Ecommerce businesses: what platforms should you be advertising on and where should you allocate most of your budget?

Ecommerce brands: which ad platforms should you invest in as you grow?

If we look at the Budget Share column for Northbeam users, taken from the Northbeam weekly newsletter, we can see where most of the spend is going:

- 70% to Meta: this includes Facebook, Instagram (inc Stories & Reels), and to a minor extent Messenger and Whatsapp

- 24.5% to Google and Youtube

Clearly these are the big hitters, even though they don't always get the attention they deserve. We all look at the next "shiny thing" and ignore Facebook which has been mainstream for over 15 years. The Facebook platform may seem a bit dull, but it's a powerhouse for social ads sales!

My personal view is to master Google and Meta first, otherwise you'll stretch yourself too thin, or your agency fees will be sky high. The exception is if you have a brand that's a very strong fit for TikTok.

For the second stage, with ad pricing so high and with ad platforms so complex, as you scale I think there's a lot to be said for really doubling down and getting the most efficiency out of Meta and Google. Mastering one or two platforms is better than letting multiple platforms burn through your ad budget.

As you start to reach the limits of scaling further and maintaining profitably, that's a great time to introduce in other ad platforms. Look for opportunities for reusing creative, for example Instagram Reels, TikTok and Youtube shorts are all similar.

What's worked for you? Please let me know by getting in touch, I’m also happy to answer any questions about budget allocation.

PS - I'm aware that Northbeam users will tend to be more sophisticated brands with higher ad budgets, but if anything I'd expect them to be diversifying their ad spend more than smaller brands would.