Facebook ads vs Instagram ads – Which to choose?

Choosing between Facebook ads vs Instagram ads is like picking between two of your favorite desserts. You just can’t choose one and even if you can, you wish you had the other one too. It is a constant struggle. If you have the budget, knock yourself out and go both ways. But if you are short on funds and want to pick one type of ad, then read on. This guide will help you choose between Instagram and Facebook ads!

So, let us get on with it!

A Comparison of Instagram Ads vs Facebook Ads:

Let’s do a rundown on the major differences between Instagram vs Facebook ads, based on which you can decide which ads to go for.

1. General Features

Since Facebook and Instagram come under the same mother company, Meta, a lot of features are pretty much similar to both ads. But, there are some intricate differences here and there worthy of note.

For example, Setting up Facebook ads is pretty hard for a beginner because of the sheer amount of optimization options available. You have to set up a Facebook pixel, manage your campaign budget, set look-alike audiences, and a lot more. 

On the other hand, Instagram ads are pretty simple to handle and test the waters if you are a beginner. They have a straightforward interface that you can easily figure out.

To conclude, if you are a beginner go with Instagram ads. If you are a pro advertiser, then go with Facebook ads.

2. Nature of the Platform

Both platforms have their strong suits, and aligning with this suit is crucial for the success of your ad.

For example, Facebook is a text-heavy platform where people go to see the reviews of a business, opening hours, and other information. On this platform, you can get away with a text-dominated ad, include clickable links, and have multiple CTAs embedded in your text.

But Instagram on the other hand is completely different. It takes a visual-heavy approach to ads. There is no way for you to add clickable links and you have to go with the included CTA button. And with this CTA, you will be able to divert your audience to only one link.

So in summary, if you are looking to improve brand awareness with stunning visuals or get people to shop from you by displaying product images then you can go for Instagram ads. But if you want to show the features of your product and have to generate leads, then you can opt for Facebook ads. Here are some examples for you to get inspired from!

3. Video Content

There is not much difference between Facebook vs Instagram ads. Except that, Instagram ads can only be 60 or 15 seconds, which does not provide a lot of room to work with. Whereas Facebook ads are comparatively longer than this.

So, if your product overview can fit into a 60-second video then you can opt for Instagram ads. If it does not, you will have a better chance with Facebook ads.

4. Audience and Age

An ad’s success is mainly contributed by the type of audience present on the particular platform. So, you need to know the kind of audience who frequents these social media channels.

For example, Facebook has an almost equivalent number of people among different age brackets. Additionally, Facebook has a 2.96 billion user base which is more than the 2 billion users Instagram has. This means the audience pool is wide and includes a large number of people from different ages. 

But, contradictorily, Instagram is frequented by the younger generation more than the other ages. Even though there are people above 34 who use this platform, they are very low in numbers.

In conclusion, if your business focuses on people under 34 as your target demographic, then you are better off working your magic on Instagram. However, if you just want to reach a larger audience, then you can go with Facebook.

5. Cost to advertise

There is no way to correctly guess how much you need to pay for ads on Instagram vs Facebook since it depends on a variety of factors. Some of these factors are:

• Ad relevancy
• Bidding strategy
• Ad Formats
• Industry
• Important occasions such as Black Friday means the prices will be jacked.

But on average, you can expect these costs:

On a general note, Facebook ads are in common cheaper than Instagram ads.

6. Ad formats

In the case of Facebook ads vs. Instagram ads, there are no different ad formats. Both offer the same type of formats, which are as follows:

• Single Image ads
• Video ads
• Carousel ads
• Collection ads
• Stories ads
• Reels ads
• Shopping ads

This allows you the flexibility to see which resonates with your audience. Keep in mind that, Instagram favors visually rich ads whereas Facebook rewards ads with a bit of text in them.

7. ROI

In general, Facebook ads have a higher Click Through Rate (CTR) when compared to Instagram ads. This can further mean that Facebook ads rake in a better ROI than Instagram ads. However, nothing is set in stone since it eventually depends on the type of industry you are in and the product you have.

8. Campaign Goals

This should be one of the first things you need to think about when starting to create an ad. What do you hope to achieve from this ad campaign?

Facebook Ads allow you to get a clear picture of your goal in the initial stages. But if you are creating ads through the Instagram app, you do not have much say.

Generally, Facebook ads are used when businesses want people to visit their websites and read their long-form content. On the other hand, Instagram ads are more focused on creating brand awareness through mesmerizing visuals.

9. Your Niche

The industry that you are in plays an important role in choosing the right ad platform. If the people in your industry do not frequent the platform that you choose, then your budget will go to waste.

