We’ve all been there. You start putting your grid plan for Instagram together, carefully curating as witty a caption as you can and making sure that your CTAs don’t come across as transparent or needy. Many a social team’s next steps are to then adapt those captions for Facebook and other platforms… But should it be this way around?
According to a recent study in the US, Facebook is still the social media platform of choice for the majority of adults over 30, trailing only behind YouTube. Compared to 69% in favour of Facebook, 40% of adults surveyed said they use Instagram, and about three-in-ten report using Pinterest or LinkedIn.
So why is it often an afterthought?
Well, one argument is that Instagram is more visually exciting. There’s more you can do with it – Reels, IGTV, Guides… It gets teams fired up and the layouts are arguably more appealing. It’s also where influencers hang out so there’s more chance of brand collaborations, and competitions seem to work better on this platform versus Facebook, depending on the territory you’re targeting.
What is clear is that you can’t always apply the same techniques you’d use for Facebook to Instagram and vice versa. 58% of Facebook users in the UK are aged between 25 – 54 and 63% of Instagram users in the UK are aged between 13 – 34. Where a marketing team directs its focus should always depend on the demographic it is targeting.
How to win at Facebook…
- Understand your audience – who they are, what they do, what they like
- Talk with them, not at them – encourage interaction, but keep it natural
- Don’t get addicted to selling – keep your audience interested and reading
- Keep it on-brand
- Know when to post – use Facebook Insights to determine when your followers are online
- Respond in real-time
- Share great, appealing content
- Join the right groups and be a resource
- Use video
- Invest in Facebook ads to widen your audience and convert results
In conclusion, with an eye-watering 2.80 billion active users as of January 2021, which means that nearly two out of every three of the 4.2 billion active social media users are active Facebook users, it’s a platform that’s far from dying out and shouldn’t be ignored.
