18
Mar, 25
Instagram vs. facebook: what’s the better marketing avenue?
When Facebook bought Instagram in 2012, were they preparing to train a successor? Back then, the billion-dollar acquisition was a bold move, and many criticized Facebook for spending so much on a dinky photo app run by just 13 employees. No one questions the move now, however; although exact amounts are unknown, rough estimates put Instagram’s current value at around $102 billion, ten times the acquisition cost. To be fair, Instagram can’t compete with Facebook on the sheer number of users. Instagram’s 800 million monthly users may have made it the third most popular social media channel, but it’s still a far cry from reigning champion Facebook’s 2 billion monthly users. So why not invest all your digital marketing money in Facebook and reach twice as many people? Because, as we explain below, it’s not about the quantity of impressions, it’s about the quality. And for digital brands targeting younger (< 30 y.o.) groups, your marketing dollars might go further on Instagram, especially for visual industries like fashion, beauty, or even architecture. Later, we’ll explain how to shift your strategies to make the most out of marketing on both platforms. But first, let’s look at how a relatively smaller channel can make bigger waves. It’s all about their DNA, which, for social media, is another way to say their algorithms. Instagram vs. Facebook: the algorithms Long story short, it’s not about your visibility per se, but more about your visibility with the right people. Getting back to basics for a moment, the algorithm for a social media feed refers to the actual code that determines which posts are seen by which users, and in what order. Long gone are the days of chronological feeds where posts appear in the order they were published—and good riddance, frankly, considering this organization structure doesn’t scale well when you follow hundreds of accounts. So, social media channels use algorithms to give you a more fulfilling experience, where you see more posts you actually like and less of irrelevant ones from your weird aunt. But don’t pat these channels on the back for their altruism—the algorithm also gives them more control over their advertising ventures. As you can imagine, this isn’t an exact science, so each social media channel has to shoot in the dark a little when determining the right criteria on which to organize their feeds. Therein lies the difference between marketing on Facebook versus marketing on Instagram. So what does Instagram’s algorithm do better for marketing? The actual algorithms are unknown trade secrets, but Alfred Lua of Buffer researched both the algorithms for Facebook and Instagram, and came up with some speculations that proved accurate when tested. These are the factors that determine a single (non-advertisement) post’s rank. Instagram’s Algorithm Facebook’s new algorithm The goal of the update was to prevent fraudulent news stories by encouraging more personal conversations, but the consequence is less exposure to brands and public content. It seems like a coordinated strategy with Facebook compartmentalizing its two channels. Minimizing third-party exposure on Facebook will return the channel to its more personal social roots with friends and family, while simultaneously drumming up business for its advertising (it’s not harder for brand posts to be seen for free). But social media marketers can still promote their brand on Instagram for free, and with even better results, as long as the content is sound. Instagram vs. Facebook: marketing effectiveness Now that we’ve looked behind the scenes, let’s look at what’s happening on the main stage. To wrap a nice bow around it, Instagram is better for direct marketing: engaging with customers, spreading awareness, showcasing new products/services, comparison shopping, and influencer marketing. Furthermore, Instagram is a powerhouse for the under-30 demographic, especially teens. Facebook, on the other hand, remains the best for visibility with older age groups, as long as you’re using paid advertisements. It’s also worth noting Facebook makes it easier to funnel users to a third-party site like an online store. Instagram prohibits link sharing in posts and comments, and any outside links appear in your bio only; the extra steps required to visit your site make it harder to generate traffic. A lot of it boils down to the motives of each person using each site. In principle, Facebook tries to be more about personal interactions and sharing content with people you know. As such, 40% of Facebook users don’t like engaging with companies at all, preferring more intimate connections. Instagram, though, places more emphasis on discovery and observation and less on interaction—although ironically, their engagement rate is much higher. Particularly for Millennials, Instagram is seen as a style resource, an ideal place for learning new trends and discovering new artists, as well as keeping up with their favorite celebrities. As you can see by the chart below, Instagram dominates industries like fashion, beauty, interior design, architecture, photography and celebrity news. This makes Instagram better for influencer marketing and free exposure; users on Instagram more often sign on actively looking for product recommendations, as opposed to Facebook where they actively ignore them. Instagram’s other advantage is customer engagement. A 2014 Forrester study put Facebook’s engagement rate at 0.7%, a huge lag behind Instagram’s 4.21%. A Selfstartr study brings more up-to-date statistics: Only 32% of Facebook users regularly interact with brands, compared to 68% of Instagram users. Their final tally cites that brands receive 58x more engagement per follower on Instagram than on Facebook. A lot of that has to do with Facebook followers not even seeing the posts in the first place, thanks to the algorithm. According to the above Selfstartr report, while Instagram brands reach 100% of their audience per post, that number drops drastically to 6% for Facebook. Maybe it’s the mindset of users, or perhaps the limitations Facebook’s new algorithm puts on brands, or maybe it’s simply the culture of each channel. Regardless, Instagram is the winner for having an actual back-and-forth with customers. And let’s not forget the presence of competition or lack thereof. The presence of marketers on Facebook is nearly 3x that of