So, before choosing a particular ad channel, check your engagement rate on Instagram and Facebook. Understand where your audience is hanging out more and create content on that particular platform.

For example, Food businesses can use their visual appeal to get more customers. In such cases, Instagram ads can come in handy. But if you are offering a service and need a community to make a sale, then Facebook allows you to create groups with your target audience which can be useful.

Another additional fact is that, based on the niche you are in, your ad costs can go up or down.

10. The Algorithm

There are not many algorithm differences in the Facebook ads vs Instagram ads fight. Because almost both of them consider the same factors when curating the Explore feed for their users. Things such as relevancy, your interest in particular topics, and your relationship with the particular account are factored in.

So post at optimal times, create ads around content that your users are interested in, engage with your community regularly and you should be good to go.

11. Target Parameters

If you are someone who wants the ad to reach a specific set of audience and would like to exercise control over this, then Facebook ads are the best option for you. With so many parameters to alter, you get complete freedom over curating your ad audience.

Whereas, Instagram is focused more on the new marketer who wants access to a large pool of audience but does not have a lot of audience restrictions. The streamlined process offered by Instagram makes advertising easy for them.

12. Engagement

In the case of Engagement rates, Instagram is a clear winner. Instagram ads receive more engagement than Facebook ads, which might be due to distractions in the Facebook feed.

This higher engagement rate can then contribute to more sales or growing a follower base.

13. Buyer Intent

Both Instagram and Facebook ads are amazing for conversions. But because of the visual-heavy approach of Instagram, it is viewed as a top-of-the-funnel kind of marketing strategy at times. But with Instagram’s Shopping ads that allow you to purchase without even leaving the app, this notion might disappear shortly.

14. Content on the Feed

Facebook ads are versatile and support a variety of ad formats such as news articles, links to external sources, updates, and so on. They also allow you to insert a clickable link into your ad, so you have the flexibility to create an ad.

But Instagram being a visually dependent platform, will not even allow you to create an ad without an image or video. You also have to resort to the CTA button to link the ad to your landing page. This is because Instagram does not allow you to have clickable links in its caption.

15. Campaign features

In terms of campaign features, there is not much differentiation. Both platforms offer the same set of tools to equip your ads to succeed. 

Both platforms have automated bidding strategies, which means you can set the goals and forget about them. Instagram and Facebook will work in the background autonomously, use your funds strategically, and handle your bids.

When to Choose Facebook or Instagram Ads?

There are many benefits to choosing both these types of ads, which we have seen in detail in this guide. This is a summary at a glance:

Choose Instagram Ads:

• If your business has a visually appealing product
• You want to improve brand awareness
• If your target demographic falls under the 35 age category
• You are a beginner, who does not know how to run ads
• The concept of your product or service can be explained in a short video with limited text.

Choose Facebook Ads:

• If you want to have more control over who sees your ads
• When you want to track a specific conversion activity such as website visits and so on
• If your budgets are low but you want to reach a larger audience
• If your audience belongs to the older age group
• You are comfortable navigating the extensive campaign features associated with Facebook ads.

Although Facebook or Instagram ads bring massive amounts of traction to your business and put you on the map, when done alone they lack certain benefits. To get the most out of both worlds, it is generally a better idea to advertise on both platforms through Advantage Campaigns.

How to Maximise results with both Facebook and Instagram ads?

Many marketers believe that utilizing these Advantage campaigns (where you run ads on both platforms) has resulted in a higher reach in their marketing campaign. Furthermore, you get the benefits of both worlds at an optimized cost.

But always keep in mind to track the performance of your ads on both platforms. And when you derive an understanding, apply it in both channels to reap maximum benefits. That way, this does not have to be a Facebook ads vs Instagram ads fight, but something that works in sync to bring you results.

Conclusion

When it comes to running ads, there is no sure-shot way to find a strategy that works for you from the get-go. You need to be able to test the waters and experiment with different platforms and ad formats to find the one that works for your brand.

The same thing applies when it comes to choosing Instagram or Facebook ads. Both types of ads offer their own unique set of advantages. Once you know how they can help you, you can figure out which one will bring you the most engagement.

So ponder through these differences and find out the ad that will be beneficial to your business. Or if you have the resources, combine both these ads to get the best of both worlds.

Either way, having good quality content for your ads is non-negotiable, which is where Predis AI can help you! With AI-generated capabilities, you can generate the perfect ad in a matter of seconds. Or you can explore our template options to manually create your own ad. So, get started today with Predis AI!

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