Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest — each paid social platform has its own strengths. Here’s when to pick which.
Meta (Facebook + Instagram)
Meta remains the most scalable paid social channel. Best for: ecommerce, broad consumer goods, lead-gen at volume, retargeting. Strengths: massive audience, sophisticated automation (Advantage+ campaigns often beat hand-built ones in 2026), strong conversion tracking via Pixel + CAPI. Weaknesses: expensive as audiences get saturated, younger users moving to TikTok. CPMs $10–25, CPAs $20–100 depending on niche.
LinkedIn Ads
Best for: B2B, high-ticket services, recruiting, enterprise targeting. Strengths: unmatched professional targeting (job title, company, seniority), Lead Gen Forms convert 3–5x better than landing pages, decision-maker reach. Weaknesses: expensive ($50–200 CPC typical), small audiences fatigue fast. Use for: closing deals worth $10K+ where the CPA math works even at high CPC.
TikTok Ads
Best for: consumer brands, ecommerce, broad reach, Gen Z + Millennials. Strengths: low CPMs ($5–15), Spark Ads (boosted organic) that feel native, fast learning with enough spend. Weaknesses: attribution is messy, creative demands high (need fresh content weekly), older demographics underrepresented. Use for: brand awareness and conversion if creative can keep up with the algorithm’s demands for freshness.
Pinterest Ads
Best for: ecommerce, home decor, fashion, wedding, DIY, recipes. Strengths: high purchase intent (Pinterest users plan before buying), long content lifespan (pins drive traffic for months, not days), lower CPCs than Meta in niches. Weaknesses: smaller audience (Pinterest is ~400M users, mostly female, mostly 25–45), creative pipeline needs hundreds of pins. Use for: visual ecommerce verticals where intent > reach.
Paid Search vs Paid Social
Not either/or. Paid search captures demand (people searching ‘plumber near me’). Paid social creates demand (ads that convert people who weren’t actively searching). Most mature businesses run both. Start with paid search for clearest ROI, layer paid social once search captures most of the in-market audience. Typical split: 60–70% search, 30–40% social for services; reversed for consumer products.
Budget Allocation Framework
Concentrate budget where attribution is clearest. If 80% of conversions are search-attributed, spend accordingly. Test new channels with 10–20% of budget — not 50%. Give each new channel 60 days minimum before deciding; earlier decisions are too noisy. Pause channels that don’t break even by month three. Don’t spread thinly across all platforms — pick 2–3 and go deep.
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