Explaining Microsoft Advertising’s Multi-platform Feature

Running a business is hard. Sales, HR, Admin, Marketing, ensuring you have an endless supply of coffee… the list goes on. But what if you could run and manage search ads for Google & Microsoft, Facebook ads, and Instagram ads from the same place? In this blog, we will explore what we know about Microsoft Advertising’s Multi-platform — the potential one-stop shop for your business’s digital marketing.

This blog was written in April 2024 when Multi-platform was still in its infancy and not yet released to all markets. Explore the official Microsoft pages linked below for further, potentially more up-to-date information:

All about Multi-platform 

Multi-platform: FAQ 

 

What is Microsoft Advertising’s Multi-platform?

Based on the concept that users complete their purchase/lead journey via several platforms, Multi-platform is an all-in-one feature available in Smart Campaigns. Technically, Multi-platform has been around since 2020, though Microsoft recently redesigned Smart Campaigns, and Multi-platform received an update too.

When you create a Smart Campaign within Microsoft, Multi-platform is free. With this feature, you can:

• Launch and manage search ads across Microsoft and Google.
• Launch social ads on Facebook and Instagram.
• Publish content, like, and reply to comments on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
• Access comprehensive reporting and analysis tools.
• Automate content generation using AI.
• Harness AI for effective campaign management & optimization.
• Connect ads with relevant keywords or online searches.
• Use Microsoft’s audience network.

When will we be able to use Multi-platform?

The smart campaign update happened in 2022, though we are still waiting on the mass market access.

The current message is: ‘Not everyone has this feature yet. If you don’t, don’t worry—it’s coming soon!’

 

Three things you should know before you try Multi-platform?

1. How much does it cost to use?

Multi-platform is free to use in Microsoft Advertising, though the minimum daily budget for advertising campaigns is as follows:

• Microsoft Advertising only: $2 USD
• Microsoft Advertising and Google Ads: $5 USD
• Microsoft Advertising and Facebook Ads: $7 USD
• Microsoft Advertising, Google Ads, and Facebook Ads: $10 USD
• Multi-platform is currently only live in the US, though we expect the £/€ minimum daily budgets to be similar to the $ amounts.

 

2. Why can’t I sign up for Multi-platform using my existing Microsoft account?

While using Multi-platform alongside your Smart Campaigns account isn’t available for everyone yet, you can sign up for the waitlist to be included. If you don’t want to wait, you can sign up for Multi-platform on its own (if it’s available in your market). However, you’ll need to manage both accounts separately as there is no way to merge them yet.

 

3. There are limitations to video posts. 

Microsoft Advertising does not support videos in Instagram posts, nor does LinkedIn allow videos in organic posts. Multi-platform does allow users to create image and video ads to run on Facebook and Instagram, which will then appear in user’s feeds. 

 

Want to Learn More?

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