Discover the Key to skyrocketing your e-commerce growth!

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As an e-commerce brand and business, choosing the best social media platform for advertising can feel daunting—especially when you're trying to determine where to invest your time and budget for maximum return. Whether you're in fashion, beauty, retail, outdoor gear, home and garden, or even a corporate brand, the platform that works wonders for one business may not necessarily be the best fit for another.

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But with so many platforms to choose from—Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest, and more—which platform is best for advertising your specific products and services in 2025?

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We’ll break down the best e-commerce advertising platform based on your industry’s unique needs, from driving direct sales to building strong brand awareness. Whether you're looking to engage millennials with trend-driven fashion or promote eco-friendly outdoor gear to adventure enthusiasts, we’ll help you find the perfect fit for your brand’s success this year.

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What is e-commerce on social media?

Social media e-commerce is the marketing practice of promoting an e-commerce business (typically an online store) using social media channels to generate brand awareness, increase online recognition, increase customer base, and most importantly, increase sales.

Nowadays, e-commerce on social media is very common, mainly because 99% of all social media users access applications from their mobile devices, or in other words, from the palm of their hands.

This is why we need to make sure we are in front of all the constant updates and changes these platforms throw at us. I mean, just a few years ago you wouldn’t think twice about using Facebook as your main platform, but today this may not be the case.

The benefits of social e-commerce

For direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands that exist solely online, or retailers that are shifting to digital, how do you drive website sales in a competitive market? Relying exclusively on foot traffic is no longer enough - social media now plays a key role in filling that gap.

Social media e-commerce helps you attract fresh customers and provides a ready-to-use platform to boost your sales. But that’s just the beginning. What should you really keep in mind when starting your social media e-commerce advertising journey? Let’s explore the key factors:

• Expand your reach and generate brand awareness
  • There are almost 5 billion social media users Worldwide. And while not every single one of those 5 billion will be your target customer, social media provides a great opportunity for those who discover your business. When you post to your social profiles, you offer users the opportunity to find your brand, follow your accounts, and potentially share your products with others they know.
• Engage your target audience
  • Through organic and paid social media, you can directly create content for your target audience to reach and interact with those most interested in what you sell. Create social media posts that provoke some type of response—especially an exciting one—from your audience, such as a comment, a message, a like, or sharing a relevant third-party post. Always interact in the comments to facilitate conversations between your target customers.
• Generate additional traffic and income for your business
  • And lastly, drive traffic to your online store and, better yet, drive sales. Promote your products. Show how they can be used and what pain points they solve. Make your audience want to buy your product and then offer a quick and easy shopping experience.

Social Media is always changing!

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We’ve all heard the claims—TikTok is the future, Instagram is dead, and X (Twitter) is a mess. As digital marketers, we wanted to cut through the noise and see for ourselves which platforms delivered results in 2024. We would then use this information to predict which platform would be the best choice in 2025.

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So, we spent the last six months running campaigns across Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and even experimenting with Reddit ads. We tracked everything—engagement, conversions, cost per click, and specifically ROAS. Some platforms blew us away, while others… Well, let’s just say we wouldn’t recommend wasting your budget there. Success isn't just about picking a platform. It’s about having a well-defined marketing strategy and clear, aligned goals across all channels. Without this, some platforms will underperform, and your budget will be wasted.

If you’re serious about making social media advertising work, you need to know exactly what you're doing.

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Here’s what we learned:

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1. TikTok: The Best for Organic Reach—But Beware of the ‘Hype’ Bubble

What Worked: TikTok is incredible for organic reach right now. We’ve never seen an algorithm push content to new audiences the way TikTok does. It’s perfect for brand awareness, especially if you’re targeting Gen Z or millennials. One short, well-edited video led to 100K+ views without spending a dime on ads.

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Most of Gen Z are now turning to TikTok as their main search engine, which means there will be plenty of search ad opportunities in the near future.

