Among the many social media platforms the world has to offer, the two that reign supreme are Facebook and Instagram. Many people wonder what the differences are between Instagram and Facebook when they seem so similar. Put simply, Instagram is a photo sharing application, and while Facebook does share this feature, it is a platform mainly used for connecting with friends. The relationship between Facebook and Instagram is very similar, but they have varying benefits and drawbacks of their own.
Reach
Since Facebook has a user base of well over one billion and Instagram with nearly 900 million users, it’s not hard to believe that these platforms have hundreds of millions of active users each day. These massive amounts of daily users give businesses the chance to increase their visibility through the company’s Facebook and Instagram posts, or advertisements on either platform.
On another note, more than 50% of these users live outside of the United States. This indicates just how large the global reach is with these applications.
Engagement
When it comes to user engagement with social media content, Instagram wins hands down. Instagram only allows short videos and pictures; because of this, users tend to view more than they would on Facebook. Instagram makes it easy for their users to see more than other users would on an alternative social media application because they are a strictly visual platform. Facebook is a great site for posting curated content, but because users seem to prefer authentic, original content, Instagram outperforms Facebook when it comes to engagement.
Distributing Information
As far as sharing links, blog posts, or other informational content—Facebook gives users the freedom to do so. Other than adding a link to your bio on Instagram, the application is limited to the sharing of images. Facebook not only enables their users to create and organize events, it also gives individuals the chance to have a more in-depth bio including personal, as well as company information added to their profile.
Demographic
Depending on the specific audience users are attempting to attract, either Facebook or Instagram may be a better option than the other. Instagram targets a younger audience while Facebook is more appealing to adults. Although, Facebook has been making updates to up its appeal to the teen and young adult population.
We’ve shown how the relationship between Facebook and Instagram is quite similar but the audience each platform uses varies based on the demographic. Therefore, it is important to know your audience in its fullest before choosing between using Facebook and Instagram.
