Facebook vs. YouTube: Which Platform is Better for Affiliate Marketing Ads?

Here at Digistore24, we created a short guide to help you learn affiliate marketing secrets to know how make an informed decision when faced with the dilemma of choosing between YouTube or Facebook ads for affiliate marketing. Both platforms are quite different from each other, and require different strategies when it comes to advertising and promoting products.

Facebook vs. YouTube: Which Platform is Better for Affiliate Marketing Ads?

Anyone can become an affiliate marketer, but it takes a bit of extra effort to become a successful one. Competition is very high, and in order to make an impact, you need to stand out. According to a blog article by the research-based evaluation company 99firms, there are currently 11,400 affiliate programs in the United States alone, and the global affiliate marketing industry is estimated to be worth around $12 billion.

It’s impossible to determine the exact worldwide number of affiliate marketers, but what we do know is that most of them use a wide variety of services to promote products, including PPC advertising, blogging, social media, email marketing, and much more. Some of the main advertising outlets also include Facebook and YouTube. But which one of the two is considered the best for affiliate marketing ads?

Facebook or YouTube Ads? Which One Should Affiliate Marketers Choose

On Facebook, for example, you can run different types of content ads, from photos to videos, but compared to YouTube, the platform is a bit restrictive when it comes to the types of ads it allows you to run. On the other hand, YouTube ads for affiliate marketing are usually more trusted and easier to manage, but you’re limited to video advertising only.

Let’s get into some specifics.

Affiliate Marketing Ads on Facebook

Key points:

Creating Your Ad on Facebook

Let’s say you picked a product from a trusted affiliate marketplace and you want to start promoting it as an affiliate. The first step is to go on Facebook Ads Manager, familiarize yourself with the tool, and then start creating your ad. Now, if you haven’t got any experience with Facebook Ads Manager, we strongly advise you to take your time and learn the mechanics of the tool and the best practices to use.

Once you’re comfortable enough using it, you can start creating your ad(s). Your ad creative can be a photo or a video, and you can build upon that with engaging copy. Think of a short, witty, curiosity envoking copy, and ensure the message is strong enough to capture your audience’s attention. Try asking questions, as well, and don’t forget to target a relevant user base. Facebook can be very strict regarding its ads, so make sure you go through the platform's advertising policies and community standards for compliance before running any ads.

Facebook Ad Compliance

What many beginner affiliate marketers fail to understand is just how important it is to seamlessly blend in into Facebook’s news feed with appropriate content. Facebook is relentless in banning ads and even users for violating their terms and policies. For starters, ensure that your copy is clean, has no typos, and doesn’t have too many emojis. Be extra careful with sensitive topics, like financial services and health & wellness. Avoid using phrases like “X made this much money by using this service” or when it comes to health & wellness, making bold claims or promising cures. These will get your ad instantly disapproved. 

Furthermore, even if your ad is looking great and respecting the platform's do's and don'ts, most of the time, Facebook won’t allow you to link directly to the product sales page from your ad. A surefire workaround to this inconvenience is creating a landing page for the product you’re advertising. By taking the user on a separate landing page you created, you avoid being flagged or banned by Facebook. You can also use this space to provide more information about the product, or tell a compelling story. This strategy increases credibility, and conversion rates can become much higher, however, your landing page has to look professional.

A few more tips...

A few more tips you should know is that Facebook ads show up on users’ timelines, in videos, and most importantly, the platform directs your ads towards a relevant audience—if set up correctly. Facebook ads for affiliate marketing are also more affordable than YouTube ads. There’s no secret formula for the perfect ad, so make sure you actively optimize them so they fit your goals.

Affiliate Marketing Ads on YouTube

Key points:

Creating Your Ad on YouTube

On YouTube, you’ll be working with videos mostly. Creating a video ad for affiliate marketing on YouTube shouldn’t be much more different than creating one on Facebook. On both platforms, the content needs to be creative, engaging, helpful, and hopefully, good enough to capture the audience’s attention in a short timeframe—and then convert. You can try advertising self-development offers in your videos, or implement content surrounding love and relationships offers. These are highly trending topics.

In the beginning, you should definitely focus on creating affordable ads. Keep your videos short and sweet. If you don’t want to record yourself talking about a specific product, you could try hiring a professional. You can also experiment with animation videos, or try to tell short stories with your content. Chances are you’re on a tight budget if you’re just starting out, so make sure you spend your ad money wisely. Once you gain some traction, you can go ahead and start switching to high-budget ads.

YouTube Ad Compliance

YouTube is a bit looser than Facebook when it comes to running ads, however, there are a set of rules you should comply with if you want a smooth sailing experience. For instance, stay away from promoting shady, aggressive products or services. As an affiliate marketer, you should engage in promoting only the best affiliate marketing products, that have a small chance of getting you in trouble with YouTube. Nobody likes disapproved ads and banned accounts, so try to make informed decisions.

Using landing pages rather than linking directly to the product is also highly recommended. In fact, it’s a must, because Google will almost always disapprove your ad if it links to a sales page. What also increases credibility with the platform, as well as potential buyers, is not only having a landing page but a fully functional website, with additional content.

As long as you stay away from creating misleading ads, and messaging from your ad to your landing page is congruent, you should be fine. Depending on the type of product or offer you’re promoting, make sure you also have disclaimers on your landing page, as well as a contact form so users can get in touch with you. Contact forms are also very useful for building mailing lists for email campaigns down the line.

One more thing...

When it comes to your actual ad, you can choose whether it plays at the beginning of a video or in the middle (in-stream), and whether it should be a skippable 5-second, 10-second, or 30-second ad.

And don't forget to constantly check YouTube Analytics to grow your channel faster.

Before you go…

Once you run a couple of paid ads on both platforms, you can start creating strategies for more elaborate campaigns. Ad campaigns usually consist of multiple ads revolving around a single intent. For example, an awareness campaign might be a good idea if you want to reach a broader audience, while a campaign focused on engagement could make your existing audience more responsive.

Conclusion: Which one is best for affiliate marketers?

So, the big question: Which platform should you choose for affiliate marketing? Facebook or YouTube?

Well, the answer is both… sort of.

Advertising on Facebook is more affordable and very easy to get started with, so if you’re just starting out, this seems a more convenient option. Both Facebook and YouTube can target relevant audiences pretty well, so you’ll have no problem reaching your desired user base. When it comes to paid ads and making money on YouTube, if you lack the budget to create high-quality videos, your conversion rate might not be that high. Facebook’s ad policy is a bit more strict than YouTube’s, but both have extensive guidelines on how to help you comply with their rules.

Want to become a Digistore24 affiliate? Check out our Marketplace and choose from best-selling products and start earning money today! With us, you receive your commissions on time, and you have access to accurate statistics with key data, including conversion rate, earnings per sale and click, and much more.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out!