Written by: Pedro Campos, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
“Are Facebook Ads Dead?” – this has probably been the most seen headline across the web, in the marketing space recently. If you´re reading this, there´s a good chance these privacy changes impacted your business. Like you, many brands have started to look for alternatives, some have already “swam to another shore.” While others are still in “deep waters”, searching for other platforms to add to their media mix.
You don´t want to rely just on one ad platform, that´s for sure. Today, we´re going to look at some popular Facebook Ads alternatives or additions to your marketing plan so you can still thrive online. With the right strategy, “Ask App Not to Track” shouldn´t sink your ecommerce business.
Google Shopping
Google advertising is pretty much a necessity these days for brands that want to scale efficiently. Its biggest benefit is the fact that people are already searching for what you have to sell, making the sales cycle a lot shorter compared to social media platforms, where there´s almost no user intent.
At the time of this writing, you can choose between standard shopping and performance max campaigns. The latter has been recently introduced as more of an automated solution. Each has solid advantages. Standard shopping gives you more control over bidding and keywords.
Performance max, in a nutshell, saves time and resources.
To run ads on Google Shopping you need to upload a product feed to the platform. It´s similar to what you´ve probably done on Facebook. On Google, it´s called the Merchant Center. It´s always a best practice to run both Facebook and Google ads, as they tend to work well together. Advertising on Google can help fill in the missing data gaps you´ve experienced post iOS updates.
Pros
Strong user intent allows for higher conversion rates
Shorter sales cycles compared to paid social
Performance max can be a huge time and resource saver
Cons
Need a strong product feed optimization process
Typically more expensive than Facebook
YouTube
You probably already know YouTube is owned by Google. Because of this, it inherits the same high-quality targeting capabilities, powered by millions of signals from billions of users of their different apps, Google Maps, Gmail, etc.
Performance max campaigns will also display your video ads on YouTube. However, you can just target YouTube on a separate campaign, if you have the time or staff to pull it off. Telling an engaging story is so much easier with video than it is with text. Video can utilize more elements such as voice tone, background, animations, or music pace to create a higher converting message.
The common practice on YouTube, for most ecommerce brands is to start reaching people who are in the market for their product categories, called in-market audiences. If you have a solid customer base, use customer match audiences, which are the same as lookalikes on Facebook. Luckily, Google´s infrastructure wasn´t as affected by the privacy updates and still has one of the world´s most powerful ad data warehouses.
Pros
Good variety of video ad specs
Lots of targeting options beyond keywords
Easier to tell stories and capture users´ attention
Cons
Takes time to find the best-performing targeting
Requires stellar video marketing skills to scale efficiently
TikTok
This is where a lot of brands are moving to. Since it´s a relatively new platform for advertisers, it´s cheaper than Facebook, for example. Another advantage is that TikTok´s ad platform is very similar to Facebook´s, making it easier to transition over to.
There´s a lot of talk on the web about the demographics of this platform, claiming it´s more for younger generations. It might have been the case when it was launched but the trend is shifting. Older generations are starting to move to TikTok for the same reasons. Video content can be highly engaging and a good source of information. Unlike Facebook, TikTok allows you to target audiences based on hashtags. It can be a great solution to expand your interest targeting options.
I would recommend you test it for yourself and see if it performs well. That´s the ultimate judge. TikTok might work well for a skincare brand but perform terribly for a mattress store, for example. Businesses are all different and most importantly, their data stack is different. That alone can have a significant impact on results.
Pros
Great for user-generated content
Typically cheaper than most other established platforms
Can take advantage of content virality
Similar to Facebook´s interface
Cons
Limitations with ad format
Might have some restrictions on audience demographics
Costs can go up soon as more brands jump into it
Over the years, Pinterest has earned a reputation for having high-income audiences. In fact, 45% of its users in the US belong to a household that earns over $100,000. It has also attracted more female users, with over 60% globally at the moment.
It´s an excellent platform for ecommerce because people there want to not just discover interesting content but also new products. Another great benefit of Pinterest, unlike Instagram´s organic posts, is the ability to use a website link on your posts, also called pins.
From experience, Pinterest is more expensive than Facebook or Instagram but you tend to attract higher-value, more engaged audiences. The fact that users have high purchasing power should be a good enough reason to add Pinterest to your media mix. Because it´s a more segmented platform in terms of audience interests than Facebook, the cost per click is generally higher.
