Tiktok and Instagram reels logos

TikTok vs Instagram Reels: Which is Right for Your Marketing Spend?

Your first question might be why would I market on either? Isn’t TikTok mainly for kids and teens, while Instagram Reels is just a TikTok clone? The short answer is NO. TikTok’s popularity can be summed up by the fact that it’s been downloaded 2 billion times. IG Reels is Facebook’s answer to that dominance in the shareable short video clip arena and offers different features. Deciding whether to market or advertise on any social platform comes down to the numbers and the ability to target specific groups. While Reels only launched in August of 2020, the Instagram user base is vast at over 1 billion worldwide.

The Elephant in the Room

Tiktok, the Chinese owned app, has been under attack by President Trump. Making good on his promise the president issued an executive order to ban the download of the app in the US. While that is in legal limbo at the time of writing this article, it doesn’t change the popularity of the app. Users that have already downloaded the app will be unaffected by the executive order.

Despite the political pressure from the administration, TikTok continues to capitalize on its momentum. In June of this year, TikTok announced TikTok for Business. This offering is making it easier for brands to be part of the creation process through TopView ads, Brand Takeovers, In-Feed Videos, Hashtag Challenges, and Branded Effects. They also introduced the new AR effect, “Brand Scan,” which allows users to add interactive effects to their videos, much like Snapchat filters.

IG Reels: A Facebook Flop?

Not everyone is excited about the introduction on Instagram Reels. The New York Times did not mince words and straight-up called it a “dud”. The jury is still out, but I imagine many will feel the same way and will prefer the standalone video clip app, even if its future in the US may be a little murky.

Do your Homework

This article is not intended to sway anyone into picking one platform or the other. That will require due diligence and market research. Whether Reels is a successful feature or not, Instagram, with existing features like IG Stories, is already a juggernaut, so it may not matter. You can always Talk to Peabody to help you establish a digital marketing strategy that fits your goals and budget.