Best Social Media Platforms for Advertising in 2025

In 2025, the best social media platforms for advertising are those that combine broad reach, strong targeting, and deep user engagement. Smart brands focus their social media advertising spend where it matches audience behaviour and business goals. With the right social media advertising services, such as those offered by Spiral, you can cut waste, sharpen results and tap into emerging opportunities across platforms.

Social media is deeply woven into everyday lives: more than 63 % of the world’s population now uses social platforms, averaging around 2 hours 20 minutes daily. But jumping onto every app isn’t smart. Each platform offers different audiences, ad formats, costs and growth potential. For truly effective social media advertising, you need to match your business goals with the right platform’s strengths.

Here are the major trends shaping the best social media platforms for advertising in 2025:

Before you lock in your ad budget, use these filters to pick platforms:

Here are some of the leading platforms brands should consider, each with its strengths and caveats.

Facebook & Instagram These are still among the largest platforms by user base (Facebook > 3 billion MAUs). They provide extensive targeting, reliable infrastructure and vast reach. For many brands, they remain key pillars of social media advertising. However, because competition is high, cost-per-acquisition may rise, and creative quality needs to be strong.

YouTube With about 3.9 billion monthly users early in 2025, YouTube is dominant. The platform is ideal for video-first campaigns, brand storytelling and deep engagement. It’s one of the best social media platforms when your message benefits from visual and audio formats.

TikTok & Emerging Short-Form Video Platforms These platforms are growing rapidly. Short-form video is especially effective for brand awareness and younger audiences. For brands that can dial into creativity and trend-driven content, these platforms offer strong potential and sometimes lower competition.

LinkedIn Although smaller in raw user numbers, LinkedIn is highly effective for B2B and professional-audience advertising. Around 40 % of B2B marketers consider it the most effective platform in their pool. If your target is business decision-makers, tech buyers, or professional services, LinkedIn is one of the best social media platforms you can use.

Pinterest, Reddit, X (formerly Twitter) & Others These platforms are interesting secondary opportunities. For example, Reddit’s ad revenue is growing quickly because of its unique community focus. Pinterest shows niche strength for products and women-centric audiences. These platforms may not provide scale for all, but can offer a distinct advantage depending on your niche.

Choosing the right platform is just one part of success. Executing effective campaigns is where many brands struggle. That’s where Spiral steps in. Spiral offers full-service social media advertising services designed to make the most of the best social media platforms for your business:

Here’s a step-by-step process to make your social media advertising effective in 2025:

To wrap up: the best social media platforms for advertising in 2025 are those that align intimately with your audience profile, content style, budget and business goal. Whether you prioritise scale, precision or niche engagement, a smart mix of platforms will win. And to execute at full potential, you need the right social media advertising services behind you.

Spiral stands ready to guide your strategy from platform choice to creative execution to analytics and growth. If you’re ready to elevate your social media advertising and invest your budget in the right channels, now is the time to act.