From a business perspective, I am considering creating a Facebook and or Instagram presence. Wondering if any of you have seen business derived from one of these platforms more than a traditional website. I have avoided it for years, but may take the leap. My fear is that I will not spend the time responding to comments and such - so I'm wondering if that is a critical aspect of these platforms.
Any input or suggestions welcome.
Thanks, Harry
Posted by Barbara Graham on January 11, 2018 at 10:04 PM
Harry, from the customer's perspective I can only address Facebook, because I've never used Instagram. As a business presence on Facebook it is critical that you respond to Facebook messages and that you respond to business-related questions and comments, but you can do so privately. It is extremely frustrating as a potential or existing customer not to be able to get in touch with the business via Facebook if the business has a Facebook page.
What is NOT necessary is that you respond regularly, as in daily, to compliments, etc. I would say that you should respond perhaps weekly, though. I think there is something on a business Facebook page that says something like "usually responds within X amount of time." If I'm right about that, you could set expectations that way. If you are overwhelmed with comments and making money from many commenters, maybe you could hire a part-time person to keep up with that.
I do feel strongly that setting expectations and then sticking to them is a critical aspect of a business Facebook page. I have had several one-and-done experiences with businesses that have Facebook pages but are not responsive, sometimes at all, ever, to anyone.
Let me know if you have any questions about anything I've said. Good luck, whatever you decide.
Posted by Harry Lichtman on January 11, 2018 at 10:21 PM
Thanks Barbara, I currently researching the difference between the 2 platforms and seeing if I had to pick one, which it would be. I've never used Facebook, though my wife has an account for family connectivity. Would need something separate. The Facebook layout/dashboard seems very complicated and involved at a glance compared to instagram. Lots of reading on the internet about both, more than buying car! Thanks!
Posted by Luke Ormand on January 15, 2018 at 8:30 PM
Harry - you want to go with Instagram. If you really wanted to, you can create a facebook page as well and it gets linked to your instagram account and well, it makes it really easy to post the same content on both - however the market on facebook is far less than on instagram.
The problem with facebook is younger people are running away from it and the format is well, pretty terrible if you are simply trying to have people see your work and buy your prints or hire you or whatever. With facebook, someone who "likes" your page will also (presumably) have a large number of friends / family members and other pages they like.
When they open their feed (which is no longer in chronological order, though either is instagram) they will scroll through posts - some videos, some text, some photo albums, and many "shared" links. It becomes increasingly difficult for your posts and your page to stand out (unless you pay the $5 to advertise your post).
The difference with instagram is that (virtually) the only thing people see in their feeds are photos and videos (all of which are in the same format which is more visually appealing). Even if someone has varied interests and follows a good number of friends, family members and other accounts they like (say food focused accounts), your images will stand out as they mindlessly scroll through the feed. Additionally, hashtagging is fare more useful on instagram. In fact, they just introduced the ability to follow a hashtag (instead of specific users). This allows carefully and properly hashtagged photos to reach the audience you're after way more efficiently than on facebook where hashtags are infrequently used.
Lastly, instagram is literally a photo based social platform - the only way to post any text is as a comment on your own image or a "screenshot" of text. People on instagram are expecting beautiful, enticing, exciting images. Whereas facebook feeds come with the expectation of people sharing political / religious articles, family photo albums, vacation photos, random thoughts or rants.
You can checkout my instagram (@Jrookphotos) to see how I post and interact with my followers.
Discussion
3 repliesAny input or suggestions welcome.
Thanks, Harry
What is NOT necessary is that you respond regularly, as in daily, to compliments, etc. I would say that you should respond perhaps weekly, though. I think there is something on a business Facebook page that says something like "usually responds within X amount of time." If I'm right about that, you could set expectations that way. If you are overwhelmed with comments and making money from many commenters, maybe you could hire a part-time person to keep up with that.
I do feel strongly that setting expectations and then sticking to them is a critical aspect of a business Facebook page. I have had several one-and-done experiences with businesses that have Facebook pages but are not responsive, sometimes at all, ever, to anyone.
Let me know if you have any questions about anything I've said. Good luck, whatever you decide.
The problem with facebook is younger people are running away from it and the format is well, pretty terrible if you are simply trying to have people see your work and buy your prints or hire you or whatever. With facebook, someone who "likes" your page will also (presumably) have a large number of friends / family members and other pages they like.
When they open their feed (which is no longer in chronological order, though either is instagram) they will scroll through posts - some videos, some text, some photo albums, and many "shared" links. It becomes increasingly difficult for your posts and your page to stand out (unless you pay the $5 to advertise your post).
The difference with instagram is that (virtually) the only thing people see in their feeds are photos and videos (all of which are in the same format which is more visually appealing). Even if someone has varied interests and follows a good number of friends, family members and other accounts they like (say food focused accounts), your images will stand out as they mindlessly scroll through the feed. Additionally, hashtagging is fare more useful on instagram. In fact, they just introduced the ability to follow a hashtag (instead of specific users). This allows carefully and properly hashtagged photos to reach the audience you're after way more efficiently than on facebook where hashtags are infrequently used.
Lastly, instagram is literally a photo based social platform - the only way to post any text is as a comment on your own image or a "screenshot" of text. People on instagram are expecting beautiful, enticing, exciting images. Whereas facebook feeds come with the expectation of people sharing political / religious articles, family photo albums, vacation photos, random thoughts or rants.
You can checkout my instagram (@Jrookphotos) to see how I post and interact with my followers.