The Determinants of the Popularity of Facebook and Instagram

Social media refers to online platforms where people share their own content. According to Global Digital Statistics Report (2019), there are around 3 billion active social media users worldwide. Popular social media platforms are Facebook, Youtube, Whatsapp and Instagram. Social networks are now so well established, that there is a core 'top five' social networks that don't change much from year-to-year. But, as we'll see in this post, the most popular social media sites vary a lot by level of usage in different countries and demographics.

Understanding these differences in popularity of different social networks is really important when targeting specific audiences. When comparing the most popular social networks it's best to review them by active account usage, not just the number of user accounts. We'll also see in this summary that some social networks are growing more rapidly than others while some are now in decline. (D. Chaffey 2019) Facebook and Instagram are easy to use when it involves running advertising and marketing campaigns.

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You can determine your audience, and track your campaigns, and find out how many people have been reached and conversions have occurred. Although Instagram doesn’t allow clickable links in posts, you can put a direct website link in a sponsored ad. Facebook and Instagram use the same ad manager to create campaigns and monitor reach, engagement, and user conversions. In conclusion, both platforms are viable tools to boost your business. So, which one is better for you? The nature of your business will inform that decision. (T. Nwazor 2016)

Facebook and Instagram – new research perspectives.

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The goal of this paper is to present the vast array of content that is emerging within social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest and analyze the ways in which they can be classified. This is a review of the available interdisciplinary methods and factors that should be taken into consideration when researching the genelogy of the texts that arise in the network. The Internet has changed the face of social communication. It has highlighted processes that were much less visible before. The challenge for researchers is to analyze the enormous amount of content and incorporate it into a classification system. Above all, statements made on social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram require analysis. Previous attempts to systematize them did not correspond to the reality of the network. Research on the Internet genres and communication forms requires the use of relevant analytical tools and interdisciplinary approaches. (M Czarkowska, A Gumkowska, 2017)This is probably going to be one of the deciding factors for which social media site you choose to put your focus toward. Facebook has more total users but your customer avatar might not be as active on the site as you might think. One of the first differences that jumps out is Instagram’s younger user base. The older generation really isn’t active on the app. A majority of Instagram users are under 30, and many are in their teens. This is great for companies trying to reach a younger demographic. Facebook on the other hand has been losing its share of teen users. Between Fall and Spring of 2014, the number of teens using Facebook fell from 72% to 45%. The same study also found that 38% of teens said that Instagram is a favorable marketing channel vs. 21% for Facebook. (D. Jackson 2015)

Over the past couple of years, Facebook has become less and less popular among teenagers. It was once the most used form of social media, but recently teens have been using Instagram more frequently due to the fact that Facebook is often too complicated and overrun by parents. Instagram's sole purpose is to view and post pictures. Since the only thing people can do on this moblie application is look at images, people of all ages have learned to love it. You simply scroll through the pictures and either like, comment, or move on. It does not take much time to keep yourself updated. Everyone knows that posting a picture on Instagram tends to rack in more likes than if you were to just post the image on Facebook. Since there is so much clutter on everyone's Facebook news feeds, people are less likely to see the recent image you just uploaded. On Instagram, pictures of people you follow are the only thing you see, so it is more likely that you will receive more comments and likes. Most people tend to have more Facebook friends than followers on Instagram. One of the main reasons for this is because Facebook has been around for a lot longer than Instagram. (E. Pranjić 2018)

Works cited

  1. Chaffey, D. (2019). Global social media research summary 2019. Smart Insights. Retrieved from https://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-strategy/new-global-social-media-research/
  2. Nwazor, T. (2016). Facebook vs. Instagram: Which is better for business? Entrepreneur. Retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/282024
  3. Czarkowska, M., & Gumkowska, A. (2017). Facebook and Instagram – new research perspectives. In Proceedings of the International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM (Vol. 17, No. 53, pp. 197-204). STEF92 Technology Ltd.
  4. Jackson, D. (2015). Instagram vs. Facebook: Which one is right for your business? Sprout Social. Retrieved from https://sproutsocial.com/insights/instagram-vs-facebook/
  5. Pranjić, E. (2018). Why Instagram is more popular than Facebook. Medium. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@elma.pranjic/why-instagram-is-more-popular-than-facebook-6c2b6f7eb4a1
  6. Statista. (2021). Number of monthly active Facebook users worldwide as of 4th quarter 2020. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/264810/number-of-monthly-active-facebook-users-worldwide/
  7. Statista. (2021). Number of monthly active Instagram users worldwide from January 2013 to January 2021. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/253577/number-of-monthly-active-instagram-users/
  8. Facebook for Business. (n.d.). Create ads that inspire action. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/business/help/442075032870381
  9. Instagram for Business. (n.d.). Drive business results with Instagram. Retrieved from https://business.instagram.com/
  10. Duggan, M., Ellison, N. B., Lampe, C., Lenhart, A., & Madden, M. (2015). Social media update 2014. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2015/01/09/social-media-update-2014/
Updated: Feb 22, 2024
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The Determinants of the Popularity of Facebook and Instagram. (2024, Feb 23). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/the-determinants-of-the-popularity-of-facebook-and-instagram-essay

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