How should D2C marketers choose between Facebook and Instagram?

Conversion rates are one of the most critical KPIs that direct to consumer marketers monitor on Facebook and Instagram. A conversion is typically defined as the point at which a user transitions from being a browser to a buyer. Conversions are a primary objective for D2Cmarketers. A high conversion rate is one of the best indicators of success and is critical to generating a positive ROI on spend. Another KPI for service companies is to generate leads for adding to databases or to book follow up appointments. Form fills are dynamic and underutilized on both platforms.

Because Facebook is the most popular social media platform for driving conversions and leads, creating effective Facebook advertisements is critical. Social media marketing is an area in which brands are investing heavily these days, owing to its ability to quickly and effectively connect them to their target customers.

Given that it is one of the largest social media platforms today, it is not surprising that Facebook is the platform in which businesses invest the most money. Facebook has almost two billion users, while Instagram has over 800 million. Facebook’s demographics cover the most people of any social media network. When it comes to large groups of individuals in general, Facebook clearly has the upper hand. If you need to reach more of a mass market, especially in higher age groups, Facebook will be the clear victor.

In terms of everyday usage, Facebook, has 54%, followed by Instagram (46%). Even when it comes to weekly usage, Facebook comes out on top (62%). Facebook has significantly higher activity from older generations than Instagram. People in their forties, fifties, and sixties are significantly more likely to use Facebook. Instagram, on the other hand, is popular among the younger generation. In recent years, digital marketers have underlined the importance of reaching out to the younger generation to start creating brand loyalty for the next several decades..

Acceptable conversion rates are generally between 2 and 5 percent. Conversion rate for Facebook is between 9 and 10% and Instagram 1.08% on average.  While costs per clicks have gone up since the IOS changes, Facebook consistently delivers less cost per click on average than Instagram as well

It is clear that both Facebook and Instagram are great platforms for ad conversions and lead generation, depending on the target audience you want to reach. Instagram is a winner for the younger generation which is also harder to reach through traditional DRTV channels ,  but if you want to reach a higher number of people all at once, not depending on the age or preferences then Facebook is the best alternative.  

With that said, since Facebook and Instagram are both owned by Meta, you can do tests and allocate percentages of the budget to each platform or allow Meta to use their own algorithms to do so, bearing in mind closely monitoring the KPIs and adjusting as needed.

Many DRTV and infomercial marketers were late to the game on social media advertising, but are catching up now and finding fertile ground on Facebook and Instagram for purchasing their products and services.

Do brand logos influence purchasing?

Creating Facebook and Instagram ads with ROI

Most d2c marketers are aware of the necessity of having a presence in social media channels such as Facebook and Instagram which allows a business to reach a wide variety of people and engage with potential customers. However, creating a successful social media advertising campaign that drives results has become a larger challenge.

First and foremost, it is important to clearly define your target audience and set clear objectives. Are you looking to drive sales to a landing page, retarget prospects, acquire leads through form fills? It is essential to understand the demographics, interests, and specific behaviors to be able to create highly targeted ads. This will be beneficial to help shape your ad strategy and measure successfully.

For direct-to-consumer social media, capturing the attention of prospects is critical and thus both ad copy and visuals must be compelling. Video will help lift attention. Videos that are short (usually :15 or less) get the best engagement. Ad copy must be concise and clearly communicate your unique value proposition. It is important to use attention grabbing headlines and include a strong CTA.

One major advantage of Facebook and Instagram is their specific targeting capabilities. Implementing these helps target the correct audience. When your ads reach the right audience, you can ultimately increase your conversion rate.

A crucial component of any successful campaign is A/B split testing and optimizing. Through experimentation with different variations of ad elements, and different audience segments, you are able to identify what is resonating and optimize as you go. To improve campaign performance , it is important to closely monitor key metrics such as click through rates, conversions, engagement rates, and cost per acquisition.

Facebook and Instagram are a great adjunct to DRTV outreach. The retargeting capabilities which allow ads to anyone who has either visited a page, clicked, shared or any other metric, can be a powerful closer to the DRTV viewer.

