Amazon vs Facebook Advertising: Which is Worth Doing

If you have a product to sell, Amazon and Facebook are both platforms with a huge audience and sellers may often wish to consider which to use. How do they work and what are the differences and which is worth doing? You can read more about Amazon vs Facebook Advertising by clicking here.

Amazon vs Facebook Advertising: Which is Worth Doing?

Amazon

Amazon is a platform through which almost any item can be marketed and sold on to a member of the general public. It has very much become a ‘go to’ platform for a vast majority of the population looking to buy various products. Amazon’s revenue for 2018 was around $230 billion, an increase on 2017. It has 300 million users, so by using Amazon you have the possibility of a huge audience, when you think initially Amazon set out by selling books! Their site is user friendly and options can be easily considered. You begin by choosing the products that you want to advertise, then you decide whether you want to pay a monthly fee as a professional seller (usually if you have a large number of products to sell) or whether you want to pay a fee each time a product sells, as an individual seller (Amazon also charges other fees on top as well). You then can create your account. You can then add products one by one or if you have chosen the professional subscription, you can add them in batches. When you sell an item, your proceeds are deposited into your bank account minus fees that Amazon take.Amazon will notify you when a customer has placed an order and you can either decide to fulfil and send that order for yourself or have Amazon ship it for you. Amazon have a range of shipping options available. Amazon has a range of advertising solutions, as they call them to allow you to advertise on their platform that will help you attract your customers to your product. You can have ads appear in various places. Amazon offer three different pay-per-click products, namely sponsored products, headline search ads and product display ads. You choose the products that you want to advertise and  decide on ‘keywords’ which would be words that a prospective buyer may search for. You then decide how much you want to bid for clicks. You can get started with a small budget and create an ad very quickly. Amazon has a wide range of products and by advertising, you are encouraging a buyer to buy from you, essentially by ‘putting your product out there and making it more visible. Advantages of advertising on Amazon

• You are selling to buyers and not browsers, when people go to amazon they want to buy, when they go to Google they want to investigate
• Advertising increases the likelihood of your product being found
• You are in control, you can adjust your keywords and budget at any time through the process
• You can pick from a number of strategies.
• Steps are well explained and ads are easy to create
• Your products get global visibility
• There is no activation cost

Amazon have conditions attached to their advertising, one of which is that you must be a professional seller.

Facebook

Facebook is an online social media platform which allows users to connect with each other and share posts and photographs. You can personalise your profile and send and accept friend requests. You are able to comment on and ‘like’ other users’ content. Facebook also allows users to advertise on the platform. Facebook has an audience of more than 2 billion every month so by advertising a product on Facebook, you have the potential to reach a large number of people. With Facebook ads you select your objective which could be for example sales on your website you, then target your audience which could be according to age, interests, location etc. You set a budget for your ad (this can be changed to suit at a later stage if required) and pick a format for your ad which could be an image or a video. Advantages of advertising on Facebook:

• A big advantage is that you can target your audience and design an appropriate ad to appeal to that particular selected audience
• Customers spend a lot of time on Facebook and would look at it at least once daily on average
• Advertising can be done cheaply
• It gives you the potential to increase your website traffic
• It can increase customer awareness about your product or brand
• Facebook ads can be shared with others and have the potential to go viral
• You can capture email contacts through Facebook which can be useful for your business
• It is easy to use and campaigns can be easily adjusted

Amazon vs Facebook Advertising

• Some would say that Facebook’s system is easier to use
• Facebook ads can reach a targeted audience
• Amazon has access to consumer behaviours that Facebook does not
• Amazon is where people go to buy, Facebook is where people usually browse so Amazon’s users have more purchasing intent
• Amazon has a lower cost per click rate

It really is for the user to decide which platform best suits their needs for advertising, both have their advantages and costs attached. It may be worth trying one and then the other. Sellers have success on both platforms and sometimes it may come down to a matter of preference, ease of use, cost and familiarity. The benefit of Facebook is that it allows users to target specific audiences which can be very helpful for some products but the fact that Amazon actually gets the traffic from customers who have gone to their site specifically with the purpose of buying is another added attraction. So, consider your product and look at both options, decide on the ease of use for yourself and start with the one that you feel most at ease with and go from there. Both platforms will allow you access to a large number of users and both platforms have the potential to help your business flourish.

The short version: Amazon advertising works best if you're selling products and want immediate ROI, while Facebook is better for building brand awareness and reaching cold audiences with lower costs per click. The choice depends on your business model: choose Amazon for direct sales, Facebook for brand building and customer acquisition at scale.

Frequently asked questions

Which platform has better ROI for e-commerce businesses?

Amazon typically delivers faster ROI for sellers with products already listed on the platform because customers are actively searching to buy. Facebook requires more time to build audiences and test creatives, but can offer lower customer acquisition costs once optimized.

Can I run both Amazon and Facebook ads at the same time?

Yes, absolutely. Many successful e-commerce businesses run both platforms simultaneously. Use Amazon to capture high-intent buyers ready to purchase, and Facebook to build awareness and retarget people who visited your store but didn't buy yet.

How much budget do I need to start with each platform?

You can start with as little as $5-10 per day on either platform. However, for meaningful results, most experts recommend a minimum of $20-30 daily on Facebook and $15-25 daily on Amazon to gather enough data for optimization within your first month.

What if I only have one product to sell?

Start with Amazon if your product is already listed there, as it requires less setup. If you're new to selling, Facebook works well for a single product because you can test different audience segments and messaging before investing in Amazon's more complex advertising system.

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