A Comparison of Facebook and Twitter For Social Media Marketing

Who doesnt' have a Facebook or Twitter?

Nowadays, you'll rarely meet a person who doesn't have these two social media websites. The online presence of these two have an influential reach, that's why a lot of popular brands have jumped in the social media bandwagon since it began. It is truly an effective way to engage with your customers and followers, as it easily gets your messages across and helps build reputation and brand recognition.
Now, what social media platform to use, you might ask. It's advisable to have both Facebook and Twitter for your products and services. But if you want to know which has the most advantage when it comes to social media marketing use, then read on.
1. Images/Links
Posts are easily seen, such as screencaps of links, pictures, and videos.
In Facebook, posting a picture can be easily seen, and users immediately have an idea of what the post is all about. Even if it's with links to other pages, you get an idea of the topic of the article through an image screencap. Making an album is easier through Facebook, and you can easily locate your images through the timeline photo album or a more customized one. Even videos are sorted out into an album.
In Twitter, you can post an image, but you have to click on the image preview so you can see the whole of it. And you can't make an album; instead, you have to go to the "Photos and Videos" part of the Twitter page and click on the link to see the images and videos posted.
When it comes to user-friendly image interface, Facebook wins in this one.
2. Events/Groups/Invitations
Facebook provides a feature wherein you can make groups or events, and can be customized into public or private. If it's a public group or event, anyone can join. If it's set into private, the group or event is through invitation only. Either the user applies to be invited, or another invited member invites another user to join the group or event. When you're invited, you can post on the wall, comment on other posts, and be in the know about the latest about the group's cause.
Twitter doesn't have a feature wherein you can create a public or private group. But one can create a Twitter page about certain causes, products, services, and events, and have people follow you.
Facebook is still the way to go if you want to create a group and gather like-minded people to participate.
3. Hashtags
Twitter pioneered in hashtag use that helps users find a certain topic. Using the hash sign ( # ), a Twitter user will be directed to tweets about the said topic. This is very effective in marketing, because campaigns are started on Twitter through a user-generated hashtag. For example, a cosmetic industry can promote their new line of make-up through a hashtag in order to spread word about their newest products. #BoldRed is an idea if the cosmetic line wants to promote their newest lipstick color. So that's how hashtag marketing works.
Facebook just caught up with the hashtag use, and users can now use hashtags on Facebook. But it still has a long way to go before it can achieve what Twitter has done with hashtag marketing. Some posts in Facebook are private, and therefore, you can't see all posts using a certain hashtag. Twitter wins with hashtag use.
4. Customer Interaction
Facebook is more of reactions, while in Twitter, you can get directly by tweeting a Twitter user. Say, a customer had problems with a certain restaurant and wants to speak up about it through social media. If it's on Facebook, it's more on ranting and posting. There's a chance that even if you tag the said establishment on your public post or go directly to the Facebook page, your post might drown in all the other wall posts. If you decide to take it out on Twitter by tweeting the page for that establishment, it can be seen easily, because of the mention of the page on that tweet. There's a chance that someone might directly reply to your tweet.
It's a mix of timing, word choices, and user interaction if you want to praise a service or complain about it on Twitter or Facebook. So there's no singled-out social media platform for this purpose.
5. Popularity
Facebook and Twitter are two of the most popular forms of social media platforms. Both are highly recommended for brand promotion and interaction, although you have to tailor your posts and tweets so you will get noticed. What is it that makes your brand different? Make it stand out from the rest. Gaining a lot of followers doesn't happen overnight, and it takes hard work to spread the word about your products and services through these two social media outlets.
These are just comparisons between Twitter and Facebook for social media marketing. It's up to you on how to utilize both websites for marketing purposes. After all, it's not with the platform, but with the presentation, that makes social media marketing effective.
Author Bio: Lauren Todd is a freelancer at uk essay writers. She reads a lot about social media marketing, and it helps her to be in the know about the subject.