Picking Your Platform: Facebook vs. Instagram 🥊
It’s a question I get from clients all the time: Facebook or Instagram? Ok, so that’s barely a question, but I understand where people are coming from. They’re evaluating the vast social media landscape before them and wondering where their ad budget will be best spent. It’s a valid question and one I ask myself when creating social media strategy for a new client or campaign.
While Facebook and Instagram are quite different in terms of what they offer their users, they have one very important thing in common: they’re owned by the same people. Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012, and in doing so, integrated its advertising services with Facebook’s Ads Manager, making it a snap to duplicate ads across platforms. But just because Facebook and Instagram ads live under the same roof doesn’t necessarily mean you should dress them the same way. When deciding which platform to use for a campaign, ask yourself these questions:
Who am I hoping to reach?
Facebook and Instagram each boast an astronomical number of active monthly users (2.8 billion and 1.1 billion, respectively), with the largest age group on both being 25-34. But, as with most things, different generations tend to have their preferences and proclivities (and no, I’m not talking about avocado toast). Surveys have shown that Gen Zers (those around age 13-25) prefer spending their time on Instagram. By contrast, Facebook has only grown in popularity for older demographics, with 60% of the Boomer generation now active on the platform. By knowing who your ideal prospect is and where to find them, you can tailor your budget and resources accordingly.
What type of content am I advertising?
Although there is some overlap between the functions of Facebook and Instagram, Facebook remains the primary venue for sharing text-based information (think news, interesting articles, and updates about upcoming events). Instagram, on the other hand, remains true to its original design as a photo-sharing platform (although it now also offers video features). When thinking about where to place your ads, it’s important to consider the content-specific contexts of each platform and what action you hope those who view your ad will take. If you want to promote a gorgeous photo of your product to boost brand awareness, Instagram is likely the way to go, whereas a blog post with a punchy caption may perform better on Facebook.
And for you eCommerce folks, showing ads on Instagram may get that initial click, but conversion rates for ads that your customer sees on Facebook are astronomically better. Retargeting ads, ftw!
What does the data support?
Anyone who knows me knows I’m a data fanatic, and for good reason. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to social media advertising and using data to inform your decision-making allows you to optimize your strategy, improve your outcomes, increase your ROI, and stretch that ad budget. So, if you’re embarking on a new campaign and trying to decide which platform to focus on, I encourage you to revisit past campaigns to see whether Facebook or Instagram was more effective in achieving results for the objective you’re pursuing. Don’t have the data to draw upon? That’s what testing is for! Run a few ad sets on both platforms with limited budgets to see if you can glean some insights and allocate your advertising dollars wisely moving forward.
Still hung up on which approach is right for your business? That’s what I’m here for. Schedule a free consultation with me and let’s chat.