The lead generation abilities of Facebook are also excellent in acquiring a database that can be marketed to via phone, email or text. This is a powerful use of Facebook particularly and can beat the cost per lead of other platforms if well targeted.

In conclusion, if you want to create successful Facebook and Instagram campaigns it requires a strategic approach, continuous optimizations, and a deep understanding of your target audience. By following these practices, you can drive performance marketing and achieve your marketing goals. It is key to continually monitor and measure your ad performance regularly to ensure you’re getting the most out of your digital advertising efforts. The world of social media is ever – evolving. By staying up to date with the latest trends and techniques, you will have a leg up on the competition and drive success with your Facebook and Instagram ads.

The Rise of ROI Audio Advertising

Direct to consumer marketers might be surprised at the great ROI that audio advertising can bring due to the rise of multiple streaming platforms and higher engagement through listening to podcasts and audio streaming channels. Is audio the new infomercial? Not yet, but it is fast becoming a tried-and-true performance marketing channel driving trackable actions and results, such as clicks and sales.

Audio advertising delivers performance marketers with a unique opportunity to engage with their target audience on a more personal level. Through leveraging precise targeting capabilities, advertisers can reach specific demographics and interest groups, ensuring their message resonates with the right audience.

Marketers can gather much insight from data and enhanced targeting capabilities. For DRTV advertisers, finding comparable podcast platforms in genres that have delivered on TV can be a huge advantage.

Podcasts can deliver host reads, where the hosts speak about the product or service from their own personal experience (much like an influencer of sorts) and there is also the opportunity to purchase pre-recorded audio spots in the podcast itself.

Because podcasts live on the respective platforms, there is quite a bit of drag to the orders, oftentimes coming in weeks or even months after the media buy has ended.

Tracking orders or leads through codes helps enable the attribution.

Digital audio streaming ads in local regions which have performed historically well for a marketer can be used in conjunction with national podcasts and can be quite effective.

Since the pandemic, audio listenership has grown and flourished and thus is an undoubtedly more viable channel for d2c marketers to connect with their target audience in a memorable way and enhance the ROI of their multi-channel campaigns.

Why Video Needs to be Part of Your Marketing Mix

Consumers are watching videos on all platforms more than ever before. According to a recent survey from HubSpot ,the number of digital video viewers worldwide is expected to reach 3.5 billion. Also in 2023 people are watching on average 17 hours of online video per week. And 91% of businesses are using video as a marketing tool.
Consumers depend heavily on this type of content during their research phase when making purchasing decisions. Thus, having a smart video strategy is a vital component to have in your marketing toolbox, especially if you are a d2c marketer.
Video continues to impact performance marketing. Performance marketing, which focuses on driving specific actions such as clicks, leads, or sales, has become increasingly reliant on video. As consumers become more selective with the content they chose to consume, video has proven to be a more engaging outlet for ads rather than static images or text which are much less captivating. In the world of digital advertising, video advertising has become a key component of any successful campaign.
As much as consumers love watching videos, shorter length videos are preferred. We owe a lot of this to TikTok. After the rise of TikTok, a wave of short form content shortly followed suite. Consumers are continually seeking out short snappy videos under 1 minute long
Direct Response TV (DRTV) and infomercials are becoming popular methods again for direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands to promote their products in detail while also displaying a call-to-action, allowing viewers to make a purchase. The DRTV video content blends information, inspiration, and entertainment with a bit more fun than the old DRTV days where the offer was the main ingredient.
There is also more video in advertising on gaming platforms as well, which is a genre that more and more direct to consumer marketing companies are exploring.
Video advertising will continue to grow and evolve with each new platform. This is a positive for d2c marketers, as it provides the opportunity to increase engagement, drive conversions, add to the database and ultimately see a positive overall impact on revenue.

Why Video Needs to be Part of Your Marketing Mix

Why Video Needs to be Part of Your Marketing Mix

Why Video Needs to be Part of Your Marketing Mix