There are nearly 4.5 billion active users on social media platforms across the globe. This represents a prime opportunity for building brand awareness. But which social media platform is best?
Instagram and Facebook are two of the biggest and most diverse platforms for your marketing strategy. YouTube only offers a video format, and WhatsApp is limited to direct messaging.
There’s still debate between Instagram versus Facebook benefits, however. This article offers a quick comparison to help your sort these two social media titans.
Instagram Basics
Instagram is an image-rich social media platform. It doesn’t allow direct links on posts, although you can add them to your profile.
Instagram’s algorithm is essential for building brand awareness and an effective marketing strategy. To run a successful social media campaign, you have to know the nuts and bolts behind Instagram rankings.
The Instagram algorithm is a complex mix of followers, likes, timeliness, and other factors. You may carefully curate a perfect post, only to find it sinks to the bottom of follower feeds because you posted when user interactions were low.
Instagram also regularly tweaks its algorithm. It recently moved away from public likes to private saves for engagement rankings. Learn more about Instagram saves here.
Facebook Basics
Facebook is a forum-rich social media platform. It mainly encourages engagement through comments, likes, and replies. It also allows direct links within posts, comments, and profiles.
Your branding and marketing strategy also relies on scoring high in Facebook rankings. Facebook’s algorithm is similar to Instagram’s. It uses factors like time, interactions, and likes in its rankings.
However, it also weighs factors such as credibility and controversy. This brought the company under criticism for ranking misinformation higher than organic content.
Facebook is also less transparent about its rankings and changes its criteria often. You may master the algorithm one day, only to find your rankings dropping the next.
Instagram Versus Facebook
Instagram and Facebook are owned by the same company and many of their basic elements are similar.
However, their user demographics and engagement are very different. This affects building your brand and market strategy on either platform.
Branding Strategy
Facebook currently has around 3 billion active users, while Instagram has 1 billion. However, daily use and time spent vary across age groups.
You may reach more people across all age groups with Facebook. However, you could see higher engagement from the 18-29 age group on Instagram. This makes a difference between brand recognition vs. brand awareness.
If your focus is brand recognition, Facebook is more helpful. Instagram, however, is better for building brand awareness.
Marketing Strategy
Instagram is also more effective at direct marketing. This is especially helpful for local brands trying to reach smaller markets through organic content.
Facebook offers more for bigger companies with broader marketing tools. This includes paid advertisements and dedicated business pages.
Build Your Brand for Success With More Social Media Tips
The benefits of Instagram vs Facebook depend on your brand and marketing strategy. Instagram offers more authentic brand awareness, while Facebook has more large-scale marketing benefits.
Need more savvy social-media tips and information? Check the articles in our business section!