Have you ever considered prioritizing social media platforms for your small business? Many startups are trying to find out which social media platform works better in their marketing strategies.
Of course, you must have been familiar with top social media platforms. But the question is what the difference between them is.
For example, TikTok and Instagram are two multimedia-based platforms that are so popular among people. Do you really know each one’s pros and cons?
In this post, we’re going to compare these networks to help small businesses prioritize their social media marketing campaigns. You can do the same for other platforms based on your industry and also your requirements.
Top social media platforms.
A new social app/site is emerging each day, and we know a lot of examples that the new platforms have badly beaten the old ones.
For example, Instagram Stories was a copied-version of a feature on Snapchat, but now Instagram is performing far better than Snapchat.
So, social media is an ever-changing area, and you can’t rely on a single platform forever. At the moment, these are top social media platforms that marketers use to generate leads and increase their sales:
- Facebook: 2.7 billion monthly active users
- YouTube: 2 billion monthly users
- Instagram: 1 billion monthly active users
- TikTok: 800 million monthly active users
- Pinterest: 320 million active users
- LinkedIn: 300 million monthly active users
The important thing is that a platform can’t be suitable for your business simply because it has a lot of users in the world.
Every platform has its own objectives and styles, and you can’t use it for any purpose. For example, LinkedIn is more of an official platform, so it’s not very suitable for fashion influencers.
That’s why we’re trying to compare TikTok vs Instagram because these two platforms have many similar features.
TikTok vs Instagram: features.
First, you need to know the capabilities of both platforms. Basically, TikTok is only for sharing short videos as opposed to Instagram that covers broader options.
Here are some important specifications of TikTok videos that you should know:
TikTok video specs and dimensions.
- Maximum file size: 287.6 MB (iOS) and 72 MB (Android)
- Maximum length: 15 seconds
- Dimensions: 1080 x 1920
- Aspect ratio: 9:16
- File type: MOV or MP4
- Video code: H.264 encoded
Instagram video specs and dimensions.
1. IGTV.
Regular Instagram users are allowed to post 15 seconds to 10 minutes long IGTV clips, respectively, from their apps and browsers.
However, verified pages can post 60-minute videos using the IGTV feature. Other specs:
- Maximum size: 3.6GB
- File type: MP4
- Aspect ratio: 9:16
- Video thumbnail/cover image: JPG
2. Stories.
Videos on Instagram Stories are restricted to 15 seconds. But you can upload several separate clips as combined stories that will be displayed as slides.
Instagram Feed videos are typically limited to 3 seconds to 60 seconds, which also can be used as combined posts.
3. Live.
Instagram Live videos are restricted to 60 minutes duration, but you can start a new Live video immediately after finishing the time.
4. Reels.
Instagram Reels is the newest and also the most similar feature on Instagram to TikTok. It allows you to record 15-second videos and combine them with music on Instagram.
Generally, Instagram provides you with more marketing features compared to TikTok, especially with the launch on Reels. Social Tradia claims that the reason many businesses try to buy an existing Instagram account is its diverse video-sharing capabilities.
TikTok vs Instagram: statistics.
Now that you know the specifications of TikTok vs Instagram, you can decide better. Additionally, it’s good to consider some important statistics on both platforms.
In fact, an important parameter of social networks for businesses is their users’ demographics. When you know the users’ age, gender, region, language, peak hours, etc., you can target your audience more exactly.
TikTok demographics.
- More than 40% of TikTok users are 16-24 years old, and 50% of them are under 35.
- Men comprise 56% of users on TikTok.
- 80% of the total TikTok’s visiting time in 2019 was spent by Chinese users.
- Users averagely spend 52 minutes per day on TikTok.
- S. users comprise more than 40% percent of TikTok users and are rapidly increasing.
Instagram demographics.
- 70% of Instagrammers are aged under 35.
- Instagram users spend 53 minutes per day on average.
- 500 million users on Instagram use stories every day.
- 70% of U.S. businesses use Instagram.
- More than 50% of Instagrammers follow at least one brand on the platform.
TikTok vs Instagram: which one is better for your small business?
In sum, we can conclude that Instagram has more options for marketing compared to TikTok. When we consider TikTok vs Instagram, the latter provides more divers marketing features
Although TikTok is growing fast, Instagram is more business-related, at least at the moment. Small businesses can, therefore, grow their brands on Instagram better, rather than on TikTok.
However, as a startup, you should know that the sooner you create a profile on TikTok, the easier you can build your brand identity on the platform.
In other work, you’d better focus on Instagram and simultaneously plan for the future on TikTok.
