We hear these questions all the time.
Which one should I use, Google Ads or social ads? Which one is more effective? In which one should I invest?
Nowadays, there is a big debate regarding Google ads and social ads. The debate is over the importance and effectiveness of these two forms of advertising.
Our opinion, is that both Google Ads and social ads are very important and can actually work together. Both are more effective when they are used together, when they are integrated in the same campaigns.
Let’s start by looking at the value of each separately, and then we will dive into how you can integrate both of them in your campaigns.
Table of Contents
Google Ads
Google is not a social network, instead, it is search engine.
However, Google can be sometimes regarded as a social network, as its users use daily the different applications that Google offers, such as Gmail, Google Calendars or Drive to communicate and collaborate.
Moreover, Google owns YouTube, which is a very popular social channel in which users can interact with each other and react to the video content creators products.
The biggest advantage that Google brings, is that everybody uses it.
People from any age, demographic, or geographic location can use Google. This is very important to take into account, because anything you post on Google can reach many people (it could literally reach the whole world!).
There are many ways in which you can introduce your ad in Google. You can introduce it in the results of the search bar, or you can even introduce your ad in various websites.
The possibilities that Google offers for advertising are immense, and that is why the use of Google Ads can be so effective and beneficial for your organization.
Social Ads
The use of social networks has grown exponentially since 2009.
The reason for this is that there are many social networks. Each network has differences between them, and each adapts to the different tastes of different people.
Nowadays, the most popular social networks are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn, with apps like TikTok and others quickly creeping up in the ranks.
Each of these social networks are different, and they bring different opportunities.
Facebook has become the pillar for social ads for years. That said, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn also have their own forms of social ads, and they are becoming more and more popular
The biggest benefit that social networks bring is that their targeting is more specific, so, if an organization wants to reach a specific audience, it will be easier through social media than through Google Ads.
That is why social ads are becoming so important, because they will be directed to the target audience of the organization through a variety of targeting factors, whereas Google Ads rely more on targeting the right keywords.
Why mix Google Ads and social ads?
According to the experts at Wordstream, when applying different strategies in the same campaigns, the results are often better.
A marketing campaign should have an integrated strategy, which means that different strategies should be used to reach the objectives of the organization for it to be more effective.
Google Adss and social ads both have the advantage that they can be adapted to any business, so any business can decide to integrate both strategies and hope to reach a large audience.
The main advantage of mixing the Google Ads strategy and social ads strategy is that you can get information from each of them that can be applied in the other strategy, making them stronger.
Both Google Adss and social media advertising are sources of information, and the information resulting from both campaigns can be very helpful.
Moreover, this information serves as a very cheap market study. This means that by using both Google Ads and social ads, you will get more information about your audience, and as a result, your campaigns will become more effective.
The next advantage that the combination of these two forms of advertising brings is that you will be able to reach a larger audience, as you will reach different people through social media than you would through Google, thus expanding your reach.
With these tips, the idea that we want to transmit you is that you should always be thinking about improving your marketing strategy.
Do not focus on only one strategy, because as we have explained, sometimes the combination of two strategies works better than only using one alone.
So, do not hesitate to combine the use of Google Ads and social ads, and always think about ways to improve your marketing strategy!
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- Google Ads vs. Social Media Ads: Which Ones Should You Use? - January 19, 2021
Leyre,
Good to see your explanatory article about Google Ads and social media ads. I guess, before deciding upon, it’s good to run through some analytics from the history to understand the source of target audiences. Based on which, one can choose between Google or social media ads. What do you say?
Hi Jones,
There are so many factors that can help you to choose between Google or social media ads, for example, as you said, it is really important to run through analytics to understand your target audiences. In those analytics, you could see for example, how much your target audience use social media, and which social media networks they use. Usually, younger people use more social media, so if your campaign is directed to people between 20-30 years old for example, it will probably be more effective using social media ads.
However, in my opinion, what works best is a combination of social media ads and Google ads. I hope that helps.
It’s always good to do your research. You need to understand who your audience is as well as understand where they are online. If you are going to run ads, you need to first understand your audience’s online activity so you can target them in the right places. Then, you need to use what you know about your audience to craft the right message that will really connect.