With 2.3 billion active social media users in the world, it’s no surprise that social media advertising is a growing industry. These easy to use platforms have become a huge weapon in the armoury of modern marketers, with targeted campaigns ensuring that ads will seen by the right demographic.

So, is social advertising likely to rival traditional Pay Per Click marketing, or can the two mediums complement each other?

PPC has been a stalwart of online marketing since pretty much day one of the Internet, allowing businesses a quick route to the top of search results. AdWords is now said to account for at least 95% of Google’s total revenue, which gives an indicator into how powerful PPC advertising has become.

But which platform is better?

Social media advertising has a lot of great benefits. First off, it’s easy to set up. Any business with a Facebook page or a Twitter account should, in theory, be able to set up an ad campaign. Which likely accounts for the fact that, cumulatively, social networks earned over estimated $8 billion from advertising in 2015.

The instant nature of social media means that you can connect with your audience early. Your ad will be placed directly into their timeline, giving you immediate access to the right people with minimal effort.

Social media is great for targeting different customers

Social ads are generally very visual in nature and it’s ease to incorporate video, giving advertisers plenty of options. This is perfect if targeting users who spend a lot of time on networks like Snapchat, where over 6 billion videos are watched every day.

And with a daily minimum ad spend of £5 a day on networks like Facebook, it’s also a very cost-effective way to test out what works and what doesn’t.

However, there are some cons to social media advertising. While it’s fairly cheap to run a campaign on the likes of Facebook and Twitter, it is likely that to a certain extent you may be reaching your audience a little too early in the selling cycle.

Unlike with PPC, where users are actively searching for the brands/items they want to buy or interact with, when it comes to social it is likely that they are just going about their day, checking what their friends are up to.

And even though it is unlikely to make a big dent in your budget – over time, the cost can build and if you are indeed reaching people too early, it is unlikely you will see good conversion rates.

AdWords started out way back in 2000, and there’s a good reason reason for its exponential year-on-year growth - it gets results. If you use the right keywords, your landing pages are optimised, and your campaign is tailored to a specific audience, you can reap the rewards.

People who click on your ads will already be hungry for your product or service. They are actively searching for what you’re offering and a good PPC marketer will know how to tailor the ad campaign to reach them.

Adwords was the rock upon which Google built its empire

Crucially, you only pay when people actually click on your ad, and there are various PPC elements that can be A/B tested and refined, making it arguably the most cost-effective marketing method out there.

However, like with social advertising, there are a few cons. PPC ad campaigns can be difficult to set up. There are a lot of specifics that need to be taken into account when you create a campaign and if the settings are too broad you could burn through your budget quickly with little to no results.

There is also limited space to sell your services in terms of word count, and there is no option at present to include video.

The final word

Both advertising services have their merits. Social is more visual and organic but there’s a risk that you’ll be seen by your prospective customer when they’re not actually looking to buy. PPC marketing reaches those who are actively searching for your product, but it can be initially difficult and time-consuming to set up.

Any self-respecting PPC manager will espouse the virtues of trial and error - testing the waters is the only way to know what approach works best, and you can continually refine campaigns until you see serious returns - so, if you haven’t yet experimented with either approach, it’s likely that your competitors have.

In short, PPC marketing is almost guaranteed to get targeted traffic to your site, and social advertising can complement your efforts for specific audiences.

Dipping your toes into any form of online marketing can be daunting at first, but it can pay dividends.If you’re keen to learn more about what to look out for, here’s 5 questions to ask your AdWords agency.