TV vs. Social Media Advertising

For many marketers, social media has been a "go-to" ad channel for years.

There's a good reason for that: it's fast, affordable, and packed with tools that can help you both reach specific audiences (while quickly measuring results, to boot). But lately, that playbook hasn't stretched as far—at least, on its own.

Maybe you've even noticed some common frustrations yourself: CPMs keep rising, algorithms keep shifting priorities, and the best targeted ads can get lost amid the ever-escalating battle for attention.

It's one reason why connected TV (CTV) is quickly becoming one of the fastest-growing channels for small to medium-sized businesses.

Once considered out of reach, CTV has emerged as an equally easy way to serve unskippable, full-screen ads—crucially, during moments when your audience is actually paying attention, not lost in a "scroller's haze."

In this guide, we'll:

• Compare TV and social media advertising
• Break down their strengths, relative weaknesses, and best use cases
• Craft a hybrid strategy that can help you reach more people, boost campaign ROI, and expand your lasting brand awareness

The Channel Diversification Challenge

It's not just that social costs are rising—the rules of the digital advertising game are changing, too.

Where once you could bank on low CPMs, hyper-targeted ads, and a reliable stream of conversions, the landscape now looks very different. Platforms like Meta are reshaping how attribution works, privacy updates have chipped away at precise targeting, and the last-click model—once the Holy Grail of measurement—isn't built for how viewers behave today.

For example, audiences are fragmenting. They aren't just scrolling anymore—they're watching, streaming, and switching devices all day long. At the end of the day? No single channel can capture it all.

That's why smart marketers aren't just looking for another channel—they're looking for balance. Ideally, with a mix that expands reach, deepens attention, and holds up when algorithms (invariably) shift again.

Thankfully, CTV not only offers premium, full-screen placements in brand-safe environments—it can also help SMBs develop an omnichannel strategy, effectively avoiding an overdependence on any one platform's whims.

Let's take a closer look at the best ways they can work together.

How TV and Social Media Compare at a Glance

Social media and CTV both offer unique advantages—and knowing where each shines best—can help marketers make smarter budget decisions.

Feature	Social Media	Connected TV / Streaming TV
Ad Skipping	Often skippable	Unskippable (15- to 30-second ads)
Environment	Distracted, solo scrolling	Lean-back, immersive, often co-viewed
Screen Size	Small (mobile)	Large (TV in living room)
Cost	Low barrier to entry, rising CPMs	$15 CPM via Peak Placement
Creative Tools	Built-in (or DIY)	Free AI ad creation with the Paramount Ads Manager platform
Targeting	Highly granular—behavioral, interest, and custom audiences	Geographic + demographic (age/gender/HHI)

Social Media Advertising: Pros and Cons

Social advertising has earned its spot in the modern marketing toolkit—and for good reason.

Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok offer hyper-targeted reach, flexible budgets, and built-in tools for real-time performance tracking. If your goal is to drive clicks, downloads, or sales—and fast—the channel can be a great engine to move users through the sales funnel.

But even with all those strengths, social advertising isn't without its challenges. Rising CPMs and increased competition make it harder to stand out; privacy updates have limited the effectiveness of granular targeting; and content saturation means users are seeing (and skipping) more ads than ever.

Throw in unpredictable moderation policies and algorithm shifts, and it's easy to see why many marketers are looking for backup.

Pros	Cons
Micro-targeting, flexible budgets, and fast reporting	High competition and shrinking reach
Strong for lower-funnel actions (clicks, purchases)	Easy to skip or ignore; low average attention span
Interactive, direct-response formats	Ad fatigue, content saturation, and increasing CPMs year-over-year

TV & CTV Advertising: Pros and Cons

TV has long been the go-to channel for brand-building at scale—and with CTV, many of those same strengths are now available to small and mid-sized businesses.

Whether you rely on traditional broadcasts or streaming platforms like Paramount+, the appeal is the same: big screens, engaged audiences, and unskippable ads delivered in premium content environments.

CTV, in particular, has leveled the playing field: once reserved for big-budget advertisers, it now offers democratized access through self-serve tools (and even free AI creative, on some platforms).

