No secret here. When it comes to your best ad investment, Google leaves Facebook and Twitter in the dust. After all, people come to Google in search of goods and services. People come to Facebook in search of pictures of birthday parties and baby kittens. It makes sense that Google ads will get more traction. But what about Twitter vs. Facebook? That analysis is a bit trickier.
Network Reach
In terms of network reach, Facebook delivers 1.15 billion users that share about 4.75 billion items each day. Twitter, while not as large, has 232 million active users tweeting 500 million tweets a day. This makes Facebook a better choice for advertising in reach alone. ADVANTAGE FACEBOOK.
Ad Performance
This is a bit harder. Facebook releases their metrics but Twitter plays things a little closer to the vest. Twitter ads have a higher engagement rate, according to Ad Age. As high as 1-3%. Compare that to Facebook at an average CTR of 0.019%. Remember, people are on Facebook to see pictures of Aunt Rosemary’s new kitty and share pictures of baby Francis’s first tooth. ADVANTAGE TWITTER.
Ad Costs
This is interesting. Facebook ads run at a cost per impression of about $0.59. Twitter, by contrast, hover at about $3 dollars and change. ADVANTAGE FACEBOOK.
Revenue Per Visitor
In terms of revenue per visitor, Facebook comes in at $0.93 per visitor, whereas Twitter is less than half that. ADVANTAGE FACEBOOK.
Ad Formats
Although Facebook has cut in half the number of ad formats offered, they still offer nearly a dozen different shapes and sizes. Twitter, by contrast, offers three: promoted tweets, promoted accounts and promoted trends. Twitter’s formatting is less about size and more about tactics. This tends to be a more workable system. ADVANTAGE TWITTER.
Mobile Impact
Here is where Twitter really shines. Because Facebook places most of its ad content off to the side, it is far less impactful on a smartphone. The Twitter ad shows up in the timeline, giving them more dominance on a mobile screen. This is smart. ADVANTAGE TWITTER.
Analytics
They both suck. Another reason that Google is eating their lunch.
Averages are Misleading
Consider this: Facebook ad performance varies greatly by vertical. Cost per impression for liquor brands is 45% higher than average. Looking at kittens and birthday cakes can drive a man to drink. So even though Facebook offers the better overall ad value in a pure dollars and sense manner, remember, your results may vary.
We are a Dallas Advertising Agency specializing in PPC.
