Instagram Vs Facebook: Which Is Best For Your Brand Growth?
Did Facebook plan to start constructing a successor when they acquired Instagram in 2012?
It was a risky decision for Facebook to spend a billion dollars on a small photo app that had just 13 employees at the time of the acquisition. No one now doubts the decision, as Instagram is now estimated to be worth roughly $102 billion, or ten times the acquisition price.
Instagram simply does not have enough users to rival Facebook. Instagram is 800 million monthly users may have made it the third most popular social media channel.
The algorithms of Instagram and Facebook
To sum up, it’s not so much about how visible you are as it is about how visible you are to the appropriate people.
Social media feed algorithms, to go back to fundamentals for a second, are the actual lines of code that decide which posts are shown to which users and in what sequence. The days of chronological feeds, in which new items display in the order in which they were published, are long gone. This is probably for the best, as such an organisation scheme quickly becomes unwieldy when you start following hundreds of accounts.
Instagram’s Secret Formula
Engagement. How many likes and reactions each post has received.
Relevancy. Do the user’s interests align with the post’s genres?
Relationships. Content from accounts with which the user has a higher frequency of interaction is prioritised.
Timeliness. Recent comments are given higher priority.
Persona sleuthing. Users are more likely to see content from accounts they frequently search for.
Shares issued directly. The recipient’s own post rankings are improved as a result of the user’s sharing content from accounts they have direct access to.
Input time on the board. The amount of time someone spends reading (and not just browsing) a post.
The latest Facebook algorithm
In the company of one’s close friends and relatives. More weight is given to posts made by the user’s friends and family. This is significant because it means promotional content from brands will be buried.
Engagement. The cumulative number of reactions, including likes, comments, and shares, over time.
Motivating participation. Conversation-starting posts are given more weight.
Visuals of all kinds. Posts with images are given more weight than those with merely text.
We no longer use bait. Aggressive like, share, comment, vote, or tag bait posts have a lower ranking.
All promotional content is now hidden. Messages that appear to be nothing more than an invitation to buy something or take part in a contest are downgraded. Facebook also compares ad copy to its database of existing commercials and demotes those that don’t match.
Comparing the marketing power of Instagram and Facebook
We’ve seen what’s going on offstage; now let’s take a peek at centre stage.
Instagram is superior for direct marketing, including consumer interaction, brand promotion, product or service introduction, product comparison, and influencer promotion. In addition, Instagram is extremely popular among people under the age of 30, especially teenagers.
However, Facebook’s sponsored advertising continues to be the most effective way to reach people in older age brackets. Importantly, Facebook facilitates user redirection to external sites, such as e-commerce platforms. Instagram’s rules against including links in posts and comments, with the sole exception of your bio, make it more difficult to drive visitors to your site.
Here are four steps to take when shifting your marketing strategy.
Enough data and evidence now. Let’s discuss how a company may get the most out of Instagram advertising.
- First, you must not leave Facebook. Don’t write off Facebook just yet; with its user base and focus on sharing, it has a lot to offer businesses. Advertisements on Facebook perform better than those on Instagram (for additional information, check out Oberlo’s in-depth guide to exploring Facebook Advertising). Instagram, however, is superior when it comes to establishing credibility and trust with target audiences.
- Second, add more visuals. Images perform better than words do on both platforms, but Instagram makes it absolutely essential. Instagram posts need to look good to do well, unlike Facebook posts, which can be longer pieces of content like blog entries or novels.
Make something completely new. Sharing or uploading works created by others is fine on Facebook, but originality is expected when using Instagram. Put more effort into creating high-quality, unique content rather than sharing the work of others on Instagram (unless it’s a photo you shot of someone else’s work). - Fourth, use lots of hashtags. Hashtags are the next best thing to being able to directly target user groups on Instagram. Include all the appropriate hashtags to ensure that your post gets seen by the proper individuals. The post description can accommodate up to 30 hashtags; additional hashtags can be added as comments.
Make competitions
Use a contest to your advantage by hosting an Instagram photo contest. Make sure to come up with a unique hashtag for the campaign if you want to take advantage of having users promote your business in their photos. The #lemondancechallenge is only one of many viral challenges in which you can take part.
Maintain a unified aesthetic throughout your work. Instagram is great for niche marketing (another reason why hashtags matter), so select a certain topic and stay with it. Only share travel-related photos if you’re a travel company. Only post food photos if you’re a restaurant. Assuming there is sufficient demand, the more narrowly you focus, the better off you will be.
Optimise your description and bio, number seven. When it comes to promoting yourself online, your Instagram bio and description are the only areas that matter. Along with your website’s URL, be sure to list your tagline, elevator pitch, and top hashtags. You should also feel free to use your logo as your profile picture.