Over the last year, TikTok has taken over the social media space and become the biggest headliner for short-form content.
With more than 2 billion downloads, TikTok has officially taken over as one of the biggest social media apps, outperforming Instagram.
To compete with the TikTok craze, Instagram created Reels, a new way to create and discover short, entertaining videos on the app.
With both options from two of the biggest social media platforms, how will I know which one is more effective in marketing my business?
- Know your target audience
- Determine how long you want your content to be
- Evaluate the growth rate between the two apps
- Compare the features that are most important for your business
Know Your Target Audience
If you are looking to target a primarily Gen Z audience, then TikTok would be your best option. If we look at the stats, 28% of TikTok users are Gen Z, compared to 21% of millennials, 10% of Gen Xers, and 5% of baby boomers.
Now if you are looking to target a primarily Millennial audience then Reels could be your best bet.
As of January 2021, 33.1%of U.S. Instagram users were between 25 and 34 years old. The second-largest user group was 18 to 24-year-olds with a 22.8% share.
Overall, Gen Z is not using Instagram as a whole as much as Millennials.
How Long Do You Want Your Content to Be?
The length of the type of video you are putting out will determine which platform will be the best to market your business.
On TikTok, the maximum video length is 60 seconds while on Reels it’s half that time at 30 seconds.
With that, the longer the content the harder is to keep people hooked. However, if your content is more story-based you might gravitate towards TikTok to allow yourself the full minute to communicate your business’s story and mission.
The Growth Rate Between TikTok and Reels:
With so many people on TikTok right now, it can be hard to get noticed.
The TikTok algorithm will cater to every user. The content they see is specific to their interests, location, related accounts they are following, or what content they’ve interacted with.
Although it can be quite scary to see how accurate your TikTok for you page knows you, it can be really helpful for businesses to find their specific target audience.
When it comes to Reels it is currently just a compilation of content from related accounts you follow or content that performs the best regardless of interests.
For this reason, it can be harder to find your target audience on Reels and generate more views.
However, there are some growth methods that are applicable across platforms.
Here are the ways to grow on both TikTok and Reels:
- Include trending hashtags in your caption.
- Pick a trending sound to play in the background.
- Participate in the latest trends.
- After posting your TikTok, stay off the app to generate more views.
- Follow accounts with similar content as yours.
- Post consistently, at least once a day.
- Post at these optimal times:
- Monday: 6 AM, 10 AM, 10 PM
- Tuesday: 2 AM, 4 AM, *9 AM
- Wednesday: 7 AM, 8 AM, 11 PM
- Thursday: 9 AM, *12 AM, 7 PM
- Friday: *5 AM, 1 PM, 3 PM
- Saturday: 11 AM, 7 PM, 8 PM
- Sunday: 7 AM, 8 AM, 4 PM
The benefit to Reels is that it can help you gain followers to your Instagram account which is a great place to showcase your products with the helpful shop feature available to Instagram Business user accounts.
Users on both TikTok and Reels have reported that when they post the same video on Reels and TikTok, it will get significantly more views on Reels.
Reels even as a “featured” video feature that can help you gain views and grow your account. Instagram describes this feature by saying that, “If your Reel is featured in Explore, you’ll receive a notification.
Featured reels are a selection of public reels chosen by Instagram to help you discover original content we hope will entertain and inspire you.”
This is similar to TikTok’s For You Page but again does not mean Reels will feature content that is catered to your specific interests as TikTok does.
Comparing Reels and TikTok Features:
When it comes to certain features such as font style and color, Reels has a greater selection for users to choose from. This is an area that although isn’t a deal-breaker for marketing on TikTok, can hinder you from being able to communicate your brand identity.
Reels even allows you to choose from Instagram’s wide selection of gifs that they house.
Reels also allows you to apply different features that many Instagram users are already familiar with. TikTok has yet to implement a similar feature into the video-making process.
When it comes to the sound feature, both TikTok and Reels have a user-friendly library of music. Across both apps, It’s super easy to see the trending songs and the ones you have saved.
Reels will suggest music that is “for you” meaning it is used in content that you regularly engage with. TikTok has a similar feature but rather titles this music or sounds as “recommended.”
The culture of TikTok is known for allowing users to create sounds that will typically be used more often than traditional songs.
On Reels, this is something that hasn’t become as popular which could be a potential downside considering this is the main way that users will participate in trends.
Creating captions on Reels is not quite as easy as it is on TikTok which could be a deterrent as well.
On TikTok users can type out their text, hold down and press “set duration” to determine how long they want their text to be displayed onto a certain portion of a video.
For Reels, this is a little more complicated. On Reels you have to click on the text and adjust the duration on the timeline to when you want the text to appear, however, it’s not as easy to create seamless transitions between texts as it is on TikTok.
Captions are a great way to boost engagement, and with Reels making this feature less easy, TikTok can earn an extra point in that category.
When it comes to sharing, TikTok also has an advantage. In Tiktok it’s very easy for users to share their content with other users outside of the app.
For instance, users are able to share their favorite TikToks with other people through text messages, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and more. With Reels, users can only share their favorite Reels directly on the Instagram app. This can lead to less traction and new users checking out your account.
What is the Consensus?
Overall, figuring out whether to market your business on Reels vs. TikTok depends on what you are selling.
If you are selling something that depends on portraying appealing aesthetics, Reels might be the better option for you to be able to incorporate appealing font styles and colors that align with your brand.
If what you are trying to market relies on the storytelling aspect, focus on TikTok, as the longer video feature will be better for this.
Most importantly, determine where your target audience is most of the time. Younger generations are more likely to be on TikTok compared to Reels and vice versa.
Sources: Fortune
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