Better for Marketers? Facebook or Twitter?
Twitter recently announced that its paid ad platform is now available to any who want to use it. In testing for over a year, Twitter has been assessing user feedback and refining Twitter ads. The most noticeable difference in this ad platform vs. Facebook’s is you are only charged when anyone follows your promoted account from your ad, or someone retweets, replies, favorites or clicks on your promoted tweets. So now that Twitter has ads, does it qualify as a valid alternative to Facebook? Who wins this battle?
Facebook vs. Twitter!
Back in the day, (a couple of years ago) this would have been no contest. Now – not so fast. Certainly, there are several variables that will factor into who takes home the crown. I suspect that the answer in the end is probably, it all depends. Facebook has long been the undisputed King of social media, considering the practical advantages it had. The first huge network to use business and personal pages, along with an ad platform that for those who understand how to use it, that rivals anything Google aspires to.
The Case for Facebook
While Facebook has been the undisputed King of social media, since it was the first huge network to use personal and business pages, as well as a robust ad platform that frequently surpasses Google at its own game. Combine the ubiquitous Facebook pages and the reach of its network with more than a billion users and you’ve got a truly impressive platform. Facebook has grown to be far more than a site to find old friends. Now, with these elements as well as the growing groups feature, there is little more you could want from a social media platform.
Twitter’s Up
Twitter has always had the extra edge when it came to immediacy, and has developed several very useful applications, such as advanced search for leads, as well as the opportunity to use embedded Tweets as testimonials. (Terrific social proof!) It’s a wonderful platform (though underused) for handling your company’s customer service. Even though the length of the content you are able to share has limitations, Twitter’s speed and ability to reach out quickly have now gotten them breathing the same air as Facebook.
Now it’s merely a matter of finding where your market is, (socially) and deciding which (if not both) are the best fit for your business!