Choosing the Right Platform: Instagram vs. Facebook for Ensuring Marketing Success

Instagram and Facebook are two social media marketing platforms that share a common ownership but these two social platforms are distinctly unique. While the average user may have personal preferences, marketers need to grasp the differences between Instagram and Facebook to effectively leverage them for their business objectives.

Instagram vs Facebook involves various aspects such as:

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• Background
• Target Audiences
• Engagement
• Content Dynamics
• Industry Suitability
• Business Types
• Advertising Opportunities

To gain a comprehensive understanding, let’s delve into these areas.

An Overview of Instagram Vs Facebook for Business

Both Instagram and Facebook have garnered significant popularity among users, with 14.6% favouring Instagram and 14.5% favouring Facebook, according to Hootsuite. It comes as no surprise considering the pivotal role these platforms have played in the social media landscape for the past decade.

Things To Know: It’s crucial to recognise that Instagram and Facebook were developed with distinct objectives within different environments. Understanding their origins is vital before delving into their present-day disparities.

Here’s a brief overview: Although both platforms emerged a few years apart, Instagram was launched during the mobile-first era, following the market saturation of iPhones. It entered a transformed social media landscape, shaped by Facebook’s rise to prominence and the subsequent shift in our relationship with online platforms.

Learn More: Effective Social Media Marketing for Your Business

Understanding Instagram Ads Vs Facebook Ads

Both Instagram and Facebook boast massive global user bases, with each platform reaching the milestone of 1 billion users in 7.7 and 8.7 years, respectively. Furthermore, their user numbers continue to grow. However, there are notable distinctions in terms of user counts and demographics.

• User Count: While both platforms enjoy a significant user base, Facebook’s audience is considerably larger. It boasts 2.9 billion monthly users, whereas Instagram has 2 billion monthly users.
• Age and Gender Distribution: On both Facebook and Instagram, the minimum age requirement to create a profile is 13 years old. Marketers need to consider this fact, as it means that both platforms include a younger audience. This data implies that if your target audience consists of individuals in their 20s and early 30s, particularly women, Instagram provides an excellent opportunity to engage with and reach your desired demographic.
• Location: Both Instagram and Facebook have a global user base, and their usage is consistent across different countries. Interestingly, the top four countries in terms of user numbers are the same for both platforms: India, Indonesia, Brazil and the United States.

In general, you don’t need to base your platform choice solely on user location when deciding between Instagram vs Facebook for business.

However, it’s advisable to double-check the specific country or region you’re targeting for your marketing efforts. It’s worth noting that there may be some variations in social media usage patterns among individuals.

Learn More: Top 7 Tips on Creative Social Media Marketing

Instagram vs Facebook in Terms of Engagement

As a marketer, understanding the level of engagement on Instagram and Facebook is crucial to assessing the effectiveness of your social media strategy.

Types of engagement: For Instagram, the key engagements that hold importance for the algorithm include:

• Likes
• Comments
• Saves
• Profile visits
• Time spent on page

On the other hand, Facebook’s algorithm focuses on the following engagements:

• Reactions
• Comments
• Shares
• Link clicks
• Time spent on page
• Engagement benchmarks

While tracking the number of engagements is valuable, it’s also helpful to have benchmarks for comparison. Hootsuite, a social scheduling and reporting platform, analysed social media posts to determine average engagement benchmarks for organic Facebook and Instagram posts.

Here are some average engagement benchmarks for Facebook:

• Post engagement vs. page fans for all post types: 0.07%
• Photo post engagement vs. page fans: 0.12%
• Video post engagement vs. page fans: 0.08%
• Link post engagement vs. page fans: 0.04%
• Status post engagement vs. page fans: 0.11%

For Instagram, the average engagement rate benchmarks are as follows:

• Engagement rate for all post types: 0.54%
• Engagement rate for photo posts: 0.46%
• Engagement rate for video posts: 0.61%
• Engagement rate for carousel posts: 0.62%

It’s important to note that Instagram tends to have higher average engagement rates compared to Facebook. This highlights the need to consider the platform-specific engagement dynamics and use social media marketing strategies for Facebook and Instagram in different ways.

Instagram vs Facebook: Average Time Spent

In the past year, users spent an average of 11.7 hours per month on Instagram. However, when it comes to Facebook, the time spent by users is even more significant. On average, users spend 19.7 hours per month on this platform.

What To Do?

Keep in mind that these figures represent the average time spent per user, which means there is ample opportunity for you to engage your audience. The key is to ensure you’re promoting and sharing the right content from your brand’s profile to make the most of this extended exposure.

Instagram vs Facebook: Content

When it comes to social media marketing, people have various reasons for opening them. It could be out of habit, curiosity or even necessity.

Understanding what your audience is seeking when they log into Facebook or Instagram can help you create more appealing content based on existing data.

Here’s what Facebook users typically look for on the platform:

• 54% seek funny or entertaining content.
• 55% follow or research brands and products.
• 59% stay updated with news and current events.
• 71% engage in messaging with friends and family.
• 64% post or share photos and videos.

On Facebook, most people use the platform to connect with friends and family. As a business, it’s important to ensure that your business page doesn’t come across as overly promotional. Instead, aim for a conversational tone to engage with your audience.

And here’s what Instagram users tend to look for on the platform:

• 61% seek funny or entertaining content.
• 62% follow or research brands and products.
• 51% stay updated with news and current events.
• 51% engage in messaging with friends and family.
• 70% post or share photos and videos.

