Networking platforms: Facebook vs. Instagram

Quick Verdict

Both Facebook and Instagram offer valuable features for businesses and individuals. Facebook's larger user base makes it suitable for broad reach, while Instagram's higher engagement rates and younger audience make it ideal for visually-driven marketing campaigns targeting a specific demographic. Instagram provides more comprehensive customer support.

Facebook has a larger user base, but Instagram's audience skews younger.
Instagram generally has higher engagement rates than Facebook.
Both platforms offer robust advertising capabilities with similar targeting options.
Both platforms provide e-commerce integration, but Instagram focuses more on visual shopping experiences.
Instagram offers more comprehensive customer support options.

Key features – Side-by-Side

Attribute	Facebook	Instagram
User Base Size	3.07 billion monthly active users	Over 2 billion monthly active users
Demographics	Largest age group: 25-34 years old (31.1%). Gender: 56.8% male, 43.2% female.	Audience primarily younger than 45 years old. Largest demographic is millennials (25-34 age group). Gender distribution is nearly balanced.
Top Countries	India (378.05 million), United States (193.8 million)	India, United States, Brazil
Engagement Rate	Average: 0.15%. Pages with <10,000 fans: 0.32%. Pages with >100,000 fans: 0.03%.	Median: 0.43%
Content Formats	Photos, videos, stories, live streams, Reels (in Groups)	Photos, videos, stories, live streams, Reels, Carousels
Advertising Targeting	Demographics, interests, behaviors, engagements, locations, age, gender, languages, custom audiences, lookalike audiences.	Location, demographics, interests, behaviors, custom audiences, lookalike audiences.
Analytics Tools	Meta Business Suite, Page Insights, Third-party tools	Instagram Insights (free), Third-party tools (Sprout Social, HypeAuditor, etc.)
Brand Page Customization	Colors, post backgrounds, fonts, emoji reactions in groups, greeting messages.	Profile optimization (name, username, mission statement), business account insights.
Community Building	Groups, events, subgroups, recurring events	Groups, events
E-commerce Integration	Shopify, BigCommerce, Wix, Commerce platform via Graph API	Instagram Shopping, Shopify, WooCommerce, Shoppable posts/stories/reels, Product feeds
API Availability	Commerce platform enables e-commerce solutions and retailers to integrate with Facebook via Graph API.	Details on API availability and developer support would require specific documentation from Instagram's developer resources.
Customer Support	Help Center, contact forms, live chat (business/ads accounts), limited phone/email	Help Center, Email Support (support@instagram.com), Phone Support ((650) 543-4800), In-App Support, Social Media
Privacy Settings	Control who can see posts and profile information	Private Account, Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), Data Management, Limit Ad Tracking, Disable Location Sharing
Content Moderation	Policies to prevent harmful content, admin tools for group management	Details on content moderation policies and enforcement would require specific documentation from Instagram's community guidelines and policies.

Overall Comparison

Facebook: 3.07 billion monthly active users, 0.15% average engagement rate. Instagram: Over 2 billion monthly active users, 0.43% median engagement rate.

Pros and Cons

Facebook

Pros:

Effective ad targeting options
Streamlines selling products online
Offers a range of targeting options
Provides analytics and reporting tools
Allows customization of colors, fonts, and greetings
Offers community-building features
Integrates with e-commerce platforms
Privacy settings allow users to control their information

Cons:

Limited direct customer support through phone or email
Average engagement rate is 0.15%

Instagram

Pros:

Effective for reaching a target audience, especially younger demographics.
Smart targeting options allow you to reach different audiences.
Provides various tools and features to create and manage content easily.
Offers seamless integration with e-commerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce.
Provides tools to help keep your account secure and your privacy protected.

Cons:

Average engagement rate varies depending on factors such as post type, industry, and follower size.

User Experiences and Feedback

Facebook

What Users Love

Facebook ad targeting options provide ways to reach potential customers on the platform.
Facebook provides tools and features that streamline the process of selling products online, from inventory management to payment gateways.
Facebook offers a range of targeting options, including core audiences, custom audiences, and lookalike audiences.
Facebook provides analytics and reporting tools through Meta Business Suite and Page Insights, allowing users to track key metrics such as reach, engagement, and views.
Facebook allows customization of colors, fonts, and greetings.
Facebook offers community-building features such as groups and events.
Facebook integrates with e-commerce platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce.
Facebook's privacy settings allow users to control who can see their posts and profile information.

Common Complaints

The average engagement rate on Facebook is 0.15%.
Direct support through phone or email is limited.

Value Perception

No value feedback reported.

Instagram

What Users Love

Effective for reaching a target audience, especially younger demographics.
Smart targeting options allow you to reach different audiences.
Provides various tools and features to create and manage content easily.
Offers seamless integration with e-commerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce.
Provides tools to help keep your account secure and your privacy protected.

Common Complaints

Average engagement rate varies depending on factors such as post type, industry, and follower size.

Value Perception

Instagram Insights offers helpful information about your followers and performance.
Instagram ads targeting allows you to reach different audiences.
You can optimize your profile by including your name and username in your bio and adding a short mission statement or your content pillars.

User Recommendations

Instagram is effective for reaching a target audience, especially younger demographics.
Instagram ads targeting allows you to reach different audiences, including core audiences (demographics, interests, behaviors), custom audiences (people who've engaged with your business) and Lookalike audiences (users similar to your current customers).