A lot of our users come to us when setting up their Songfly ad with a common question: Which social media platform should I focus the most on? They wonder if they should spread their budget across all three, stick to just one, or try to figure out which will give the strongest results. It’s not always easy knowing where your budget will go the furthest, and no one wants to waste money on the wrong strategy.

The truth is, each platform has its own strengths and weaknesses, its own audience, and its own unique way of presenting ads. At Songtools, we’ve run thousands of Songfly campaigns for all types of independent artists. While every campaign is different—and ultimately, listeners decide how they want to engage with a song—there are some guidelines artists can keep in mind to help them choose the best platform for their goals.

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Why does choosing the right platform matter for music promotion?

Since each social media platform has different user behaviors, content formats, and levels of engagement, this will inevitably affect how people discover and interact with your song when they see it on a Songfly ad. 

For example, an ad that feels natural and engaging on Facebook, might get immediately skipped over on TikTok. Choosing the right platform ensures your ad feels native to the environment, giving it the best chance to actually connect with listeners and drive real streams or followers.

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Are the audiences really that different?

When it comes to social media ads, the audiences on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok differ more than you might think. 

• Facebook continues to reach a broad, slightly older demographic, making it effective for community-based engagement and fans who prefer more detailed posts. 
• Instagram skews younger and thrives on highly visual, curated content, appealing to audiences who respond to polished imagery and Reels. 
• TikTok, on the other hand, is dominated by Gen Z and younger millennials who favor short-form, trend-driven videos that feel authentic and in the moment. 

Understanding these distinctions is key to choosing the right platform for your campaign, since each one brings its own strengths and audience behaviors. Click here for a deeper dive into social media demographics to get a better understanding of how these change across platforms. 

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What’s the best way to run ads if I’m just starting out?

When you’re launching your first Songfly campaign without prior experience promoting your music through digital ads, the smartest way to begin is by testing. For new artists who don’t yet have much insight into their audience, we always recommend running ads on all three platforms (Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok) at the same time. This creates a controlled test so you’re not left guessing, and instead you can let the data show you where your song is resonating most.

As you gather results, you’ll start to notice patterns. Maybe the music video you created is driving a surge of followers on TikTok, or if you don’t have a video, perhaps the default creative in your ad is pulling more clicks on Instagram. By casting a wide net first and then doubling down on the strongest performer, you’ll make sure your budget is working as efficiently as possible.

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Benefits & Downsides to Each Platform: 

If you’ve already run tests across Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok but still aren’t sure which platform highlights your music best, it helps to also take a closer look at the unique strengths and limitations of each. Think of this as a guide to better understand the landscape and make a more informed decision, so you can get the most of your next Songfly campaign.

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Meta (Instagram + Facebook)

Meta platforms are the strongest for conversions and driving fans off-platform, whether to Spotify, YouTube, or your mailing list. Both Instagram and Facebook run through Meta Ads Manager, giving you access to powerful targeting based on age, location, interests, or past interactions. Another major advantage of these platforms is how easy they make it to boost existing posts and re-engage casual listeners, helping you convert them into long-term fans.

But Ads Manager can also be complicated and tricky to use (which is why Songfly makes it a one-click solution for artists). Here are some more platform-specific distinctions: 

Instagram Benefits

• Strong culture of music discovery, fans expect to find new music here.
• Reels are immersive and blend in with user content, making ads feel natural.
• Typically tends to drive the highest engagement and conversion rates.

Instagram Downsides

• Competition is high on Instagram, which can drive up ad costs and make it harder for your content to stand out.
• Because Instagram is a highly visual platform, ads need to look polished, appealing or professional to perform well.

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Facebook Benefits

• Largest reach across demographics, especially older listeners.
• Ideal for longer-form ads like full music videos.

Facebook Downsides

• Organic engagement is low compared to Instagram and TikTok, meaning posts and ads often need more spend behind them to reach and connect with fans. 
• Feeds are more cluttered with non-entertainment content (news, groups, etc.), so ads may feel less native.
• Younger audiences are less active here.

