Instagram vs Facebook: Which Can Boost Your Business More?

Instagram vs Facebook: Which Can Boost Your Business More?

Instagram vs. Facebook advertising? If you intend to launch a successful campaign using just one of the most popular social networks. But the problem is you don’t know which of the platforms would be best for you. Facebook and Instagram are among the most popular. So you’d want to take a closer look at the benefits and statistics of each of these platforms. And this post is going to help you do just that. These insights will help you launch a successful social media marketing campaign through the right channel.

Quantifying consumer reach.

Facebook has been around much longer than Instagram and therefore has a larger user database than Instagram. Facebook is also more popular amongst the older folks whilst Instagram is more popular among the younger generation.

However, this is not to say Instagram isn’t on its way to having a larger database, as it is rapidly growing. Statistics below show the comparison between both platforms.

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.

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.

In 2015, Forrester conducted a study on how social media users engage with the top 50 global brands. They analyzed more than 2,400 posts and 11.8 million user interactions to collect useful data. From this data, they concluded that user interactions with brands are highest on Instagram when compared to every other social network.

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.

Traffic Engagement

Aside from the high engagement rates on the platform, Instagram also brings in highly-engaged website visitors. Yotpo conducted a study to find out which channels bring in the most engaged traffic. According to this study, website visitors from Instagram spend an average of 192 seconds. More than 3 minutes, higher than many other marketing channels. In fact, visitors from Instagram stay 45% longer than visitors from Facebook and 40% longer than visitors from Twitter.

Demographic

Your choice of social networking platform depends on your target demographic. Because you’ll need to be on platforms they prefer. A 2015 study conducted by Pew Research found that there are more female users on Instagram than male users. According to the study, 31% of women online use the platform regularly. The same holds true for 24% of men online.

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.

Facebook is popular among online adults with 72% of them using the platform. Like Instagram, this channel is more popular with women than with men. But the difference isn’t too drastic. 77% of female and 66% of male internet users are on Facebook.

Facebook seems to attract adult internet users of all age groups. And it is most popular among the 18-29 age group. In fact, 82% of internet users in this age group are on the platform. 79% of internet users between 30 and 49 years of age are using Facebook. And the same is true for 64% of internet users aged between 50 and 64. These stats suggest that Facebook is effective for reaching internet users across all age groups.

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.

Bottom line

Choosing the right platform depends on what you’re looking for. You have to think about your goals and what you wish to achieve from the campaign. Benefits of Facebook and Instagram are highly subjective. Different features and audiences mean that what works better for you may not work so well for another business. But the data from this post suggests that Instagram may be a better choice for promoting your business and engaging with an audience. Do you agree? Let us know what you think in the comments below.