The best way to go about advertising internationally is to apply what you learned from using imagery and copy in one country to what you do for other countries while retaining the core of the unique selling point that drove conversions.
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# Advertising On Social Media: TikTok Versus Instagram

Forbes Agency Council
COUNCIL POST
Expertise from Forbes Councils members, operated under license. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
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Dec 23, 2022,07:15am EST

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Geoff Crain is Senior Director, Sales & Marketing at Kingstar Media .

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Social media continues to be the main platform on which many brands and companies advertise. However, with the rise of TikTok, there has been a major shakeup in advertising performance across the board. We’re seeing more advertisers on Instagram changing their strategies to mimic TikTok’s style, while others are maintaining the template they’ve curated over the last few years. Some may be wondering what the right method is—and even considering abandoning Instagram altogether. Despite the “TikTokification” of Instagram, key differences between the platforms remain.

TikTok is very popular and focuses on viral content, and Instagram has had to adapt to that. Even big advertisers are working on producing creative that fits into the TikTok mold for both platforms. This is likely due to TikTok becoming the more popular platform with a younger generation (just as Instagram once was) while Instagram’s audience broadens in age.

In order for Instagram to keep up with TikTok, it is now putting a bigger emphasis on Reels.While Instagram’s algorithm itself doesn’t seem to have changed much since TikTok launched, it’s evident that it does favor videos over images. This is likely due to the huge shift in the content that’s being shared on TikTok that has migrated over to Instagram.

Nowadays, a lot of videos posted to Instagram feeds are videos that influencers repost from their TikTok accounts—especially ones that went viral.These usually follow a format of being about seven seconds long, having a strong call to action and being properly formatted for mobile.

The biggest difference in advertising between Instagram and TikTok is the ad copy. Instagram allows for catchy headlines, cheeky text and otherwise wordy copy. On TikTok, most people probably aren’t going to read the ad text, so any essential information must fit into aseven- to 15-second video.

Instagram’s audience still reacts fairly well to sponsored and branded content. Images and videos with a high production level can still generate conversions. However, on TikTok, the audience tends to prefer organic or user-generated content and usually doesn’t react well to traditional social media ads. The most crucial difference to keep in mind, though, is that between the two, Instagram is the one where brands have the best chance of succeeding with image ads.TikTok ads typically need to be mobile-optimized videos; otherwise, they likely won’t reach their full potential.

Both platforms are effective to run ads on, but it depends on the needs of the brand. TikTok has a younger demographic, while Instagram’s is a bit broader. Considering the exponential growth of TikTok, it may even surpass Instagram’s audience size and become the dominant platform within the next few years.

A good rule of thumb is to pick the platform you use according to the product or service you’re advertising, and the audience that will likely respond to it the best. Always set your key performance indicators accordingly and test creative to see what drives conversions. After gathering enough data, it’ll be clear how to move forward effectively.

Despite being so new to advertising, TikTok has made major strides to make the process seamless for advertisers. Similar to Facebook and Instagram, TikTok has a pixel that brands can install on their websites, which makes it easier to optimize and provides a similar feel to Meta Business Manager.

Many advertisers find TikTok to be an effective platform. It has a wide range of its own editing tools—filters, music and transitions—to make a video appear as seamless to the user’s experience as possible. Instagram videos are typically edited off-platform in third-party programs like Adobe Photoshop and Premiere.

Many brands will use these platforms to reach their audiences internationally, but there are important factors to consider. Differences in language and culture are just a couple. It’s also important to understand the copyright and legal aspects of advertising internationally. Some music may not be allowed for use in different countries due to copyright laws. Similarly, some talent won’t allow you to advertise in specific countries using their likeness. To avoid any issues, always make sure you fully understand audio use and talent rights.

The best way to go about advertising internationally is to apply what you learned from using imagery and copy in one country to what you do for other countries while retaining the core of the unique selling point that drove conversions.

At the end of the day, the future of advertising on social media will continue to transform the way we interact with it. Within the next few years, we’ll likely see a shift to more organic short-form videos due to shrinking attention spans. People are scrolling quickly, and advertisers need to capture attention within the first few seconds.

However, one thing will probably remain: the need people feel to share their lives and interests with their communities. If social media were to become a platform consisting entirely of ads, there would be no reason for users to continue to spend time on it and share content.

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