Since the early 2010’s, social media has been growing into a giant force in the advertising world. What started as sharing photos with friends and family, or storing your vacation memories digitally, has turned into a multi-billion dollar industry. No matter your product, service, or audience, there’s likely a social media platform that will benefit you. However, choosing the right ones and which approach is best for each, requires some research.
In this blog post, we will be diving into Facebook and Instagram and sharing what works, but look out for the next posts where we will discuss YouTube and TikTok!
When thinking about more traditional social media platforms, the first one most people think of is Facebook. It was founded in 2004, and ever since has drastically changed the way people use the internet. Facebook has paved the way for many successful platforms along the road and is still very impressive with 2.91 billion monthly active users.
Who is a typical user?
When Facebook first launched, the early adopters were on the younger side. As it has grown over the years, Facebook has become known for having an older audience than most other platforms. While there are still users in the 18-35 year old range, the average user on Facebook in the United States is 40.5 years old.
What type of business does it work best for?
The great thing about Facebook is that because its users are typically older, they have more disposable income. This is a great platform to advertise your bigger, more expensive products. Whether you’re in home improvement, retail, or transportation, you’ll be sure to find people who will be interested in quality products that catch their attention.
Ads or organic content: Which works better?
When it comes to Facebook, you’re likely to find that unless you have a very dedicated core audience built in, you won’t get much interaction with posts advertising products on your feed. In general, it’s harder to search for specific content organically on this platform if you don’t have a page already in mind. You can be successful running a Facebook ad campaign if you’re tuned in to your audience and it can be a great compliment to a well managed Facebook presence.
Instagram is now owned by Facebook, so it makes sense to connect the two when we discuss what each platform is for. They are connected in many ways and have a very similar user navigation style. The main difference is that Instagram is geared towards a younger audience. It was created in 2010 with the core idea of sharing high quality photography and mobile photos with your followers, but has now evolved into a full influencer marketing platform. (The most popular app using Instagram’s original intent is VSCO)
Who is a typical user?
The average instagram user is between 25-34 years old. Older users typically gravitate towards Facebook, and younger users gravitate towards TikTok, although it’s always important to remember that the majority of people on one platform are on at least one other as well.
What type of business does it work best for?
Similarly to Facebook, Instagram tends to work best for businesses that already have a social media presence and following. It’s harder to appear organically unless searched for, and most people who are looking for a specific business head to Facebook instead.
Ads or organic content: Which works better?
Deciding whether to start an ad campaign on Instagram completely depends on your situation. If you have high visibility in your industry or a decent sized following, scheduling posts out can work perfectly well for your purposes. If you need a little boost in that area, Instagram ads will appear to your target audience within their normal feed if they don’t already follow you.
Want to know more about advertising your business effectively online? Reach out to Sarah Gordee ([email protected]) and she’ll help you get started!