Are you a brand, company, or aspiring influencer looking to leverage social media? Instagram and TikTok are the two fastest-growing social media platforms in the western world. Executing a content strategy takes an investment of your time, money, and effort into growing your online community.
Which platform is best for brands and companies to start their social media campaign? Do you go with TikTok or Instagram? This post compares TikTok Vs. Instagram. We’ll unpack the benefits and drawbacks of using these social media titans in your content strategy.
Using Instagram to Promote Your Brand
Instagram dominated the social media space from 2015 to 2020. It’s the hottest destination for influencers to grow an audience and monetize their content strategy. It’s still hugely popular with influencers, brands, and companies that market online.
The platform’s flexibility allows for image-based and video content, with many features that benefit marketers and influencers. The image posting feature allows for careful curation of posts, while the “Stories,” “Reels,” and “Live Video” features allow for a more ‘Off-the -cuff’ approach to content delivery.
25 to 34-year-old users are the largest demographic on Instagram, making it a great choice for marketers targeting users in this age group. Instagram makes it easy to track and analyze your performance with your target audience through its suite of in-app tools.
You get all the information you need to guide and tweak your campaigns to success on the platform. Instagram emphasizes engagement, helping you build a community of loyal followers through comments, likes, and messages.
The flexibility Instagram offers your social media strategy means you get a great way to connect with your target audience using multiple mediums.
Instagram also allows you to connect your Facebook account, and a few companies and brands might find that beneficial, even though Facebook (Meta) is slowly dying as a place to market to your target audience.
Using TikTok to Promote Your Brand
TikTok burst into the social media space in 2019. While the app was around for years before then, it started seeing mass adoption in the western world as we approached 2020. Its video-based platform was a hit with users, seeing massive growth in 2020 and 2021.
While it’s the new kid on the block in the social media metaverse, it’s blowing away all its competitors. TikTok has massive growth, crossing the billion-user mark in May 2022. In contrast, it took Instagram eight years to achieve the same user count.
TikTok grew to a giant in the social media industry by focusing on delivering short-form content. Its impact on the space was so significant Instagram launched its short-form video features like Reels, Stories, and IGTV to compete, and YouTube launched its “shorts” feature to remain competitive.
While TikTok is eclipsing the adoption rate of Instagram, it lacks many of the features and versatility of Instagram. There’s no option for reposting or saving content and no image-based element on the platform.
While lacking in the features department, TikTok makes up for this issue with its improved user experience. Creators have a much higher chance of going viral on the platform, even if they have a small following. If your content ends up on the “For You Page,” you’re just a few clicks away from going viral.
TikTok has a younger age demographic, with over 60%of users in the 16 and 24-year-old age groups. Opening a business account with TikTok gives you access to an analytics suite where you can track the performance of your content strategy.
TikTok vs Instagram – The Verdict
So, do you go with TikTok or Instagram for your content strategy? As an influencer, brand, or business, you need as much reach as possible into the market. Why not go with both platforms? Sure, it’ll take you more time and effort to do both, but it’s worth the extra work.
If your age demographic is younger, TikTok will give you the best reach into that market. Instagram is ideal if you’re targeting an older demographic. That said, both platforms are essential for any digital marketing strategy. The top brands and companies see the value both platforms offer their business, implementing strategies across both TikTok and Instagram. Plan your content strategy and use TikTok and Instagram to dominate your market.