With CPMs starting around $15 for Peak Placement on Paramount+, it's become far more approachable for small businesses exploring new channels—especially when paired with rising viewership trends.

That said, like anything else, there *are *trade-offs.

Traditional TV often comes with higher upfront costs, slower reporting, and less granular targeting. CTV solves many of those challenges—but still requires a learning curve, especially for marketers more familiar with social's plug-and-play feel. Measurement can also take longer, since these channels tend to impact upper- and mid-funnel metrics first.

Pros	Cons
High-impact storytelling on a big screen	Awareness-focused (not for immediate conversion)
Unskippable ads with ~96% view completion	Measurement is more upper/mid-funnel (requires patience)
Viewers are more engaged, often co-watching with family
CTV CPMs as low as $15 through Paramount Ads Manager

The Real Differences: Targeting, Attention, and Measurement

TV and social media may both serve ads, but they reach audiences—and hold their attention—in very different ways.

Social platforms are known for their hyper-specific targeting based on behaviors, interests, and browsing history, making it easy to run micro-campaigns or quickly A/B test creative.

But as privacy restrictions tighten and third-party data becomes harder to come by, that granularity is starting to erode. Performance is increasingly tied to platform-specific rules, and results can shift with every algorithm update.

CTV offers a different solution: targeting is based on geographic and demographic data—ZIP code, age, gender, household income—and can be layered with contextual and behavioral signals to improve relevance. While not as granular as social, it's privacy-compliant by design and avoids the over-targeting traps that often lead to underdelivery or inflated CPMs.

These differences matter even more when it comes to attention. On social channels, ads show up mid-scroll and can disappear in less than a second. CTV ads run full-screen in a lean-back, often co-viewed environment—unskippable, with completion rates near 96%. Not to mention, research shows that 9/10 people are in good moods when they sit down to watch TV, and in turn, they are 54% more receptive to ads. (Source: "Social and Streaming: A Combination Powering Brands Across the Consumer Journey.: Jordan Rost, head of ad marketing at Roku; Amy Casale, senior manager of ad research at Roku. ANA Content Marketing Committee Meeting, 10/10/24.) That change in setting creates a different kind of engagement: fewer distractions, higher recall, and more time with your message.

Measurement also reflects the divide. Social still leans on last-click attribution and short-term metrics. CTV, by contrast, is better suited to measuring brand lift, mid-funnel impact, and sequential influence across channels.

And with unified attribution models improving, it's getting easier to connect CTV exposure to downstream performance on channels like search and social.

Addressing the Elephant in the Room: Cost

On platforms like Paramount Ads Manager, CPMs start around $15 for Peak Placement, with final costs depending on audience size, location, and targeting layers. A bit of a steal, given how premium the ad experience is.

Meanwhile? Social media CPMs can appear cheaper upfront, but are increasingly variable. During peak seasons, social CPMs can spike to $20–$25 or more, especially for in-demand audiences with high competition.

Let's Talk Value

While social platforms remain a cost-effective option for direct response and retargeting, the attention and impact delivered by CTV can drive longer-term returns that justify the investment.

CTV ads are unskippable, often co-viewed, and shown on the largest screen in the house. The environment alone increases engagement and recall, leading to stronger performance across channels. Aside from increasing awareness and recall, CTV also captures the lion share of time spent with media, with over 2 hours of U.S. adults' time daily, 54 minutes more than social media, meaning that your audience is investing more of their day in this channel

According to Analytic Partners, CTV generates 30% stronger ROI than other advertising channels, especially when used to build brand familiarity that improves performance elsewhere—like paid search or social retargeting.

There's also the matter of hidden costs. With social, creative often needs to be refreshed constantly to avoid fatigue, and campaign management can get complex fast.

So while CTV might look more expensive at first glance, the bigger picture often tells a different story. For brands willing to think beyond last-click metrics, CTV delivers more than impressions—it delivers staying power.

Better Together: Why a Hybrid TV + Social Strategy Wins

TV and social media advertising aren't rivals—they're strategic partners.

Used together, they create a multiplier effect across the funnel. CTV builds awareness and familiarity in a trusted, high-attention setting. Social follows up with timely, lower-funnel engagement—clicks, sign-ups, conversions.

