During my freshman year of college, I got a job at a small non-profit as the media director. Knowing little about the advertising aspects of Instagram or Facebook, I explored both to see which one was most useful in marketing for the company. Though both platforms now offer useful forms of advertising, Facebook has always been a stronger social media site for reaching consumers. Facebook offers very customizable aspects that allow anyone to reach very specific target markets at minimal cost, and also allow one to target an exact market based on demographics, which effectively and efficiently utilizes the allocated budget for each sponsored post. Additionally, Facebook provides companies easy access to review their statistics in order to help them create ads that will reach the right people at the right time, assuring the best results. Lastly, Facebook offers a scheduled feature which allows companies to plan their media and posts in advance, which is vital for companies in their media planning process. Instagram, on the other hand, does not let one do so unless one downloads separate apps.
Although I am not as familiar with Instagram marketing, which could potentially bias my view, I do not believe that Instagram offers as much utility for marketing; it is more complicated on Instagram to review statistics and to plan for posts. Both platforms make it clear when a post is sponsored and allow users to click on the ad to obtain more information. Though Instagram makes it slightly more obvious when a post is sponsored (with the design and copy that says "click to learn more"), Facebook also states at the top of posts if the post is sponsored and by whom.
Even though Instagram appears more fluid in design and does not disrupt the user's experience as much when it comes to sponsored ads, I think there is more value in being able to pinpoint a target market and specifically post to that demographic in order to have more people see a company's products, ideals, and style. When comparing the two platforms for convenience, price and statistical knowledge, Facebook is the more powerful social media platform for companies to utilize for marketing.
Jessie Dvirnak, a student in Jon Pfeiffer's Spring 2018 Media Law class at Pepperdine University, wrote the above essay in response to the following question: Between Facebook and Instagram, which do you think is more effective for marketing and why? Can you tell a post is sponsored more easily on one or the other? If so, do you think that's a positive or a negative?
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