By Saumya Gupta
It takes careful planning, coordination, networking, and budgeting to build a brand’s image. The working strategy might have changed with new innovations that flooded the world in the last decade. But the concepts haven’t. New ideas evolved over time to suit the transitioning social-virtual world. To suit the needs of current consumers, brands used appealing formats. The world has seen transitions that became a trend as quickly as they got wiped out, So, to continue brand marketing, collaborators had to choose an evolving platform.
The other option was to use a more appealing marketing strategy. In this blog, we would like to introduce you to the ongoing war between Facebook advertising and influencer marketing. We have a couple of points that can help you decide what’s best for your brand. Also, there is a huge difference between the era of Facebook advertising and that of influencer marketing. One thing that is common is the intention behind such strategies.
Facebook Advertising or Influencer Marketing?
Brands have been using Facebook Advertising to promote themselves for years now. The platform still has the potential to bag in 2 billion monthly active users. This large base counts towards one of the largest sets of audiences. Because of advertising, users got to see a lot more content apart from their own timeline.
Facebook displays any advertisement that is endemic to the network itself. A range of options is given to anyone who wishes to promote their product. Through Facebook Ads. These include text and photo module ads. Advertorial content is also available that integrates within a user’s news feed. The content is being tagged as ‘sponsored’ or ‘advertisement’. It distinguishes normal content from Facebook dynamic ads throughout the platform. The Facebook advertising agency has low competition in comparison to other sites.
This makes a brand stand out on such a platform. A very prominent reason behind this is that Facebook advertising cost varies according to the content. Unlike barter collaborations that are possible through influencer marketing, Facebook ads are paid. And because of this many people do not opt for Facebook advertising strategy.
On the other hand, influencer marketing strategy involves social media influencers. Influencer marketing is the new buzzword when it comes to successful brand collaboration. A loyal and actively engaged follower base on one of the most famous social media platforms, Instagram. Now attracts a lot of attention from brands. Everyone is looking for a social figure who has the potential to affect buying decisions. It adds more of human touch in comparison to old algorithms.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Facebook Advertising
Facebook uses Native Advertising which very often makes its presence through ‘sponsored’ tags. Ad formats are specific to the platform. Thus, cannot be found elsewhere. Facebook, as a publisher of such ads, develops its own format which is specific to the marketing plan.
ADVANTAGES
- Content Format
Facebook advertising ranges from texts or photos to videos and carousels. There are many formats where any brand can put in their content. This content is later spread over the network. For attracting potential customers from its own user base.
- Measurable Performance
Facebook provides brands with data that can be measured. Numbers and charts help calculate the success of an ad campaign. Another feature lets the user test different ads and their features through A/B testing.
- Budget Flexibility
The platform allows marketers to work on a limited budget. Users can do it by adjusting the amount spent on Facebook advertising. Money is moved up only when the ad campaign works. On the platform and fulfils the needs of brand marketing.
- Segmentation and Targeting
Marketers get all sorts of charts and graphs. This enables a user to find target audiences. Information includes demographics, interests, and other qualitative data. It records this data over time.
- Facebook Support
It is a platform that willingly takes up responsibility. Brands that advertise their products through Facebook get direct support from them.
- Impact
With such a large user base, Facebook advertising has been able to impact buying decisions. The algorithms and formats seem to work, so it’s a win-win for everyone!
DISADVANTAGES
- Overt advertisements
Facebook ads are labeled as ‘sponsored’ or ‘advertisement’. Users usually like skipping ads. Such labels can disrupt user experience on the platform. Very often, people scroll past such ads as soon as they discover the label on them.
- Lacks engagement
As mentioned above, users do not like to opt-in voluntarily to view advertisements. As they skip this option, engagement with users is less likely to happen. People also don’t like to view, let alone share or comment on the advertisement.
- Limitations on format
The lengths and advertising formats are limited to what Facebook offers. Also, their appearance on desktop and mobile might differ.
- Missed Niche
Since fb ads run on algorithms, the audience may not suit the brand. In such cases, the platform might miss the attention of an audience and reach those users who would simply scroll through such advertisements.
