Regardless of how many new and more interactive social media platforms have been developed over the past few years, Facebook and Twitter are still the champions of social media marketing. Both Twitter and Facebook have helped businesses reach new heights of popularity and branding. However, one question that might very naturally pop in your mind would be, do I really need both of them?

 

 

If you are more interested in money making online rather than saving it, the answer would be ‘Yes.’

 

The reason is because both Facebook and Twitter work differently. You must already be aware of the some of the major differences such as Facebook is a comprehensive social network while Twitter is a micro blogging platform. When it comes to marketing, however, these small differences go a long way. These differences allow businesses to use both the platforms to positively target a broader market and reach the pinnacle of attraction marketing.

 

Speaking of marketing, we have already discussed the marketing potential of each platform individually in our post about Facebook marketing and Twitter marketing. That, however, is not enough to present an apple to apple comparison of both platforms. In order to understand why you need both Facebook and Twitter, you must understand how both offer different advantages that combine to give a bigger boost.

 

Message Outreach & Response

 

You must already be aware that the number of currently active users on Twitter is literally half of the number of users on Facebook. That is 1 billion versus 500 million. So the difference seems pretty clear, or does it?

 

Facebook clearly gives you an opportunity to spread your message over a wider target market, yet the response time is much faster for Twitter. In case of Facebook, your message might reach 200 prospects in a two days; Twitter will spread the word in a matter of hours. Depending on the nature of your message, more people will retweet the message in the least amount of time. In case of Facebook, the number of responses on a particular post will increase eventually over time.

 

For this reason, the timing and frequency of posts is also important for each platform. Due to this difference in the way people respond, tweets tend to be more short-lived and timely while Facebook posts can survive for longer.

 

Business Relationship versus Brand Identity

 

The reason, Facebook got so popular with the businesses as well as the consumer was its ability to build relationships on a more personal level. While it is important for businesses to have a professional profile on Facebook, your prospects will still expect you to connect and respond on a personal level. They would like you to act more like a friend who shares what interests them. Therefore, Facebook gives you the power to steer and control the direction of the conversation.

 

On the other hand, Twitter, despite that fact that it does not require a proper business profile, is more about building a brand. Unlike Facebook posts, Twitter tweets tend to be more specifically and precisely about your own business. For instance, a new business announcement is likely to get more response on Twitter as compared to Facebook. So, Facebook marketing is more concerned with how the people see you while Twitter marketing is more about how you want them to see your brand.

 

Conversations & Reactions

 

Both Facebook and Twitter are examples of highly interactive social media marketing platforms where businesses and prospects can communicate with each other. However, the way that communication is carried over both platforms is quite different.

 

Facebook is more about starting a conversation with your prospects, asking for their response and seeking their approval. On Twitter, it is more about reactions than response. As we mentioned, businesses usually use Twitter to make timely announcements. As for the prospects, they usually use Twitter to share their reaction to a current Tweet or their last experience with the brands. Prospects play an equally proactive role in sparking a conversation. That is why, in case of Twitter, proper and timely response from the business becomes more important.

 

If handled properly, a complaint on Twitter can offer a better marketing advantage than a positive response on a Facebook post.

 

Usage of Media

 

Despite the 180 character limit, Twitter marketing requires as much time and diligent efforts as Facebook marketing. Due to the ability to use all kinds of media on Facebook, businesses have more freedom to share anything they want. It doesn’t necessary have to be their own product or anything related to the business. In order to achieve a higher edge rank, businesses would usually share photos, videos and even an article about anything that might interest their audience.

 

In case of Twitter, photos must be as relevant to your business as it can be. Since, there isn’t much space to add a long caption, the photo must be self-explanatory yet exciting enough to generate multiple retweets.

 

Once again, the idea of Facebook marketing is to build loyalty and keep your customer base happy while gradually increasing the customer-base. In case of Twitter, it is more about introducing your business as brand. So, share posts that can help your business appear more interesting and attractive to your prospects.

 

Improving Leads and Increasing Sales

 

Facebook marketing or Twitter marketing, the ultimate goal is to turn your endeavors into sales and revenue. But can you just start selling on these platforms right away? In case of Facebook, the answer is yes. While Facebook does not incorporate ecommerce, it does offer a place to market your product and promote online sales. It is like a showroom, where your prospects can see the product and purchase it through some other channel.

 

For Twitter marketing, a direct call to action sales message is not the kind of tweet that gets noticed. You must use Twitter to increase the audience’s interest level. This will help you increase the number of qualified leads that ultimately convert into sales.

 

So, both Facebook marketing and Twitter marketing will affect your leads and sales but understanding these differences will help you use both of them more effectively. Keep these differences in mind in order to use both to their best potential and realize the true perks of powerful social media marketing.