Facebook or Instagram? 5 signs to choose which platform to use for your business

The two most popular social networks in Bulgaria, Facebook and Instagram, are now an integral part of the marketing strategy of many businesses of all sizes.

With their 2.9 billion and 2 billion users respectively, Facebook and Instagram are places where you can reach a large portion of your target audience, and with a level of ad personalization impossible to achieve in traditional marketing.

If you are just starting your business or are new to digital marketing, you may be hesitant about which of the two platforms to focus your efforts on. Today, we're giving you five signs that will help you choose which Facebook or Instagram to focus your advertising strategy on.

Depends on the industry in which your business operates

While both platforms are suitable for small and medium e-commerce businesses, there are some differences. Here are a few examples from our professional experience of some of the product niches where Facebook and Instagram are good choices for advertising:

• foods and food supplements;
• clothes, shoes and accessories;
• interior design and decorations;
• cosmetics;
• pet products.

Facebook is a better choice for:

• B2B focus or businesses that target other businesses and professionals. In this context, Facebook is better suited than Instagram for lead generation and networking.
• More complex products and services that require more detailed explanations and demonstration.
• Courses and seminars about Facebook and digital marketing in general.

Instagram is a better choice for:

• Hotels, bars and restaurants - in general, businesses that want to work with influencers as part of their strategy.
• Workshops and trainings specifically for Instagram.
• Personal development, coaching and psychology.

Depends on the target group

Think about your audience and your buyer persona - which platform do the people you want to reach spend more time on?

Age of audience

You've probably heard that Instagram is for the younger set, while Facebook is the more "mature" social network. The data proves this to be true. This year, about 30% of users who use Facebook form the largest age group - between 25 and 34 years old. With Instagram, the largest audience segment, again around 30%, is between 18 and 24 years old.

If so-called millennials and Gen Z's are your people, Instagram with its focus on concise visually polished content is your network. For a broader audience, Facebook would be a better fit.

Not surprisingly, the age limit there is higher - the content itself that is shared on Facebook often requires more time, more reading and more depth, and the network offers additional features such as events, marketplaces, groups and more.

Does this support claims that younger generations suffer from shorter attention spans? Probably.

On the other hand, the fact that Instagram posts do not yet support the addition of a direct link makes the platform unsuitable for some businesses, but ideal for others.

Location of your audience:

It is important to know where the users you are going to target are located. If your business operates in Bulgaria and targets only or primarily Bulgarian customers, it might be helpful to know that in 2022, Facebook is the leading social network in the country by click-through rate with an impressive 98%.

Instagram is second, but with only 0.74%. So if your target market is Bulgaria, remember that everyone is on Facebook.

Depends on the type of content you create

The content for which Facebook is an appropriate choice is extremely diverse:

• text posts;
• Pictures;
• video, including live;
• Links;
• Stories;
• tagged products after installing Meta Pixel;
• others.

More detailed content is easier and more convenient to consume on Facebook, where a link can be posted to send the user to a landing page, article or blog post.

There's also the option for advanced product descriptions, creating business pages with reviews, call-to-action buttons, and performance data for your content.

Communities or so-called "groups" are also an important part of Facebook's features and allow businesses to communicate directly and thematically with their audience.

As mentioned earlier, Instagram's focus is primarily on visual content. There can be shared:

• Pictures;
• videos up to 60 minutes;
• reels - short videos up to 90 seconds;
• Stories;
• posts with tagged products.

Compared to Facebook, Instagram has a higher engagement rate because of differences in the algorithm that determines what gets shown in a user's feed.

It's thought that for now Instagram is easier to achieve organic reach, but for how long?

It depends what your marketing goals are

If the priorities you've set require narrow targeting, Facebook may be a better choice for your business. There, you can define the audience that will see your ad by interests, marital status, education level, and more, in addition to standard demographics.

Audiences can be created based on their interaction with your page - for example, you may want to reach people who have watched your most recent video or those who have interacted with your page over a period of time.

In general, Instagram is better if you're aiming for brand awareness and engagement - the focus there on beautiful visual content will be on your side.

It depends on what time resource you have

Ideally, your marketing efforts should target both platforms and the content you publish should be tailored to the specifics of each. If you have the resources, of course.

Tools such as Meta Business Suite and Meta Ads Manager allow the integration of a business's accounts across the two networks for simultaneous content publishing and analysis. But most importantly, you can create ad campaigns on both Facebook and Instagram simultaneously that leverage your audiences from both networks.

If you don't have the time or knowledge to handle your social media advertising on your own, we at ADvantage Digital Agency are here to help you reach the right customers and get the results you want. Request a consultation :)