2.5 billion Facebook users. 1.74 billion Instagram users. These two social media platforms provide a highly visual experience for its users. Having a presence on social media may be one of the most important ways to get your brand and company out there, but learning about the right platforms and ways to promote your brand are very important as well. Here, you will learn about the top 2 social media marketing platforms, Facebook and Instagram, and the best ways to market on them.
Facebook vs. Instagram
Facebook is one of the most commonly used social media platforms worldwide. According to a global survey, 94% of responding social media marketers used the network to promote their business. More than 65 million businesses are using Facebook pages and more than 6 million are actively advertising to promote their business, which makes it a pretty safe bet if you want to have a presence on social media. WOW! Sounds like Facebook is the place to be for anyone wanting to market their product or service! If you are a business owner looking to leverage social media for your company's growth, it is helpful to know the most popular social media sites around. This knowledge will allow you to maximize your brand reach on social media, engage with the right people, and achieve your social media goals.
While Facebook has more users, Instagram is more common among younger users and may be a better target for companies who want a younger demographic, while Facebook can be used for an older demographic. 76% of people used Instagram to promote their business. Instagram stories are a way to get more direct engagement with your audience, which is a phenomenal way to market your product and services on this social media platform. Not only that, but it allows brands to interact one-on-one with their audience. It is easy to get started on Instagram because almost all content format works great with text, images, live videos, and stories.
Social Media Marketing Benefits
Popular and successful forms of digital marketing
Advertisers can reach billions of potential customers at the click of a mouse
Industry professionals particularly value the increased exposure for their brands and products, as well as the increased traffic on their websites.
Improved brand loyalty
Better SEO
Higher conversion rates
Marketing on Instagram
Stick with Squares
Marketing on Instagram is only as effective as the quality of your photos. One of the best ways to save time and compose better content for the ‘gram is to shoot square photos, which is easy to do from any smartphone. This saves time for not having to crop photos later.
Change your link in bio as needed
Your Instagram bio is a great place to put your site’s homepage URL. If you are promoting a new product or service or perhaps trying to get email signups using a new lead magnet, consider testing updating the link to that specific page. And be sure to direct people’s attention to it in the daily posts.
Popular and Niche Hashtags
Check out Instagram’s explore features to find posts related to trending hashtags before publishing your post. Don’t forget that you can also search trending hashtags by emoji! Be sure to experiment with more niche tags. The audience size might be smaller but it’ll be more targeted. This means that you have a greater chance of being seen by the people who matter most.
Go live and post stories
Instagram live and stories are so powerful because they put you at the top of your follower’s news feeds, where they are far likelier to see you. There is something very authentic and organic about going live and stories in particular, which is increasing in popularity. They offer something that static feed posts simply can't.
Marketing on Facebook
Create a human voice for your business
Facebook's users like to talk to other people – not to an impersonal business. Write in a voice that sounds real and likable, using a style that suits your business. Express things in their own words, not in the company’s jargon or official line.
Encourage comments and reply quickly
Encourage other Facebook users to respond to your posts or to post their own comments about your business or a topic that’s of interest to them and you. When they do post, respond quickly – within 24 hours is best.
Nurture your relationships
It takes time to build good relationships with other Facebook users, so be patient. Engage sincerely in conversations, provide useful content, and develop rewards for loyal customers to help foster positive relationships.
Use Facebook Insights to learn more about your customers
Facebook insights can tell you more about the people who choose to like your page. Once you know your Facebook friends’ characteristics, you can tailor your posts and offers to meet their needs and interests.
Moving Forward
Facebook and Instagram are two of the best sites to market your product and services on in today’s day and age. Check out Halcon’s Instagram and Facebook to see how we market on our platforms and what you can do today to create a better environment for your audience!
