Before we start, it’s worth noting that Facebook owns Instagram. Now, this might make some marketers look at the platforms as one entity but that is far from the truth. Strategies differ depending on your goals and we’re here to unravel where you should invest your efforts (and money).

When you’re a small business, budget is a big concern. How do you find the golden middle to tackle your marketing goals on both platforms? Seems like there are some decisions that are to be made on where to focus your energy.

Bottom line of our short introduction is that Facebook and Instagram are as for business different as can be. They share some features in common, but both have their own strengths and weaknesses if we’re talking about marketing. What works on Facebook will not work for Instagram growth and vice versa.

The question is, do you tailor separate marketing strategy for the two platforms, or complementary ones for each? Let’s find out.

Here’s what you can count on with Facebook:

There is a mass appeal to Facebook. It’s a platform that allows people to truly connect to friends and family. The number of users on a daily basis is about 4 times higher than the users on Instagram.

You can be sure about one thing, potential clients definitely spend a lot of time on Facebook. Because it is more heavily weighed as a platform to connect, promoting products and advertising might not be as effective. People are on Facebook to stay in touch and keep up with news.

1. Reach

In terms of reach, Facebook doesn’t have competition. In the data below, Dreamgrow estimates 1.94 billion monthly active users. In terms of visibility, Facebook is a clear winner.

2. Engagement

Instagram is a definite competitor when it comes to engagement. Facebook still has the second highest engagement rate between all the social networks. Here’s a little study by Salesforce that tracked 2.4 million Facebook posts to gain insights about engagement by industries.

3. Demographic

Pewinternet introduced this table, showing the demographics of the channel. The difference isn’t too significant, with 77% female and 66% male audience. It also concludes that Facebook is effective for reaching all age groups.

4. Paid ads

Facebook ads are extremely effective, in fact the ad revenue is about $6.82 billion in 2016. This number has only gone up since 2015 (by about 59%). Social Flow concluded that each user is worth about $14 in annual ad revenue.