Benefits of Business Analytics

Tatjana D. Payne

Argosy University

This paper will compare Instagram and Facebook in terms of their use of business analytics to understand their position in the industry. Both internet social media applications have a large following which lends itself to possibility of a large marketing platform for many businesses, from small business, large industry, and the individual entrepreneur. Facebook itself has 50 million small business pages and almost two billion active Facebook users that network or peruse the application daily (Smith, 2017). Instagram has been purchased by Facebook but it still has its individual following of over 400 million active users and over 70% of all brands are on Instagram utilizing the platform as their active advertisement.

This paper will aim to compare Facebook and Instagram in terms of their use of business analytics to understand their position in the industry. Both Facebook and Instagram are internet social media applications that have a very large following. Their large user following lends itself to the exponential possibility to be a marketing platform for many businesses, including small business, large industry, and the individual entrepreneur. Facebook itself has 50 million small business pages and almost two billion active Facebook users that can network or peruse the application daily . Instagram is owned by Facebook but it still has its individual following of over 600 million active users and over 70% of all brands are now on Instagram utilizing the appas their active advertisement platform .

Facebook earned $13 billion in mobile advertisement in 2015, with an average of $11.96 per Facebook user. There are 50 million Facebookactive small business pages and 2.5 million of those small business pages pay to be advertisers. To reach the forty percent of Facebook users that do not like a brand page, paid advertisement on the applicationmay be the only way to reach and promote products to the user. Video advertisement achieve the highest rate of engagement by users while mobile ads account for most of the Facebook’s advertising revenue.

Instagram is a very popular photo and video sharing application that has been bought by Facebook. It has over one million monthly advertisers and the platform is unique because it reaches people where they share their own passion. Big business is generated between the 600 million monthly users and over one million advertisers. Through its advertising the application is forecasted to generate $3.64revenue globally this year. “By comparison, Facebook generated $8.81 billion in revenue in its latest quarter. Instagram’s ad business has grown rapidly since the company first started selling advertisements in late 2015, buoyed by Facebook’s network of more than 4 million advertisers and its expertise in sales and targeting .”

Data analytics can grow business exponentially on Instagram and Facebook. On Instagram businesses can generate a lot of their buzz and following with the use of hashtags that lead customers to their product advertisement. The use of the business IG accountsprovides statistics to the account owner via an Insights tab, which allows them to analyze and view the statistics on their posts. These reported statistical variables that are being provided can be valuable business analytics tools that range fromhowmany times anadvertisement post or posting has been liked, how many people commented on a post, and the demographics such as the follower’s geographical location, gender and age. These analytics can give the business the information to pursue certain demographics more intensely over another. The perk for new and small businesses on Instagram is that it accommodates small advertisement budgets by giving them the option to decide to utilize a paid ad campaigns after they have analyzed the performance of an unpaid posts first. This is a huge benefit for a small business because a failed ad campaign could mean a huge monetary loss. This contrasts with Facebook advertisement platform for business pages, which limits exposure and advertisement for business pages unless you pay for boosts in advertisement.Although studies show that when business pages boost their page as an advertising platform it reaches far more Facebook users than trying to acquire more likes for the page. The significant difference here is that a Facebook user would have to find a business page and like it to follow its postings in comparison to a campaign advertisement add that could reach far more users. Facebook does have a way for hashtag followings but consumers are more easily targeted by trending posts instead. Business analytics could be helpful to business owners, granted they have a way to collect and analyze their page followings or advertisement that leads to their sales. All in all, the combination of a Facebook page as well as an Instagram account can boost interest in products and aid in sales. The social media platform has a more rapid ability to spread products to customers worldwide in comparison to a traditional paper add or even a television commercial.

Companies such as LuLaRue has established a network of women owned small business and they utilize the Facebook go live feature to sale and promote sales events. These franchised small businesses than also combine their goods on a joint business page to host combined sales of their products allowing them to offer product to a wider pool of customers. This enables the individual seller to push merchandise that they may have not be able to sell to their own customer base. Another example of joint business networking is the Rodan and Fields manufactures and multi marketing company that sells their skin care product through a network of small business owners. Rodan and Fields associates utilize the Facebook platform to advertise and sell the products. The use of joint business pages lends itself to entice sales of the products by testimonials from real people, which in turn appeals to the average consumer.

Business analytics lend itself to be applied in the rapidly growing social media platforms.

Using trends of gathered trend data if properly analyzed and utilized in marketing strategies could mean a larger customer and or fan base. Since social media is driven by current trends and interests of a large pool of diverse subjects, business analytics could face some challenges to accurately predict human dimension.

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