TikTok and Instagram Reels allow us to publish short videos to market our brands. They offer a different concept than platforms with long videos like YouTube. But, the best option for your brand depends on your audience and the features of each platform.
- Demographics
Instagram has a larger audience with over one billion active users worldwide. All these people have access to Instagram Reels if the feature is available to their countries. But most Instagram users focus on the standard posts and stories.
TikTok has over 600 million active users, but they are more familiar with short videos because the focus of the app is on this type of content. Also, TikTok is more popular among teenagers and young adults than Instagram.
- Advertising
Instagram has a variety of options for advertising because you create your ads through Facebook Ads Manager. It will give you more options for advertising and help you to target the right audience. They offer an advertising option about Reel Ads that are similar to the ads you can see on stories.
TikTok has fewer targetting options than Instagram and requires a lot of testing before getting results. You can still get results if you know your audience, but it has more risk in the beginning.
- Video Length
Instagram Reels allow you to create videos for up to 60 seconds, while TikTok videos can reach up to 3 minutes. If you have a new account, these 30-60 seconds can make a difference because you can include more details in your content. However, Instagram allows you to reach your audience with other types of content as well.
TikTok also has more options when it comes to sounds, music, and editing. Instagram Reels include some sound options but are not even close to TikTok yet.
- Engagement
You want to reach your target audience and potential customers with your short videos. So, engagement is a critical part to consider. TikTok has the advantage because there is a community that loves short videos. You can get many likes with excellent videos, and some of them are shared on other platforms.
Instagram Reels count views that could be enough if you have many followers. As mentioned above, Instagram Reels is another feature of Instagram and not a community for this type of content alone.
- E-Commerce
It is not easy to sell products directly with short videos. Companies use Instagram Reels and TikTok for brand awareness most of the time. Using hashtags correctly makes it easier to create conversations about your products and services on TikTok that could generate sales in the long term.
Instagram Reels alone can’t help with selling, but it’s about reaching your target audience regularly. However, you can use other features of Instagram to sell products like Instagram Shop and Shoppable posts.
Conclusion
If the goal is to reach your target audience with short videos, TikTok is a better app for organic reach. Instagram Reels is for those who already have a large audience on Instagram or want to take advantage of the shopping and advertising features of the platform.
