Instagram vs. TikTok advertising: An overview

Instagram, launched in 2010 and acquired by Meta Platforms, Inc. (formerly Facebook, Inc.) in 2012, has transformed into a global hub for visual content. With 2 billion active monthly Instagram users worldwide, the social platform offers various features, such as Stories, Reels and Shopping.

TikTok emerged in 2016 and quickly gained traction, especially among younger demographics. TikTok boasts over 900 million active users. Its short-form video content, typically ranging from 15 seconds to three minutes, has revolutionized user engagement and content virality.

Both platforms can provide advertising opportunities for your business, but one option may better suit your target audience, content style, budget and marketing goals.

Pros and cons of Instagram advertising

When considering Instagram for social media advertising, consider comparing its advantages and disadvantages to other ad platforms.

Pros

Pros of advertising your business on Instagram may include:

• High visual appeal and brand aesthetics: Instagram’s emphasis on high-quality visuals lets brands showcase products and services in a compelling way. Filters, stickers and editing tools can enhance the visual storytelling experience.
• Immediate advertising with “Promote”: Businesses can quickly turn existing posts into ads using the “Promote” feature. This may help you capitalize on trending topics, flash sales or time-sensitive promotions.
• Advanced targeting and analytics: Utilizing Meta’s sophisticated ad management system, advertisers gain access to detailed targeting options based on demographics, interests, behaviors, connections and more. The platform provides in-depth analytics for measuring ad performance and refining campaigns.
• Various ad formats: Instagram offers multiple ad formats, including photo, video, carousel, collection, Stories, Explore, Reels and shopping ads.
• High engagement rates: The platform’s algorithm favors content that users interact with, increasing the likelihood of ads reaching interested audiences.
• Integration with ecommerce: Features such as Instagram Shopping and Checkout let businesses tag products in posts and enable in-app purchases, streamlining the customer journey from discovery to conversion.
• Influencer partnerships: Collaborating with influencers can amplify your brand message and help reach new audiences.

Cons

Despite its benefits, Instagram also has limitations, such as:

• Intense competition: With over 200 million business profiles, standing out requires creative and strategic efforts.
• Algorithm changes: Frequent updates to Instagram’s algorithm can impact the visibility of your content.
• Ad fatigue: To combat ad fatigue, brands need to produce highly engaging and relevant content.

Pros and cons of TikTok advertising

TikTok for advertising offers its own set of advantages and challenges.

Pros

TikTok may present several benefits for advertisers:

• User engagement: TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms.
• Viral content potential: The algorithm promotes content based on engagement—not just follower count—potentially increasing the likelihood of your ads being seen by a broader audience.
• Creative ad formats: TikTok offers innovative formats such as:

• In-Feed ads
• TopView ads
• Branded hashtag challenges
• Branded effects
• Spark ads
• Pangle ads (for specific regions)

Cons

Be aware of the potential drawbacks of TikTok advertising, such as:

• Evolving advertising platform: TikTok’s ad tools and features are relatively new and may not compare to more established platforms.
• Content creation demands: Producing engaging TikTok content often requires a unique, creative approach that aligns with platform trends.

How to choose between Instagram and TikTok for advertising

When deciding between posting an ad on Instagram vs. TikTok, consider the following factors:

• Audience demographics
• Content style and brand alignment
• Advertising budget and resources
• Marketing objectives
• Integration with marketing strategy

How to advertise on Instagram

To effectively advertise on Instagram, you might follow these steps.

1. Define your marketing objectives

Before diving into ad creation, identify your goals:

• Increase brand awareness
• Drive website traffic
• Boost app installs
• Generate leads
• Increase sales or conversions
• Promote an event or offer

Clear objectives help guide your campaign and measurement of success.

2. Choose the right ad format

Selecting ad formats that align with your objectives is crucial:

• Photo ads: Showcase products with high-quality images.
• Video ads: Engage users with dynamic content for up to 60 seconds.
• Carousel ads: Display multiple photos or videos in a single ad.
• Collection ads: Combine videos and product images for an immersive shopping experience.
• Stories ads: Utilize full-screen vertical ads that appear between user Stories.
• Explore ads: Reach users browsing the Explore page for new content.
• Reels ads: Share short, entertaining videos similar to TikTok’s format.
• Shopping ads: Tag products directly in your ads for easy purchase.

3. Set up a Business or Creator account

To access Instagram’s advertising features, you need a professional account.

1. Switch account type: In Instagram settings, select “Account” and “Switch to Professional Account.”
2. Choose a category: Pick the category that best describes your business.
3. Complete profile details: Add contact information, business hours and a compelling bio.

You may also want to consider applying for and adding a verified badge to your profile.

4. Link to a Facebook Business Page

Connecting to Facebook expands your advertising options.

• Navigate to settings: Go to “Settings”> “Business”> “Connect a Facebook Page.”
• Select or create a page: Choose an existing Facebook Page or create a new one

5. Create ads using Meta Ads Manager

For advanced targeting and campaign management:

1. Access Ads Manager: Visit business.facebook.com and click “Ads Manager.”
2. Select campaign objective, including:
   1. Awareness: Brand awareness, reach
   2. Consideration: Traffic, engagement, app installs, video views, lead generation, messages, timing of ads
   3. Conversion: Conversions, catalog sales, store traffic
3. Define campaign details:
   1. Campaign name
   2. Budget optimization
   3. A/B testing

6. Set up ad sets

Configure your ad sets to target the right audience.

