Facebook and Instagram are two distinct social media platforms owned by the same parent company but cater to different audiences, especially in 2023. Suppose you’re a marketing professional aiming to increase your online reach. In that case, it’s essential to know the differences between the two and how they can work to achieve your business goals. This way, you can determine which platform is the right fit and learn how to utilize each efficiently. Below, we’ll briefly look at the four most important factors when considering each for marketing purposes.
Audiences
Both platforms are online global darlings. With both impressively boasting over 2 billion monthly users, over 60% of Instagram users are under 35, while Facebook users tend to skew slightly older. However, there is some overlap between the two platforms. According to a PEW research study, Facebook’s user growth has remained stable, whereas Instagram has experienced consistent growth. If you’re looking to target potential customers in their early 20s or 30s, we suggest going with Instagram. Nearly half of the entirety of Facebook’s audience is men over the age of 25. So, if you want to target that demographic, we’d suggest it as your primary platform.
Engagement
Targeting specific audiences is only the initial step when using Facebook and Instagram to market. Without genuine engagement, they become obsolete. As a professional, you need to be sure your strategies are working. This is where engaging your selected audience comes in because it’s what’ll help your page grow, thus reaching a vast audience. The most important types of engagement for Instagram are likes, comments, saves, profile visits, and time spent on the page. Conversely, Facebook prioritizes reactions, comments, shares, link clicks, and time spent. Essentially, these are the things you want to try and grow through your strategy. The average engagement rates on Instagram tend to be higher than on Facebook, although users for the latter spend more total time on the platform. But remember, there may be more accurate ways to gauge your success than simply comparing engagements, as people use Facebook and Instagram differently.
Content
Regarding content, Facebook and Instagram have vastly different main focuses despite some general similarities. For one, you can have text-only (status update) posts on Facebook but not on Instagram, which needs a photo or video attached each time. Most Facebook users use the platform to connect with family and friends, whereas Instagram users tend to share life moments more frequently. Both highly favor video, including live, but there is an added focus on promoting events on Facebook.
Advertising
Maintaining a distinction between your organic and paid social media strategies is important. Platform-to-platform advertising is where you’ll find the most similarities between the two. Facebook and Instagram have images, videos, carousels, and collection ads. To create the most effective marketing mix, we recommend having a strategy for both approaches with a slight emphasis on paid. This is because social media has become and will continue to become a “pay to play” undertaking.
As an advertising agency, we predict that Facebook and Instagram usage will continue to grow, especially for businesses looking to expand their brand and market their products or services. To become a successful social media marketer, you must understand each platform’s audience, engagement preferences, ideal content, and advertising types. Doing so will help you become more well-rounded in a field essential for building brand awareness.
If you need help creating a robust social media strategy, whether it’s organic or paid, consider partnering with Ad House Advertising. Our team of professionals focuses on developing campaigns that boost market share, activate consumers, and achieve desired results. We can strategically design, create, manage, optimize, and document performance with our skilled staff that you’ll come to know and consider part of your team.