Advertising on Facebook vs Instagram

When using Facebook’s ad platform, advertisers have the option of displaying ads on Facebook, Instagram, or both.

It may be confusing when deciding which ads should go on which platform. Today I’m going to focus on choosing between Facebook and Instagram for your next ad campaign.

What they have in common:

Facebook and Instagram share the Facebook ad platform and therefore have many commonalities when it comes to advertising. For both Instagram and Facebook, advertisers have the option to create 4 kinds of ads: image, video, carousel, and slideshow among others. They can also track engagement, click through rate, page likes/follows, reach, views, and conversions on both platforms.

Despite giving advertisers the ability to target by age, location, and plenty of interests among other metrics, the ad platform has removed some key features. After the Cambridge Analytica scandal of 2018, Facebook removed third-party targeting abilities such as targeting by income, buyer behavior, health profiles, cars, they drive, and more. The loss of these key features lowers the platform’s advertising abilities however there is still plenty of targeting data available to work with.

Facebook’s advantages:

Given Facebook’s longevity, the platform has a high active user count. With over 2 billion monthly active users, no matter what target audience you desire, it surely exists on Facebook. The platform boasts high video engagement and is currently focusing integrating video ads to their Facebook Watch section of the platform. In terms ad style, Facebook ads can be informative and include text. As for the demographic of Facebook, the platform is seeing a shift from a younger demographic of 18-29, to an older demographic of 30-49. As for the younger demographic, more and more of them as switching to Instagram.

Instagram’s advantages:

Instagram has grown quickly in the past few years reaching 1 billion monthly active users in 2018. According to Pew Research Center 55% of 18-29 year-olds who use the internet are on Instagram. This is a promising platform for anyone who wishes to target a younger demographic with high disposable income. The Instagram platform is known to have users that engage frequently with content. When it comes to the style of ads on Instagram, the focus should be on the visuals first. Users come to Instagram to view images, not to read a novel. The audience will not be responsive to ads that are text heavy.

Facebook or Instagram?

Is one platform better than the other? Both platforms have their benefits, and the type of campaign you wish to run should determine which platform makes sense for you.  For campaigns that are meant to inform and/or target an older audience, use Facebook. When it comes to a campaign with a short, actionable message and/or a younger audience, try Instagram.