Facebook and Instagram are both owned by the same company, but treating them the same in your advertising is a mistake. They have very different audiences and should be treated differently when it comes to your advertising. This guide will look at what the key differences are between Facebook and Instagram audiences and how you can use that knowledge to tailor your ads accordingly.
Understanding market penetration
When you advertise on Facebook or Instagram, it’s important to know who your audience is. Facebook reaches far more broadly into society. While the statistics vary from country to country, virtually half of Europe’s population uses Facebook. Germany is a notable low at 38.6%, but most countries see 50% or more of the population using Facebook.
Instagram, by contrast, varies a lot more from country to country. Sweden uses it the most, at 48.5%, but it hovers around 20-30% in most places. These are still impressive numbers even with the comparison.
Understanding audience expectations
Facebook and Instagram launched with very different intentions that helped to define their services and drive growth. Facebook was about sharing life experiences among social circles and staying in touch with friends, whereas Instagram is much more about photography, videos and is generally much more visual.
You should tailor your ads to appeal to these different audience expectations. For viral content that you want users to share and discuss, put it on Facebook. For more visual ads with ‘wow’ appeal, put them on Instagram. There is some overlap here: video ads do particularly well on both platforms, but that is due to the power of videos in general. They will generally have more appeal and stand out more than text or image-based ads.
Understanding the role of influencers
Knowing the histories of both social media sites can help in understanding why influencers are so popular on Instagram. While Facebook was set up with the intention of keeping in touch with people you know, Instagram is much more follower based. People follow the accounts of brands and people they like, not just who they know. Particularly popular people are known as influencers and they make their money promoting products, among other things.
There’s some debate over how significant and impactful influencer marketing is, but it can work very well with the right pairing of product and influencer. If you can find an influencer who has built a following around a particular niche that your business serves, it may well be worth it to pay an influencer to promote your products. They can have huge followings and the right pairing of influencer and product can end up working very profitably for both parties.
