We’re living in a 9:16 world. But should you focus your precious marketing resources on TikTok or Instagram? We’re breaking down the top five differences between the two, to help you decide which platform makes the most sense for your restaurant, bar, club or festival.
The fact is, that simply cross-posting from Instagram to TikTok is not going to yield the best results for your accounts. These platforms require a tailored approach to market your venue or event effectively.
Instagram: We like to think of Instagram as your ‘shop window’. This is where you can proudly display your most beautifully produced videos to give your brand the best visual representation possible. Even though the highly curated and strictly colour-coordinated Instagram feeds are mostly a thing of the past, it’s still important to focus on polished and edited content that highlights the ambience, amenities and experience of your venue.
TikTok: In contrast, a highly edited marketing video is likely to flop on TikTok. No matter how gorgeous or fun your editing is. On the flip side, this is where you can let your raw creativity and personality shine without too much thought about pre or post-production. Hospitality venues can engage audiences by showcasing behind-the-scenes glimpses, user-generated content, having staff do a funny TikTok trend and general entertaining content that shows the vibe and personality of the venue.
Instagram: The age of engaged users on Instagram skews slightly older than those on TikTok. Traditionally, Instagram is more popular among millennials and Gen X. This audience is diverse and they like aspirational and aesthetically pleasing content. The engagement metrics are predominantly likes, comments and shares. So you can foster a community through conversation and eye-catching content.
TikTok: TikTok predominantly attracts a young Gen Z audience. The content is more fast-paced, highly entertaining and engaging. The platform is very trend-driven and if you can get on a trending sound at the right time with an entertaining hook, you’re in for a good chance of bulk views and maybe even going viral. The platform feels a little more collaborative with the fun ‘duet’ and ‘stitch’ features that allow users to be more interactive with each other, including brands and celebrity users they love.
Instagram: It’s no secret that it’s harder to go viral and get views on Instagram than it is on TikTok. Organic reach is limited and it’s not easy to have your business discovered by users who have never interacted with your content before. This is thanks to an algorithm that prioritises content from accounts that users frequently engage with, focusing on relevant relationships and recency. This can be frustrating, especially for users who want to discover new content but have their feeds limited by the algorithm. So you have to be a little more strategic to reach new audiences, like engaging influencers and partnering with other brands.
TikTok: TikTok’s algorithm is known for swiftly amplifying content and doesn’t discriminate against content from new and unknown users. Which is great news if you’re new to the platform. This means it’s much easier to grow your organic reach and discoverability among new audiences. The “For You” page showcases personalised content based on user interactions, regardless of the account’s follower count.
Instagram: As a general rule, Instagram (and Meta) is a more commercial platform and users are more inclined to watch and interact with ads, especially because the algorithm is great at serving them ads for brands they like. The advertising infrastructure has been around for a while so you have multiple formats like photos, videos, carousels and stories.
TikTok: TikTok’s advertising options focus on native advertising in ad formats including in-feed ads, branded effects and hashtag challenges. The key to advertising on TikTok is to ensure your ad content looks like native organic content. Young users on this platform are much more discerning towards advertising and would only interact with an ad that’s authentic, and genuinely entertaining while promoting a quality product.
Instagram: Instagram insights are detailed and comprehensive and you can access them through their insights feature. You can also use third-party platforms like Later to help simplify your analytics and see clearly which posts work best.
TikTok: One thing to note is that TikTok’s reporting is limited depending on the type of account you have. If you’re on a creator account, you have access to all sounds and music but if you switch to business, you become limited to commercial sounds only, but you have access to more data and insights about your account performance. We tend to consider if we are going to use the account for brand awareness or sales. If it’s brand awareness, we stick to a creator account and sacrifice the audience analytics so we aren’t limited by the trends we can use to maximise our organic reach.
In an ideal world, a balanced and strategic presence across Instagram and TikTok is the ultimate scenario that will create impactful social media marketing. We would recommend using Instagram for nurturing your existing audiences to a sale, and a TikTok content plan that focuses on awareness, finding new audiences and expressing your venue’s personality.
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Do you need a hand creating and executing your Instagram and TikTok content plans? Mostly Socials specialises in helping brands attract the right audiences and create exciting content that is native to the platform and giving you the best chance to reach your goals. If you'd like more information, get in touch.