Instagram is increasingly being used by people to research brands and products. This presents an opportunity to showcase product reviews, customer testimonials and visually appealing content such as photos and videos to attract and engage your audience.

Know All About the Content-Type:

One significant distinction between Instagram vs Facebook is the content format. Instagram posts require a photo or video, while Facebook allows for a variety of content types, including text-only posts, link sharing and more. Let’s take a closer look at the types of content you can share on each platform.

• Instagram: Instagram is primarily focused on photo and video content. Consider using carousel posts to share multiple pictures at once and boost engagement. Instagram Stories are ephemeral posts that appear at the top of the feed. They can feature videos or pictures and generate high levels of engagement.

  What To Do?

  Engage with your audience in real time through Instagram Live. This feature enables you to host Q&A sessions, product announcements and other interactive experiences. Create Instagram Reels; they have the potential to reach a wide audience.

• Facebook: Share posts with text, photos, videos and links on your Facebook profile feed through status updates. Set up Facebook events to promote in-person or virtual programs, allowing followers to see and RSVP. Like Instagram Live, Facebook Live lets you broadcast and engage with your audience in real-time.

  What To Do?

  Although Facebook is less visually focused than Instagram, it still accommodates photos and videos. Don’t hesitate to share brand photos, product visuals and behind-the-scenes content on this platform.

By leveraging the specific content options on each platform, you can optimize your presence on Instagram and Facebook to effectively engage with your audience.

Learn More: Ultimate Guide to SEO Content Creation!

Instagram vs. Facebook: Industry Trends and Insights

It’s important to note that businesses from any industry can create profiles and build a following on Instagram or Facebook. However, certain industries may find better success on one platform over the other.

Industries on Instagram: Instagram is particularly well-suited for industries that align with its visual content format, direct customer connections and the influence of social media influencers.

Some industries that thrive on Instagram include:

• Health and beauty: The beauty industry, known for its visual appeal, finds great success on Instagram. Research shows that a significant portion of beauty shoppers rely on influencers for product discovery, making Instagram an ideal platform for growing organic following and brand awareness.
• Clothing and accessory brands: Fashion heavily relies on visual marketing, making Instagram a natural fit for showcasing outfits and accessories. Influencers also play a significant role in driving fashion brand growth on social media, with many Instagram users seeking inspiration from influencers.
• Food and restaurants: The food industry benefits from Instagram’s emphasis on user-generated content. Food brands can leverage their customers’ posts to showcase their offerings, as user-generated content tends to be highly effective in attracting new customers.

Industries on Facebook: Certain industries find success in growing organic followings and fostering engagement on Facebook and through social media marketing due to its features and demographic reach.

Here are a few industries where Facebook performs well:

• Real estate: Facebook’s slightly older user demographic and its ability to share visual content and links make it suitable for the real estate industry. Real estate businesses can leverage Facebook to showcase properties and provide detailed information.
• Travel: The travel industry, being highly visual and requiring comprehensive information, benefits from Facebook’s ability to share links and provide more in-depth content. Travel pages on Facebook often generate a significant number of impressions and profile visits compared to Instagram.
• Education: Facebook is the preferred social media platform for educational marketing. Its user base includes parents and older individuals, making it an effective channel for promoting educational institutions and ed-tech companies.

While these industries tend to perform well on Instagram or Facebook based on their respective strengths, it’s essential to evaluate your specific business goals and target audience to determine the most suitable platform for your marketing efforts.

When it comes to Instagram vs Facebook for business, businesses of any type can establish a following on Instagram and Facebook. This is primarily due to the nature of the platforms, which facilitate live videos, direct communication and exchanges between accounts.

One business type that should have a presence on both Facebook and Instagram is e-commerce. Both platforms support direct sales and have proven to be highly effective. However, according to reports from marketers, Instagram tends to yield the highest return on investment (ROI) when it comes to selling products.

Should You Advertise on Facebook or Instagram?

When it comes to advertising on Instagram and Facebook, it’s important to have a separate social media marketing strategy from your organic approach.

However, the two strategies should complement each other. As you grow and gain insights about your organic audience, you can better target your advertising efforts on either platform.

Here are the various types of Instagram ads available:

• Image ads
• Instagram Story ads
• Video ads
• Carousel ads
• Collection ads
• Explore ads
• Instagram Shopping ads
• Reels ads

Now let’s look at the different ad types on Facebook:

• Image ads
• Video ads
• Carousel ads
• Instant Experience ads
• Collection ads
• Facebook Lead ads
• Slideshow ads
• Facebook Messenger ads

By utilizing these ad formats, you can effectively reach and engage your target audience on both Instagram and Facebook, maximizing the impact of your advertising campaigns.

Instagram Vs Facebook for Business: Conclusion

Considering that most individuals are active on multiple social media platforms, it’s likely that even if you prioritize Facebook over Instagram or experience greater success on one platform than the other, you will still be able to reach a significant portion of your target audience to some degree.

What To Do?

The great news is that you don’t have to make a definitive choice between the two. Instead, leverage the differences outlined earlier to develop distinct strategies for each platform.

This way, you can optimize your time and content on both Instagram and Facebook, ensuring that you maximize your reach and engagement across both platforms. Embracing both Instagram and Facebook will allow you to connect with a wider audience and reap the benefits offered by each platform.