Facebook and LinkedIn are two of the most popular social media platforms used by businesses and marketers for advertising. Both platforms have enormous user bases in the billions and offer self-serve advertising platforms allowing businesses to create and manage their own ad campaigns. However, there are some key differences between Facebook Ads and LinkedIn Ads in terms of audience, objectives, ad formats, targeting options, and pricing.
Audience
The main difference between Facebook and LinkedIn audiences is the level of professional orientation. Facebook has a much broader audience of over 2 billion monthly active users from all demographics. LinkedIn’s audience is significantly smaller at around 722 million members, but these members are largely professional users in the B2B space.
LinkedIn’s audience is highly educated, affluent, and interested in professional development and career opportunities. 53% of LinkedIn members are in upper management or are decision makers. This makes LinkedIn ads ideal for targeting a B2B audience, while Facebook allows you to reach a broader consumer audience.
Objectives
The core objectives that can be optimized for on Facebook Ads include:
– Brand awareness
– Traffic
– Engagement
– App installs
– Lead generation
– Messages
– Conversions
– Catalog sales
For LinkedIn Ads, the main objectives are:
– Website visits
– Lead generation
– Job applicants
– Company followers
– Brand awareness
– Engagement
So while there is some overlap in objectives like brand awareness and lead gen, LinkedIn Ads are more focused on driving visits, recruitment, and thought leadership, while Facebook is broader including goals like sales, app installs, and engagement.
Ad Formats
The types of ad formats available also differ between the platforms. Facebook Ads come in a variety of formats including:
- Photo ads
- Video ads
- Carousel ads
- Slideshow ads
- Stories ads
- Messenger ads
Whereas LinkedIn focuses more on simpler text and image-based ads such as:
- Sponsored content
- Text ads
- Dynamic ads
- Message ads
Video ads are available on LinkedIn but are used less frequently than more text and image heavy formats. The different ad formats allow marketers to tailor content to each platform’s strengths.
Targeting Options
Both Facebook and LinkedIn offer extensive targeting capabilities to reach specific audiences.
Some of the main targeting options available for Facebook Ads include:
- Location
- Age
- Gender
- Interests
- Behaviors
- Connections
- Custom audiences from emails, phone numbers or other data
- Detailed demographics
- Recently viewed/purchased products
For LinkedIn, targeting options include:
- Job title
- Job function
- Company
- Industry
- Job seniority
- Groups
- Skills
- Geo-location
As you can see, LinkedIn Ads allow for more professional oriented targeting like job title, seniority, and skills. While Facebook offers more general interest, behavior, and demographic based targeting. Both platforms offer detailed targeting capabilities to reach very specific segments.
Pricing
Facebook and LinkedIn also have different pricing models for ads:
Facebook Ads
- Bid based model – you only pay when someone clicks your ad
- Cost per click (CPC) bidding
- Auction model where advertisers bid against each other for ad placement
- Average CPC $1 – $2
LinkedIn Ads
- Pay per impression (CPM) model – you pay each time your ad is displayed
- Fixed CPM rates based on audience targeting
- Average CPM $10 – $30+
Facebook’s auction model tends to be more budget-friendly for smaller brands, while LinkedIn’s CPM model provides more predictable costs but is more expensive to advertise.
Use Cases
Due to the inherent differences in audience and ad capabilities, Facebook and LinkedIn ads lend themselves to different use cases and objectives.
When to use Facebook Ads
- Driving website conversions or app installs
- Growing brand awareness among consumers
- Getting engagement and shares
- Generating sales for ecommerce businesses
- Remarketing to website visitors
- Testing different ad messaging
When to use LinkedIn Ads
- Targeting employees at a specific company
- Recruiting new talent for open positions
- Promoting content and thought leadership
- Establishing industry authority
- Driving registrations and leads for B2B products
- Increasing brand awareness among professionals
Pros and Cons
Below is a comparison of some of the pros and cons of each platform:
| Facebook Ads | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Facebook Ads |
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| LinkedIn Ads | Pros | Cons |
| LinkedIn Ads |
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Best Practices
Here are some best practices to get the most out of Facebook and LinkedIn ads:
For Facebook Ads
- Use eye-catching imagery and video
- Write compelling ad copy tailored to your audience
- Leverage detailed targeting capabilities
- Test different messaging, creatives, and audiences
- Measure results and optimize for conversions
- Use custom audiences for remarketing
- Automate campaigns with rules-based tools
For LinkedIn Ads
- Target decision makers and leadership roles
- Keep messaging professional and tailored to a B2B audience
- Use thought leadership and gated content for lead gen
- Include clear calls-to-action in ads
- Customize ads for different target accounts
- Leverage LinkedIn’s Matched Audiences feature
- Promote employee advocacy and sharing
Conclusion
In summary, while both are powerful advertising platforms, Facebook and LinkedIn Ads cater to different audiences and objectives. Facebook offers broader consumer reach for lower cost, while LinkedIn provides precision targeting of professional decision makers. Knowing the pros, cons, use cases, and best practices of each platform allows marketers to determine the best strategy to meet their specific business goals.
By leveraging the unique advantages of each network, brands can drive greater awareness, leads, and sales across both consumer and business audiences. A multi-channel approach combining both platforms is often optimal to achieve maximum impact and return on ad spend.