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What Didn’t: While organic reach is strong, driving conversions directly from TikTok is still a challenge. Most users are there to be entertained, not to buy. If you’re looking for clicks and conversions, TikTok alone won’t carry you unless you have a highly engaging funnel in place.

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Verdict: TikTok is amazing for reach but weak for direct conversions— we would suggest that you use it to build brand awareness but don’t expect immediate sales.

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2. Instagram: Still Alive, But Pay-to-Play

What Worked: Instagram’s ad platform is still strong. The targeting options, especially for demographics and interests, are solid. Carousel ads and story ads performed best for product promotions. It’s also great for visual brands (e.g., fashion, food, lifestyle).

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What Didn’t: Organic growth on Instagram is pretty dead unless you’re on a meme page or leveraging influencer collaborations. The days of rapid follower growth are over without ad spend. Algorithm changes have made it hard for even strong content to be seen without boosting posts.

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Verdict: Instagram is great for ads, especially if you’re targeting millennials. However, we found that organic growth is slow unless you’re already established or can afford influencer partnerships.

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3. Facebook: Declining, But Not Dead Yet

What Worked: Facebook’s ad platform remains one of the most advanced. We saw strong results from remarketing campaigns and lookalike audiences. The detailed targeting still makes it effective, especially for older demographics (30+). And let’s be real—it’s hard to beat Facebook for e-commerce conversions if you know what you’re doing already.

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Facebook continues to update and improve the features involved with targeting and optimising ad performance, which means you can expect a better return today than you ever have had before.

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What Didn’t: Organic reach is essentially non-existent. Unless you’re boosting posts, even your most loyal followers probably won’t see your content. Plus, the younger audience has largely migrated to other platforms (such as TikTok).

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Verdict: For ads, Facebook is still leading the charge, especially for e-commerce. For organic content, we would suggest that you don’t bother unless you’re investing in ads. Meta platforms are very much Pay-To-Play.

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4. Pinterest: The Hidden Gem

What Worked: The Pinterest ad platform has come a long way over the years, offering a unique take on search and display advertising. We saw great results from the top-of-funnel and middle-of-funnel campaigns. The detailed targeting makes it effective, especially for older demographics (35+).

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What Didn’t: Pinterest is very niche-specific. This platform works amazingly for interior design, outdoor décor and most DIY niches. Anything outside of an idea/remodelling niche would not perform as well due to the user base not being the right target audience.

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Verdict: If you are in the right niche, this is the perfect platform for you to grow and scale on. However, if you are not in the right niche, you will find out rather quickly when no conversions come through.

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So, which social media platform is best for e-commerce?

We all agree that the three best social media platforms for e-commerce are Facebook/Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest. But, other platforms to consider are YouTube, Snapchat, and X (Twitter). So let's take a closer look at why we think these are the best social platforms for your social e-commerce advertising.

1. Facebook/Instagram for e-commerce

With an audience of 1.62 billion daily users, Facebook/Instagram are the most used social media platforms in the world. Meta’s sheer size makes it a powerful marketing tool for e-commerce brands to run their paid advertising campaigns.

If you're trying to get your e-commerce brand out there, Facebook/Instagram are the platforms to use. Given that 78% of consumers say they discover products on Facebook/Instagram, it has become an essential part of many e-commerce customer acquisition strategies.

Using a variety of market segmentation techniques, including age, gender, and location data, you can acquire new customers and retarget existing website visitors with on-page ads in news feeds and Facebook Messenger.

2. TikTok for e-commerce

TikTok, no longer the newcomer to social media, allows you to target users based on an algorithm better than any other platform has provided before. With one billion active users in over 150 countries worldwide, TikTok is universally popular and its highly engaged users make it a valuable marketing channel for e-commerce advertising.