- No cross-promotion
Facebook sponsored ads only work within the platform. To publish content on some other website, it has to be reproduced and reposted by the website. That’s how native advertising works.
- CPC based
Fb ads are priced on the basis of cost-per-click (CPC). These prices differ from time to time, based on their demand. The demands depend on a range of reasons, like time of the year/day, targeted locale, and desired audience. Facebook ads can vary according to seasons or quarters.
- Competition
Brands that are competing on this platform compete with other brands/businesses for ad opportunities that target the given criteria.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Influencer Marketing
The contemporary world terms influencer as a social media personality who has the ability to influence an audience. They follow a particular niche and have the ability to boost a brand’s sales. Influencers post content for brand awareness through their personalized accounts.
ADVANTAGES
- An Authentic Image
Influencers have followers who follow them voluntarily. These followers watch their videos and posts, and closely follow their public image. In this public profile, the influencers post videos for brand marketing. Engagement with their followers counts towards authenticity. It potentially increases brand sales over time.
- Freedom to post without many restrictions
In comparison to Facebook advertising, influencer marketing has lesser restrictions. There are all sorts of clauses that define what you can and cannot publish in an ad. Facebook advertising also focuses on word limit that one cannot exceed. In influencer marketing, there are no such restrictions. That’s because personal accounts are used for brand marketing.
- Distribution of work
Handing over some of your marketing tasks to an influencer sure does leave a marketer with some time to relax. Content creation then becomes a responsibility of the influencer. The marketer only needs to find the right influencer for this task and guide them through it. After that, the idea, its successful creation, and publishing is done by the influencer.
- Target Audience
With nano and micro influencers, reaching out to a larger following base becomes possible. Since industry-specific online content gets produced, these influencers are popular amongst their followers. They authenticate their work. And since the follower count is less for each individual influencer, it becomes easier for them to engage with their followers.
- Cross-platform Promotion
The format of the content is basic and downloadable, and that’s why people post it across platforms. For instance, videos on Instagram are also posted on Snapchat, YouTube and Facebook without much hassle.
- Compact Costing
The idea, its production, and execution depend on the influencer. This is already stated when they enter into collab with brands. So, one does not need to look at every other aspect of their promotion. It is done by the influencer as part of their job.
- Impact
With interesting content and an engaging audience. Influencers have the ability to impact buying decisions. People who watch their videos and follow their content feel a desire to use the products they promote through their profiles.
DISADVANTAGES
- Finding the right Influencer
It’s one of the most difficult tasks. An influencer who has genuine followers and can produce content of good quality can lead to a brand’s success. But, to achieve this success, the right influencer needs to be found. This requires extensive research. But platforms such as Hobo.Video makes it easier for everyone. There are brands who are looking for the right influencer. And there are influencers who are looking to promote such brands. Hobo has both of these in one place. Plus, it also has a great platform where such collabs can be worked out.
- Fake Followers
There are some users who use certain apps to increase their follower count on Instagram. These followers are not genuine and can lead to false claims which could later harm the brand. The task of verifying followers can be exhausting. But, a platform like Hobo.Video only registers those influencers who have a genuine and verified profile. It makes research easier for brands that are looking to collaborate with such influencers.
What’s better for your brand?
A brand needs to choose between Facebook advertising and influencer marketing on the basis of what type of audience they want to target. If the aim is to target only Gen Z and millennials. Influencer marketing is a better marketing strategy. It appeals to these generations as content is more interesting and comes in various formats.
Conclusion
It is possible to work with an audience that drives modern markets to follow their preferences. Through influencers, brands can distribute the tasks of marketing. By this, they can end up with diverse content on several platforms. But the task of establishing contact becomes the toughest of all. Hobo.Video clears out such uncertainties. It invites both brands and influencers to register on the platform. Hobo works on short video based content to promote brands. It works with this latest marketing strategy that benefits everyone who joins the platform.
Visit Hobo.Video check out our website! You can also register here.
