- There is a lot of competition
in the social media space these days
and it's easy to see why all these companies
are trying to mimic the other business models
so closely.
Short, engaging video is the preferred
type of content among social media users.
With the rising popularity of Tik Tok,
Instagram created their own version, Reels,
for real.
From similar explore pages,
video editing abilities, and the overall concept,
it makes sense why users are
directly comparing Reels to Tik Tok.
Is there even a difference?
And does it matter which one
you use for your brand?
We're gonna talk about it
and figure out which one is right for you.
- Starting with, what's the difference?
Despite the alleged
copycat nature of the two apps,
there are a few key differences
you'll want to consider
when planning your social media strategy,
starting off with demographics.
While there's obviously some overlap,
the key demographics are very notable,
both in terms of gender and age.
Statistics show that roughly
64% of Instagram users
are between the ages of 18 and 34
and the percentage of US-based Tik Tok users
aged 10 to 19 is estimated to be 32.5% alone,
with users identifying as female
outnumbering men on both platforms.
Tik Tok is also one of
the world's most downloaded apps.
It has reached 1 billion users,
actually just saw that on LinkedIn
from my friend who works there,
in just two years after its global launch
and has about 80 million
monthly active users in the US,
while roughly 115 million
are active on Instagram monthly.
- And probably the most well-known aspect
of Tik Tok is their "For You" page, or FYP.
It's customized to your interests,
almost to an alarming accuracy,
whereas the Instagram Reel Explore page
is more of a general collection of content.
Very little information is known on why
or how Instagram selects the featured content
that appears on their Explore page.
Tik Tok, on the other hand,
is very transparent on how their system works.
According to their own website,
recommendations are based on a number of factors,
including things like user interactions,
so this is likes, shares, accounts you follow,
comments you post and content you create,
video information like captions,
sounds and hashtags,
and then device and account settings
like your language preference,
country settings, and device type.
When it comes to the type of videos
you'll scroll through,
brands, businesses and influencers
are typically more polished on Reels
and post more aesthetically pleasing content,
while that's not necessarily the case on Tik Tok.
Users aren't as concerned about
their feed looking a certain way
and tend to be a bit more obscure
with their content.
- Let's dive into the in-app editing features,
things like filters, music,
sounds, and closed captioning.
Again, both exist on each platform
so it really just comes down
to personal preference
as to which app is better for you to use.
And a major difference between
the platforms' video tools
is Tik Tok's Duet, Reaction and Stitch features,
and they allow for a more
collaborative experience among users.
Alternatively, if you're using Instagram
for your business or brand,
you likely have an Instagram shop,
story highlights and tons of content on your feed,
and if your Instagram Reel goes viral,
it's easier for thousands
of potential customers to access your profile
and the links associated with it.
- And now Instagram's ad platform
is of course powered by Facebook,
arguably the most effective ad platform ever
so you have incredible targeting
opportunities with Reel ads.
Instagram Reel ads look a lot
like Instagram story ads.
They are full screen, vertical videos
and will appear in between individual Reels.
Tik Tok also offers in-feed ads,
but take them a step further with things like
branded hashtag challenges and branded effects.
Additionally, Tik Tok allows
its most popular creators to monetize
their content with their creator fund,
which also allows users
who are part of the fund to earn money
in correlation with their view counts,
which is pretty cool.
Now, while there has been some criticism
over the fund adequately compensating creators,
by default, Tik Tok wins this round
since Reels doesn't currently
have any monetization options.
And lastly, you might've seen
that Instagram was among the first
to incorporate e-commerce options on their app.
Well, Tik Tok recently announced
a partnership with Shopify,
where users can connect
their Tik Tok business account
with their Shopify account
and sell products on Tik Tok
via in-feed shoppable video ads,
now that's huge.
- So what do you do with all of this information?
Is one platform definitively better than the other?
The answer, get ready to roll your eyes,
it depends (laughs).
If your target audience is primarily
made up of gen X or above,
you may want to focus more on Reels than Tik Tok.
If your audience is primarily
made up of gen Z or millennials,
either platform is likely to work well.
Both Tik Tok and Instagram Reels
provides benefits and drawbacks,
but it is entirely up to you which of the two,
if not both, you will use.
By taking advantage of these two platforms,
users can capitalize on the unique benefits
that Tik Tok and Reels have to offer.
- That's a wrap, but your journey
doesn't have to end here,
we have over 200 videos for you to watch.
So be sure to like, comment and subscribe.
Thanks for watching.
This is The Journey.