In 2020, TikTok launched TikTok for Business, which allows business owners to connect their online store and TikTok account. You can attract new and existing customers on TikTok by using hashtags, collaborating with influencers, and running four different types of ads, including:

• Dynamic Presentation Ads: Offer personalised ads to your customers.
• Collection Ads – Drive product discovery with curated product collections.
• Spark Ads: Leverage organic posts to deliver authentic brand experiences.
• Lead Generation Ads – Build subscriber lists and collect customer data.

If you can crack TikTok's algorithm and go viral, you'll rival the world's top brands in terms of engagement. An important piece of information if you are in the USA, try to keep up to date with the development of the legal relationship of TikTok versus the government.

3. Pinterest for e-commerce

Since Pinterest generates 33% more referral traffic to shopping websites than Facebook, Pinterest is a highly underrated e-commerce marketing channel. Recognised for its variety of highly visual and aspirational posts, Pinterest is a hotbed for product discovery and a highly effective full-funnel marketing channel.

Thanks to features like Rich Pins, an incredible 98% of Pinterest's 444 million monthly users have tried something they've seen on the platform. You can use Rich Pins to provide potential customers with links, references, and product recommendations to help them find everything from skin care products to inspiration for DIY projects.

According to The Social Shepherd, 77% of Pinterest users are women and the platform is most popular among people ages 18 to 44, so consider the demographics of your audience before you start using Pinterest.

If you are struggling to build an e-commerce strategy, Strike Digital offers a comprehensive account audit before any contracts are signed. Contact us today to see what we can do to help skyrocket your e-commerce success.

Other social media for e-commerce to consider

4. YouTube for e-commerce

With 2.1 billion reported monthly active users, YouTube is the most popular video platform in the world.

Many of the biggest brands, including Coca-Cola, LEGO, and American Express, regularly publish content on a dedicated channel, and with good reason. According to Google, 70% of people have purchased from a brand as a result of watching it on YouTube, but keep in mind that patience is key. You need to build your audience before you start seeing results on YouTube.

One way to add new subscribers quickly is to collaborate with influencers who have very large and active audiences on YouTube.

To increase conversions through YouTube, create detailed product video reviews or explainers that show how your product can solve your customers' pain points.

Which social media should you choose?

Here’s the kicker—there’s no one-size-fits-all. Each platform has its strengths and weaknesses, and the best one for you depends on your target audience, goals, and budget. 

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Here’s our TL;DR:

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• TikTok: Best for brand awareness, not great for direct sales.
• Instagram: Strong for ads, dead for organic unless you’re established.
• Facebook: Still great for ads, especially if you’re targeting older demographics.
• Pinterest: Niche-specific, but works great.
• YouTube: Definitely give it a try, but don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

Conclusion

Well, as we have seen, in the world of e-commerce, social media have become an indispensable tool to reach new customers and maintain engagement with existing ones. Each platform offers unique opportunities that can be leveraged to maximise return on investment and help increase sales.

Facebook, with its huge user base and product discovery capabilities, is essential for raising awareness of your brand. Instagram and its visual approach are ideal for showing your products through photos and videos, in addition to having specific functions for e-commerce such as Instagram Shopping.

Pinterest stands out for its ability to generate referral traffic and its focus on product discovery. YouTube, although it requires patience and time to build an audience, offers significant potential thanks to its video format and collaboration with influencers.

TikTok, with its growing popularity and business features, is perfect for reaching a young and engaged audience. Snapchat, with its high penetration in Generation Z and Millennials, offers innovative advertising formats such as stickers and brand filters.

By leveraging these platforms strategically and adapting your approach to the characteristics and demographics of each social media, you can significantly boost the success of your online store, maximizing the full potential of social e-commerce.

Ideally, you would start by using each platform, as you never know which might work best for your e-commerce business. 

Thank you so much for reading this article. If you enjoyed it and are looking to grow your business, feel free to contact us or book a consultation with our sales team.

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At Strike Digital, the leading digital ad agency, we work with you to achieve growth and increase revenue performance.

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Have a great day!

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