Facebook and Instagram are two of the most popular mobile platforms. In fact, one in five minutes on mobile is spent on Instagram or Facebook. That’s more than the next 10 mobile platforms combined.
Since Instagram advertising became available around the world, advertisers of every size have been able to easily run and manage ad campaigns across both Instagram and Facebook to reach more people. Advertisers can add Instagram ads to Facebook ad campaigns through both Ads Manager and Power Editor by simply checking the “Instagram” box under the ad set’s Placement section. And businesses have seen that doing so helps them reach more people with little added effort.
Campaigns that ran across both Facebook and Instagram resulted in similar or better performance for website clicks, website conversions, video views and mobile app installs than those that ran on just one
What does Instagram have to offer?
Let’s begin with a thorough analysis of Instagram and its role in promoting businesses. Here are a few statistics on the platform so you can better understand the benefits:
#1: Reach
Instagram has more than 800 million active users on a monthly basis and around 500 million daily active users. 80% of all these users are outside the U.S, suggesting that the platform has massive global reach. The sheer number of users makes it ideal for businesses to boost their visibility. They also have more than 1 million advertisers.
#2: Engagement
The best part about Instagram is that it has some of the most highly engaged users. On an average day, users share more than 95 million photos and videos. And these posts yield a total of about 4.2 billion likes in a single day.
Locowise reported in March, 2016 that the engagement rate on Instagram was 0.84% of all audiences as of February. Compared with the engagement rate in January, there was an 11.58% decline. At the same time, Instagram still had the highest audience engagement compared to all other social networking platforms
Instagram is most popular among young adults between the ages of 18 and 29. In fact, 55% of internet users in this age group use Instagram. This user base makes Instagram ideal for reaching a younger audience. Instagram is also a great platform for influencer marketing.
What does Facebook have to offer?
Now let’s move on to Facebook statistics. Numbers will help us gain a better understanding of its importance in marketing:
#1: Reach
Facebook continues to be the number one social network when it comes to reach. According to the latest research by Dreamgrow, the platform has 2.2 billion monthly active users. So if you’re looking to increase visibility alone, Facebook wins hands-down.
#2: Engagement
When it comes to engagement, Facebook doesn’t perform as well as Instagram. But it still has the second highest audience engagement rate among all social networks according to Locowise. The Forrester study also supported this claim. It shows that the platform generates the second highest number of user interactions with brands.
#3: Performance of ads
Ads on Facebook have been performing extremely well, resulting in ad revenue of $6.82 billion. These numbers have increased by 59% since 2015. According to Social Flow, each of the $1.7 billion users is worth $14.17 in annual ad revenue. A 2014 study also found that ads on Facebook perform much better than regular web ads. Facebook desktop ads have an 8.1x higher click-through rate while mobile ads have a 9.1x higher CTR
Comparing Instagram and Facebook
Based on the data laid out above, here are a few facts we can make out:
#1: Instagram for better engagement
Instagram outperforms Facebook when it comes to engagement. A News Whip study proves this fact by comparing the average likes for posts on the two platforms. If you look at the following data, you will see a clear contrast in the number of likes for the same brand on Instagram and Facebook.
#2: Facebook for higher visibility
When it comes to reach, Facebook has authority over Instagram. Not only does it have a much larger user base, but it also has acceptance across most age groups. So you will have a better chance at boosting visibility using this platform. This is especially true if you’re not targeting a specific age group.
#3: Instagram to reach a younger audience
Instagram appeals to a younger audience, and it’s the perfect platform to engage a younger customer base. In fact, this is how Harley Davidson managed to raise awareness about their motorcycles and engage a younger audience. The motorcycle brand launched an Instagram ad campaign. Their goal was to reach men aged between 18 and 35.
They developed a campaign involving carousel ads. These ads featured creative illustrations mimicking designs that are popular in biking culture. Each of these illustrations focused on their motorcycles in a unique storyline. Within just three weeks, they reached almost 1.4 million men in their target age group.
These ads also managed to drive 8,365 clicks to the brand’s website. As a result, Harley-Davidson accomplished its goal of reaching a younger audience. Here’s an excellent example of how Instagram can help brands in re-targeting and engaging younger people.
#4: Facebook for distributing information
If you’re familiar with Instagram, you already know that there are limitations with linking. You can add one link to your bio, but that’s about it. Users cannot share links to their blogs through photo captions. The other option involves creating a sponsored post. This post will lead users to a specific landing page.
Facebook gives you the freedom to share unlimited links to your blogs and product pages. So if your goal is to distribute informational posts and promote your blog posts, it would be a better option than Instagram.
So what does this all mean for you?
As a business owner or marketing influencer, you main goal for advertising is to get traffic to your product or service and then convert that traffic into sales. Facebook and Instagram are hands down, the best bang for your buck. They squash the competition gaining more traffic that radio ads, billboards, magazines, or TV commercials combined. (except for the superbowl, buy ads for the superbowl if you can afford it)
It's not that these old advertising strategies are dead, they just aren't a good deal. You're spending tons of money in hopes that your target audience will see it. Through social media, you ONLY show your ads to your target audience. Through hyper targeted look alike audiences you can even refine your target audience to get maximum return on investment
If you don't know how to do this contact us here at Equinox Business Solutions. We offer free advice on how to get started advertising on social media today.
Credit https://www.dreamgrow.com