Pros
Women drive 70-80% of all purchasing decisions
Can create more brand recall due to saved pins
Cons
Needs higher quality, more professional content
Tends to work better for niche products
Cost per click can get to the double digits
Taboola
Imagine reaching over 9,000 publishers across the web with your message, on sites like USA Today, Fox News, or MSN. That´s what Taboola allows you to do. If you´ve never heard of native advertising, this platform is one of the kings.
One of its strongest propositions is the advanced brand safety controls. Facebook ads can show on partner sites and apps also called the audience network. The problem here is that advertisers have almost no control and visibility over where the ads show up. With Taboola, you can filter out sensitive content placements that can damage your brand long-term.
On Taboola, you can still apply the same full-funnel ecommerce strategies you have on other platforms. Top ecommerce brands such as Pandora, Cornerstone, Hear and Mack Weldon have succeeded on this platform. Launching new ads is super easy and fast, in part, thanks to Taboola´s partnership with high-quality stock image providers. Getting them approved – that´s another story.
Pros
Relatively cheap cost per click
Variety of brand safety controls
High-quality publisher network
Intuitive user interface
Cons
Can take longer than most platforms to get ad content approved
Look-alike audience targeting is still limited
Outbrain
This is another strong name in the native advertising space. Compared to Facebook, Outbrain is an excellent platform for scale. Its network generates an impressive 300 billion ad impressions every month. Through Outbrain´s content discovery platform, your ads can be shown on sites such as CNN, Mashable, Men´s Health, or The Guardian, to name a few. Another interesting fact is that Outbrain only partners with publishers that have a minimum of a million page views per month.
Outbrain has a good combination of brand safety controls, targeting capabilities, and advanced bid strategies that can use 1st data to optimize your ads. L'Oréal, Nestlé, Leroy Merlin, and Geox are amongst the biggest brands connecting with audiences through this platform.
Pros
Can link Google Analytics to optimize bidding for engagement
Premium ad inventory with better audiences
Headline suggestions feature is a big-time saver
Smart-feed technology adapts to pretty much any ad placement
Cons
Some higher-value audiences will have additional CPC fees
User interface is not the most user friendly
Minimum campaign daily spend
Yahoo
You might have heard of Yahoo a thousand times. But did you know they have one of the strongest native ad platforms? It´s called Yahoo Gemini and serves as many as two billion ads every day across its network.
One of the advantages over other native platforms is that Yahoo offers search placements as well, similar to Google, giving brands extra reach in a brand-safe environment.
Yahoo´s client base is quite impressive, with advertisers such as Apple, Wells Fargo, Nike, Signet Jewelers, and Best Buy.
The beauty of Yahoo´s native platform lies in its flexible targeting capabilities, with hundreds of data partners, and above all, simplicity. A new platform can be overwhelming so having a simple yet powerful setup is always welcomed. Well, sometimes, too simple.
Pros
Simple and clean user interface
Search traffic is typically cheaper compared to Google
Great custom audience targeting options
Cons
No ad editor for bulk changes or uploads
Reporting isn´t the best and sometimes buggy
Hard to get device bidding right since most traffic comes from mobile
Facebook Ads Alternative Or Addition?
In studying the best marketers and companies, I´ve noticed they are very good at adapting to challenges in the industry. They adapt and invest more in another direction instead of cutting something completely. I don´t believe in “black and white” scenarios or radical approaches either.
No doubt that Facebook ads have seen better days. That doesn´t mean you should drop it completely and replace it with something new. It´s still a powerful ad platform.
A more sustainable approach for your brand can be to invest more into other channels such as paid search or native while keeping what´s working the best on Facebook.
Marketing executives and entrepreneurs often ask me: “what platforms should I add to my media plan?” – and my answer is always: “the more the better.”
It´s a way to mitigate the risks of platform changes or breakdowns and get more brand exposure to new audiences. Instead of dwelling on Facebook ads, start thinking about an omnichannel approach for your marketing. That will always be your best chance to stay above water.
Pedro Campos, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Pedro is a Portuguese-born who fell into the media buying world by chance after watching an ad online. Despite being mentored by some of the best advertisers in the world early on, his first attempts to succeed at digital media left him bankrupt three times. He then realized in this industry, there was a bigger price to be paid to obtain mastery. That's the price he's helping companies avoid. He's the founder of Advertongue, a native advertising agency helping global brands grow and scale efficiently online. Over the years, he's been responsible for million-dollar budgets and made appearances in publications such as Content Marketing Institute, G2, and Funnel Magazine, to name a few.
