Long before TikTok became the platform of dance moves and lip syncs, Instagram was an essential way for influencers to build their followings. Unfortunately, what gave Instagram early success may also prove its downfall.
Conventional wisdom holds that brands should aim to launch campaigns where their audience congregates; however, this may not always be possible.
1. TikTok’s Audience
TikTok users share an affinity for content that is both engaging and relatable, particularly videos featuring popular sounds or hashtags that leverage them. Such videos make it easier for content to go viral while simultaneously increasing brand recognition with this shared material. TikTok video apps offer more intimate interactions than simply scrolling through an Instagram feed – providing influencers a natural platform from which to connect with their audiences.
TikTok may appear as just another passing fad, but its rapid and sustained growth proves otherwise. Marketers should consider including it into their social media strategies but first should familiarize themselves with how TikTok differs from Instagram before making this decision.
Instagram attracts a more mature demographic than TikTok due to being perceived as a safer space for building digital followings, with an older average age and comprising both millennials and Gen Z-ers as part of its audience.
TikTok attracts an almost exclusively male audience; conversely, Instagram draws in a more diverse group. However, some influencers have found success on both platforms; for instance, Glossier boasts an aesthetic Instagram page that encourages followers to express themselves creatively while Ryanair provides an entertaining TikTok channel focused on current events and news.
Instagram provides brands with several marketing features that make it an excellent platform to reach a more varied audience, such as shoppable posts, in-app purchases and the option to direct potential leads back to your website for further engagement. Furthermore, Instagram includes the ‘Explore’ feature to encourage engagement with content from accounts they don’t follow (similar to TikTok’s For You Page which displays personalized content tailored specifically for users) which acts similar to TikTok’s Explore tab – though less engaging this option still represents an effective means of increasing brand promotion and increasing brand exposure!
2. TikTok’s Format
TikTok’s main feed is tailored based on what interests and videos you watch – an advanced algorithm kicks in when you download and install the app, taking note of what types of entertainment appeal to you, such as cat videos. If you watch one cat video that you like, for instance, more related ones will be recommended on your For You page as soon as it loads – even down to what kind of humor makes your heart skip a beat!
TikTok stands out as a video-centric social platform, making it the go-to destination for entertainment and short-form content, such as lip synching, dance moves, music performances, acting, etc. Furthermore, viral trends or challenges that gain momentum quickly often start on TikTok via influencers or celebrities.
TikTok provides users with access to an expansive audio library and user-friendly editing tools that enable them to produce high-quality videos in minutes – no professional video production equipment necessary! TikTok features soundbytes, famous comedy sketches, top hits and original tracks which can all be added as extra engagement factors to videos for added appeal.
Instagram has quickly overtaken Snapchat in terms of daily active users, yet is still relatively new in terms of online social media and lacks the same history or brand recognition as Instagram.
While Instagram may be more widely-used among older generations, TikTok appeals to a younger audience – particularly Gen Z users – making it an important channel for brands seeking to target this group of consumers.
Gen Z uses social media as the premier social networking platform, making Instagram an invaluable way for brands to reach this demographic and build relationships with them. Instagram is also popular among celebrities as a platform for engaging their fans while driving traffic through posts they create themselves.
TikTok provides an ideal platform for influencers looking to expand their brand and drive engagement, or businesses looking to target specific audiences. Boasting an impressive set of features including carousel uploads, TikTok is an effective means of building up followership while increasing engagement.
3. TikTok’s Audio Library
TikTok may seem like a free-for-all musical platform, but there are rules that govern its usage. Therefore, brands need to learn about and adhere to TikTok’s music guidelines prior to producing any videos for its platform.
TikTok signed agreements with many major music publishers in their early days. Up until 2020, these deals allowed creators to use popular songs without fear of copyright lawsuits in videos created on TikTok. However, in 2019, TikTok changed the rules to require businesses instead to utilize its royalty-free commercial music library instead.
TikTok introduced the “trending” feature as an answer, which allows users to create videos inspired by viral challenges or trends and share them on the app. Influencers who had built up followings through content featuring popular songs felt greatly affected by this change; to compensate, TikTok introduced this trending option allowing them to make up for it by creating and posting videos inspired by current viral challenges or trends.
While trending is not meant to replace creating original content, it can serve as an effective means of expanding your reach and driving engagement on the platform. Furthermore, users have fun taking part in viral challenges or trends found within an app which further foster user participation and increase its popularity.
Instagram Reels provide businesses with an effective means of sharing on-brand videos with their audiences in an aesthetically pleasing format. Instagram recently unveiled a Reels tab on profiles so your videos can easily be discovered by potential viewers.
One key distinction between Reels and TikTok lies in Instagram’s inability to permit businesses to add music to their Reels; this presents businesses with a significant challenge they will need to overcome quickly.
Though Reels no longer feature audio, adding it remains a great way to increase brand recognition on the platform. Some companies even create original music to make their Reels even more engaging and relevant to their target audiences.
Reels also provides you with the ability to add audio, and highlight specific comments from your video, making Reels a powerful way of responding to questions, clarifying misperceptions or following up on suggestions from your audience.
4. TikTok’s Engagement
TikTok is an ideal platform for brands who wish to engage with their target audience and generate engagement, while going viral. Instagram may prove more suitable if a business’s goal is to create content leading to in-app purchases or drive website traffic; additionally, Instagram provides features designed to boost the visibility of a brand’s posts or videos.
Utilizing trending audio can help expand the reach and engagement of your video. Sparkling water brand Spindrift took this approach in their TikTok video reply by linking their response with an iconic song which had gone viral – generating over one million views!
One way to increase video engagement is with compelling captions and hashtags. For instance, when promoting sporting events you could include hashtags like #gameoftheweek or #matchoftheday in order to expand the reach of your posts. In addition, adding snippets of the action into the description section could draw more people in to watch your videos.
An engaging caption can make or break your video’s engagement rate. Keep in mind that TikTok’s algorithms constantly assess each video’s popularity and quality; to achieve maximum exposure, your video must meet these criteria.
To achieve this, it is recommended that you write an engaging yet succinct description for your video that conveys its main point and contains branding elements. Furthermore, using specific keywords will ensure it ranks higher on search engines like Google.
TikTok may seem like an attractive solution for reposting Instagram content, but this might not always be the most appropriate move. While its user base is large enough, they tend to consist mostly of younger individuals – which doesn’t fit in well with most traditional Instagram content which targets older audiences.
TikTok can help you maximize its potential by producing entertaining videos that could become viral, which you can then leverage the app’s algorithm to maximize.