the most members is in most cases the best option when choosing which social media platform to advertise on.
Here are some key points you should consider when choosing where to spend your social media marketing budget.

Advantages:

	Demographic Filtering – The ability to specify many many filters is Facebooks key feature
	Visual Adverts – Attract your audience with eye catching images as opposed to text adverts
	Huge Audience – Over 1.5 billion users currently.
	Low Cost – CPC & CPA is low in comparison to Google Adwords
	Viral – The opportunity to go viral via Facebook is greater than any other platform.
	Wide Audience – Over 1.5 billion users currently.

Disadvantages:

	Learning Curve – It can be very tricky to navigate and learn everything you need to so that you can use it effectively.
	Attention – It can be difficult to get the attention of people without a good advert.
	Negativity – Trolls and unwanted comments can be a plague and bad PR.
	Maintenance – Maintaining and keeping adverts up to date can be a big task.

Generally Best Suited To:

Whilst not always true, Facebook adverts generally suit the following groups of industries very well in our experience with our clients.
Health & Beauty Niche
Food & Beverage Niche
Retail & eCommerce Niche
Services & Startups Niche
Small Businesses
Local Businesses
Group/Social Reliant Businesses
Communities

Twitter Advertising

Advantages:

	Campaign Templates – Twitter templates are incredibly useful for new & inexperienced users.
	Low Cost – CPC & CPA can be extremely low when compared to Google Adwords and other platforms
	Demographic Filtering – although not quite up to Facebook’s standard, the geographical and interests filters are very useful.
	Tailored Audiences – Twitter’s grouping of audiences is extremely useful for business marketing.
	Follows, Likes & Re-tweets – gaining traction on Twitter is much easier than any other platform when done correctly.

Disadvantages:

	Tracking & Reporting – both are notoriously bad on the Twitter platform and vastly inferior to the likes of Google Analytics.
	Customer Support – Unless your budget is £10,000 + it is unlikely you will be assigned a representitive.
	Cost – Whilst cheaper than Google it is more expensive than Facebook in almost every way.
	Spam & Bot Accounts – This is a huge problem on Twitter, many accounts are fake and/or not what they appear.

Generally Best Suited To:

Whilst not always true, Facebook adverts generally suit the following groups of industries very well in our experience with our clients.
Retail & eCommerce Niche
Services & Startups Niche
Large Brands
Large Businesses
Technology Industries
European Niches
We hope this has given you some insight and a better understanding of which social platform will work best for you and your brand.  Feel free to contact us if you need any advice or take a look at our social media marketing packages and allow one of our London based experts to propel your company to the next level with a brand new audience.