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TikTok 

TikTok is unmatched for on-platform engagement and discovery. It’s where viral music moments happen, and its young audience is highly engaged with trends and sounds. However, it’s much harder to move users off-platform compared to Instagram and Facebook.

TikTok Benefits

• Explosive discovery platform for music, unparalleled viral potential.
• Younger, highly engaged audience eager for trends and sounds.
• Ads are designed to look and feel almost identical to regular user-generated videos, so they don’t stand out as “ads” and feel more natural in the feed.

TikTok Downsides

• TikTok has limited targeting options compared to Meta.
• It’s more difficult to boost existing posts. 
• Going viral is rare, so it’s better to focus on steady, sustainable growth rather than relying on a one-off breakout moment. 
• Audience skew is stronger, so not every genre or artist will naturally resonate with audiences. 

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How Songfly Simplifies It All

At this point, you’re equipped to make an informed decision about which platform to start with. The tricky part comes next: actually setting up the ad, which can feel overwhelming if you’re doing it on your own. Meta Ads Manager alone can take hours to set up properly, and TikTok has its own rules and quirks to learn. The good news? You don’t actually have to master any of that yourself.

With Songfly, you simply choose where you want your ads to run (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, or all three) and Songfly handles the rest. From building the campaign to targeting the right listeners and distributing your ads across platforms, it’s all streamlined into a one-click solution built specifically for artists.

That means you get the benefit of powerful ad campaigns without needing to become a marketing expert:

• No learning curve: you don’t need to master Meta Ads Manager or TikTok’s ad tools.
• One simple choice: just decide which platform(s) you want to promote on.
• Automatic setup: Songfly builds and optimizes the ad campaign for you.
• Smarter reach: your track gets in front of the right listeners in the most effective way possible.

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Key Takeaways 

• Start broad, then narrow in: Running ads across Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok together gives you a clear picture of where your track resonates best.
• Meta (Instagram + Facebook): Best for conversions and driving fans off-platform (to Spotify, YouTube, mailing lists, etc.). Strong targeting tools help you find the right listeners and re-engage them.
• Instagram often leads in conversions: While results vary and we can’t guarantee results anywhere, Instagram consistently drives strong engagement and click-throughs for music promotion.
• TikTok: Best for on-platform engagement and exposure. It can get a lot of people interacting with your content directly on TikTok, but it’s harder to move them off the app.
• Data should guide your budget: Let performance metrics, like streams, saves, and follows, determine where to double down, instead of guessing.

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FAQ’s

Q: How long should I test ads on all three platforms before deciding where to focus?

A: We recommend running at least 1–2 weeks of ads across all three platforms. This gives you enough data to see which platform is pulling ahead without draining your budget.

Q: Do I need different ad creatives for each platform?

A: If you’re able to, yes. TikTok thrives on authentic user-generated content, while Instagram tends to reward more polished visuals. Facebook can handle longer-form content like full music videos. Tailoring your creative to each platform will maximize performance, but using any artist-original creative is better than nothing! 

Q: What metrics should I track to decide which platform is best?

A: Go beyond clicks. Look at cost per conversion, how many people actually streamed or saved your track, and whether you gained any followers. These deeper metrics will tell you where your fans are truly engaging.

Q: Can I run ads if I don’t have a music video yet?

A: Absolutely. Many successful Songfly campaigns use other types of visuals like lip-syncing videos, dance videos, or lyric videos. Click here for more inspiration to make your own ad creatives. The important part is that the content matches the vibe of the platform and grabs attention quickly.

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Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to which platform is best—it genuinely depends on your music and how each audience chooses to engage with it. With Songfly, what you’re really paying for is the chance to put your music in front of new listeners. From there, it’s always the audience who decides how they connect with your song, which is something no platform can guarantee. 

The smartest move you can make as an artist is to focus on where your listeners are most responsive. If you’re still not seeing traction, it’s a sign to switch things up (whether that’s the visuals in your ad or the song snippet you’re showcasing). With a little experimentation, you’ll stretch your budget further and put your music in front of the fans most likely to connect with it.

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Photo by dlxmedia.hu on Unsplash