In fact, our data shows that exposure to ads on CTV makes viewers more likely to click on a brand's search or social ad later on. This cross-channel lift is known as the halo effect: when someone first sees a brand in a premium, unskippable format, it builds recognition and trust that makes follow-up messaging feel more relevant—and more effective.

Even with limited third-party data, this strategy expands your reach. CTV helps marketers engage audiences they might not otherwise reach, while social benefits from increased familiarity and higher conversion intent. And in the other direction, social-first creative can often be repurposed for CTV, minimizing production lift and unifying your message across touchpoints.

There are practical advantages, too. Social media has faced growing scrutiny over brand safety, unpredictable content moderation, and algorithmic volatility. CTV, on the other hand, offers a brand-safe environment and household-level targeting that's privacy-compliant by design—without relying on individual user tracking.

In short? CTV sets the stage, while social drives the action. Together, they give you reach, relevance, and results—without doubling your budget or your workload.

How SMBs Can Get Started with CTV Advertising

Getting started with connected TV advertising doesn't require a big budget or a media agency. Today's CTV platforms are built to meet SMBs where they are—offering flexible budgets and campaign tools that don't require a learning curve.

If you're looking to expand brand reach or regain traction as social CPMs climb, CTV offers a brand-safe, high-attention environment with plenty of upside. It's especially effective for products or services that benefit from lifestyle storytelling—things that often need more than a quick scroll to connect.

Choosing the right CTV platform comes down to a few practical factors. For most SMBs, ease of use is key: look for a platform with intuitive controls, fast setup, and integrated tools like free ad creation. Transparent pricing also matters—make sure you can test without overcommitting, and that you're only paying for impressions that are actually delivered.

And finally, consider how well the platform aligns with your targeting goals. Household-level options like ZIP, age, gender, and income can go a long way when combined with strong creative.

CTV Advertising: Recommendations

If you're new to CTV, it's important to remember that you don't have to go "all-in" on day one.

Many brands begin by testing small—allocating a portion of their experimental budget to CTV while continuing to run social or search alongside it. Plus, you can always scale once you start seeing results.

Using platforms that offer built-in creative can also keep things simple and cost-effective. With Paramount Ads Manager, for example, you can generate ad creative using free AI tools—no production team required. From there, track performance across channels through unified reporting to understand how CTV fits into the bigger picture.

For SMBs, the goal isn't to abandon what's already working. It's to layer in CTV as a way to improve results without ballooning your total spend. Start with a few audience segments or ZIP codes, run A/B tests with different messaging or creatives, and refine from there.

And don't let the format intimidate you. Creative for CTV doesn't need to be high-concept or high-budget. If you're used to building quick, punchy ads for social, you can adapt that same messaging into a longer-form format that fits the lean-back, storytelling vibe of the TV screen. For more tips on how to shape CTV content for performance, check out this 3-step guide to CTV campaign best practices.

Related: CTV Advertising Platforms: How to Choose the Right One

Bring Balance to Your Ad Channels with a Holistic Strategy

For SMBs looking to grow, the question isn't whether to invest in TV or social—it's how to make them work together.

CTV advertising via Paramount Ads Manager offers an accessible way to add premium storytelling to your marketing mix without blowing up your budget or hiring an agency. Campaigns start at $500 and can be launched in under 24 hours using a self-serve platform built for speed and simplicity. Plus, you'll have access to free AI-powered creative tools, real-time reporting, and premium inventory across Paramount+, CBS, Pluto TV, and more.

Performance is easier to measure. Even without complex tech, you can track impressions and view rates, test different creatives, and see which ads actually landed. Attribution dashboards show completion rates and help connect CTV exposure to downstream action—no agency required.

Targeting is flexible, too. While it's not as granular as social, Paramount Ads Manager offers ZIP, age, gender, and income-based audience options. The recommended approach? Start broad and refine—a best practice that avoids the pitfalls of over-targeting, which can lead to underdelivery or inflated costs.

The biggest screen in the house is no longer out of reach for smaller businesses. With tools designed for smaller teams, flexible budgets, and big-screen impact, it's never been easier to bring balance—and long-term value—to your advertising strategy.