Head to Head comparison of the performance of the major paid social channels

Based on the data provided, here’s a snapshot summary of the performance of advertising across LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram for the past 90 days (June 2024 – August 2024).

Overview

When examining the advertising metrics across LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram, it’s clear that each platform plays a distinct role in your marketing strategy. While LinkedIn is the heavy hitter regarding spending and pipeline influence, Facebook and Instagram provide cost-effective alternatives with unique strengths.

Below is a breakdown of how these channels compare across critical metrics.

Notes and Caveats:

Influenced opportunities or pipelines refer to deals where a lead generated from an ad campaign was from the same company.


Triggered opportunities or pipelines refer to deals where the lead generated from an ad campaign directly was involved with the opportunity generation.

Impacted opportunities refer to all Ad engagements (including clicks but not necessarily a lead generation event) detected before the opportunity creation.

LinkedInLinkedIn: The Premium Platform

Cost Metrics:

  • CPM: Highest at $69.49, reflecting its premium audience.
  • CPC: $7.26, making LinkedIn more costly per click than its counterparts.
  • CPL: $201.03 is the highest cost per lead, indicating a more expensive but potentially higher-quality lead acquisition
  • ROI: LinkedIn has a strong ROI across impacted and triggered pipelines (202.04 and 3.48, respectively).
Takeaway:
LinkedIn is best for reaching high-value prospects, but it comes with a premium price tag. The high ROI in the pipeline suggests it’s effective at nurturing leads, though you pay for the privilege.
FacebookFacebook: The Cost-Effective Contender

Cost Metrics:

  • CPM: Significantly lower than LinkedIn at $12.18, making it cost-efficient for impressions.
  • CPC: $1.84, much cheaper per click than LinkedIn.
  • CPL: $101.54, balancing cost and lead quality.
  • ROI: Facebook shows strong performance in the ROI of impacted and triggered pipelines (266.48 and 2.01, respectively), making it a solid choice for budget-conscious campaigns that still need to drive results.
Takeaway:
Facebook delivers a lower-cost alternative with a strong ROI, particularly in broader awareness and lead generation campaigns.
InstagramInstagram: The Niche Player

Cost Metrics:

  • CPM: $15.64, more expensive than Facebook but still affordable.
  • CPC: $3.42, offering a middle ground between Facebook and LinkedIn.
  • CPL: $61.95, the most cost-effective channel for lead generation.
  • ROI: Although Instagram lags in ROI compared to Facebook and LinkedIn, it offers a high ROI for influenced pipeline and impacted pipeline (3.6 and 197.1, respectively).
Takeaway:
Instagram is a cost-effective channel for niche audiences, with a strong focus on efficient lead generation.

Deeper view

  1. Top of funnel performance metrics across Channels

To identify the top-performing metrics across LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram, we will again focus on key indicators such as CPL (Cost Per Lead), CPC (Cost Per Click), and CPM (Cost Per Thousand Impressions). Here’s a summary of the top-performing metrics for each channel with the correct information:

Cost Per Lead (CPL)
  • Top performer: Instagram
  • CPL: $61.95
  • Insight: Instagram offers the most cost-effective lead generation across the three platforms, making it the best option for acquiring leads at a lower cost.
Cost Per Click (CPC)
  • Top performer: Facebook
  • CPL: $1.84
  • Insight: Facebook provides the lowest cost per click, making it ideal for driving traffic to your website or landing pages at a minimal cost. cost.
Cost Per Thousand Impressions (CPM)
  • Top performer: Facebook
  • CPL: $12.18
  • Insight: Facebook again leads in efficiency with the lowest CPM, which is advantageous for broad-reaching awareness campaigns.
Summary for top-of-funnel metric performance
  • Instagram: Best for low-cost lead generation (CPL).
  • Facebook: Best for cost efficiency (CPC, CPM) and highest ROI for influenced pipelines.

Facebook stands out for cost efficiency and nurturing within budget constraints. On the other hand, Instagram remains the top choice for low-cost lead generation.

  1. Engagement Rate Analysis (CTR)

To analyze the engagement rates across LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram, we will focus on the Click-Through Rate (CTR), which measures how effectively each platform generates clicks relative to the number of impressions.

Higher CTRs indicate more engaging content that resonates with the audience. Here’s a comparison of the engagement rates (CTR) for each platform:

LinkedIn
  • CTR: 0.96%
  • Insight: LinkedIn has the highest CTR among the three platforms, indicating that its audience is more engaged and likely to click on ads. This result is consistent with LinkedIn’s positioning as a professional network where users often seek business-related content.
Facebook
  • CTR: 0.66%
  • Insight: Facebook is moderate to lower than LinkedIn but higher than Instagram. This result reflects its broad user base and the variety of content types, meaning ads have a good chance of engagement, but less targeted content may dilute the overall engagement.
Instagram
  • CTR: 0.46%
  • Insight: Instagram has the lowest CTR, indicating that its users are less likely to engage with ads compared to LinkedIn and Facebook. However, this is typical for a more visual platform and less focused on direct interaction with ads.
Summary of Engagement Rates
  • LinkedIn (0.96%): Leads in engagement, likely due to the platform’s focused and professional audience.
  • Facebook (0.66%): Moderate engagement, balancing a broad audience with targeted advertising.
  • Instagram (0.46%): Lowest engagement, reflecting its visual-first nature and less emphasis on ad clicks.
Insights:

LinkedIn’s High Engagement: LinkedIn’s higher CTR suggests that users on this platform are likelier to click on content that aligns with their professional interests, making it ideal for B2B campaigns and lead generation.

Facebook’s Balanced Engagement: Facebook offers a balance of reach and engagement, making it versatile for various campaigns, especially those targeting broad consumer bases.

Instagram’s Visual Appeal: While Instagram has the lowest CTR, its value lies in brand awareness and visual storytelling rather than direct engagement through clicks. It’s more suitable for campaigns focused on brand exposure rather than immediate interaction.

Overall, LinkedIn is the top performer in terms of engagement rate, making it the platform of choice when click-through is a primary objective, especially for business-oriented campaigns.

  1. ROI Analysis across the channel

To determine which channel has the best ROI, we’ll look at various ROI metrics provided in the data, including ROI for influenced pipeline, ROI for triggered pipeline and ROI for impacted won opportunities.

Here is the analysis of the ROI metrics for each channel:

ROI metrics comparison

Summary of Best Performing ROIs
  • LinkedIn excels in all the ROI categories, including Triggered Pipeline and  Impacted Won Opportunities, indicating its strength in converting leads into valuable outcomes.

Facebook for B2B Marketing

Based on the analysis of ROI, engagement rates, cost metrics, and overall performance, here’s my take on whether Facebook and Instagram should be part of a B2B marketer’s advertising mix:

Strengths
  • Cost Efficiency: Facebook offers the lowest CPC ($1.84) and CPM ($12.18), making it highly cost-effective for reaching a broad audience.
  • Strong ROI for Influenced Pipeline: Facebook’s ROI for influenced pipeline (~9X) is strong, which suggests it’s effective in nurturing leads at the top and middle of the funnel.
  • Moderate Engagement: With a CTR of 0.66%, Facebook provides decent engagement, especially given its broad user base.
Weaknesses
  • Lower ROI triggered pipeline: Facebook doesn’t perform as well in ROI for triggered pipeline compared to LinkedIn, which indicates it may be less effective at converting leads into high-value deals.
  • Recommendation: Yes, include Facebook. Its cost efficiency and strong influence on the pipeline make it a valuable part of the B2B advertising mix, particularly for awareness and lead nurturing. However, it should be complemented by a channel like LinkedIn for high-value conversions.

Instagram for B2B Marketing

Strengths
  • Low CPL: Instagram’s CPL ($61.95) is the most cost-effective for generating leads.
Weaknesses
  • Lowest CTR: With a CTR of 0.46%, Instagram has the lowest engagement rate, which may be less effective for driving immediate actions like clicks.
  • Limited B2B Audience: Instagram’s user base is primarily consumer-focused, and the platform’s visual-first nature might not align as well with B2B messaging, which typically requires more informative and detailed content.
Recommendation
  • Use with caution: Instagram can be part of the B2B mix, but only if your strategy includes highly visual content and targets industries where a visual approach makes sense (e.g., design, tech). It’s best used for brand awareness and specific lead-generation tactics rather than core B2B objectives.
Final Verdict
  • Facebook should be part of your B2B advertising mix due to its cost-efficiency and ability to nurture leads, especially in the top and middle of the funnel.
  • Instagram can be included selectively if your B2B strategy involves highly visual content or targets industries where visual appeal is crucial.
  • However, neither platform should replace LinkedIn, which remains critical for high-value conversions and direct B2B engagement.
Download the Head to Head comparison of the performance of the major paid social channels

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