1. Use detailed targeting to specify:
   1. Location, such as countries, regions, cities or postal codes
   2. Age and gender
   3. Languages
   4. Demographics, such as education, relationship status and job title
   5. Interests based on user activity and liked pages
   6. Behaviors, such as purchase behaviors or device usage
2. Choose where your ads will appear:
   1. Automatic placements
   2. Manual placements
3. Budget and set a schedule:
   1. Budget type
   2. Start and end dates of ads
   3. Bid strategy

7. Create your ads

Design engaging ads to capture your audience’s attention.

1. Select ad format: Upload images or videos based on your chosen format.
2. Add ad copy:
   1. Primary text: Craft engaging captions that resonate with your audience.
   2. Headlines and descriptions: Provide additional context where applicable.
   3. Call-to-action (CTA) button: Options include “Shop Now,” “Learn More” or “Sign Up.”
3. Preview and optimize: Use the preview tool to assess your ad’s appearance on different placements.

8. Submit and monitor your ads

Make sure your ads are compliant and performing well.

1. Review submission: Ensure your ad adheres to Instagram’s advertising policies.
2. Ad approval: Ads typically go through a review process within 24 hours.
3. Monitor performance: Use Ads Manager to track key metrics, such as:
   1. Impressions and reach
   2. Engagement rates
   3. Click-through rates (CTR)
   4. Conversion rates
   5. Return on ad spend (ROAS)
4. Optimize campaigns: Adjust targeting, creatives or bids based on performance data.

How much does it cost to advertise on Instagram?

Several factors may influence Instagram advertising costs, including:

• Ad auction dynamics: Instagram uses a bidding system where you compete with other advertisers for ad placements.
• Target audience: Highly sought-after demographics may have higher costs due to competition.
• Ad relevance and quality: Ads with higher engagement and relevance scores may result in lower costs.

Average cost estimates:

• CPC (Cost per click): This typically ranges from $0.50 to $3.00 but can vary based on the factors mentioned above.
• CPM (Cost per mille): The average cost on Instagram is around $13.46, although it may be higher for competitive markets.

Tips to control costs:

• Determine the maximum amount you can spend.
• Narrow your audience to those most likely to convert.
• Use high-quality visuals and compelling copy to improve engagement.
• Experiment with various ad formats, creatives and targeting options.
• Continuously analyze performance and make data-driven adjustments.

How to advertise on TikTok

To get started with TikTok advertising, consider these steps.

1. Create a TikTok Ads account

Begin by setting up your TikTok Ads Manager account.

1. Visit TikTok Ads Manager: Go to ads.tiktok.com and click “Create an Ad.”
2. Register: Provide your email or phone number and set a password.
3. Verify the account: Complete the verification process sent to your email or phone.
4. Provide business information: Fill in details about your company, industry and currency preferences.

2. Set up your advertising campaign

Define your campaign’s purpose and budget.

1. Select campaign objective:
   1. Awareness: Reach
   2. Consideration: Traffic, app installs, video views, lead generation, community interaction
   3. Conversion: Conversions, catalog sales
2. Choose a descriptive name for easy management.
3. Set your campaign budget:
   1. Unlimited spending
   2. Daily budget with a minimum of $20 at the campaign level
   3. Lifetime budget, or the total amount spent over the campaign’s duration

3. Configure ad groups

Customize who can view your ads and where.

• Placements:

• Automatic placements
• Select placements

• Creative type:

• Automated creative optimization: TikTok will generate variations of your ads to find the best performers.

• Targeting:

• Demographics: Location, age, gender, languages
• Interests and behaviors: Categories, such as fashion, technology, food or travel
• Device options: Operating system, network type and device price
• Custom audiences: Uploaded lists or retargeted website visitors

• Budget and schedule:

• Ad group budget: Minimum daily budget of $20
• Schedule: Specific dates and times for your ads to run

• Bidding and optimization:

• Optimization goal: Conversions, clicks or reach
• Bid strategy: Cost cap, bid cap or lowest cost

4. Create your ad content

Design ads that resonate with TikTok users.

• Ad formats:

• In-Feed ads: Appear in the “For You” feed
• TopView ads: Full-screen videos that appear when opening the app
• Branded hashtag challenge: Encourages user participation and content creation
• Branded effects: Custom augmented reality (AR) effects, filters and stickers

• Creative tools:

• TikTok Video Editor: An online tool with templates, music and effects
• Smart Video Soundtrack: Automatically adds music to your video
• Smart Video: Combines multiple clips into one video

• Ad specifications:

• Video length: Up to 60 seconds
• Resolution: Minimum of 540 x 960 pixels
• File size: Up to 500 MB
• File formats: .mp4, .mov, .mpeg, .3gp, .avi

• Captions and CTA:

• Captions: Up to 100 characters, including emojis
• Call-to-action buttons: Options such as “Learn More,” “Shop Now,” or “Sign Up”

5. Launch and monitor your ads

Finalize your ads and track their performance.

• Submit for review: TikTok reviews ads to ensure compliance with policies, typically within 24 hours.
• Measure success: Track performance metrics to monitor campaign success.
• Adjust targeting: Refine audience parameters based on performance.
• Test creatives: Experiment with different videos, music and effects.
• Modify bidding strategies: Adjust bids to achieve desired outcomes.

How much does it cost to advertise on TikTok?

TikTok’s advertising costs are generally influenced by several factors, including:

• Ad format and placement: Premium formats, such as TopView ads and branded hashtag challenges, are typically more expensive.
• Targeting specifics: Narrower audiences may lead to higher costs due to increased competition.
• Bidding strategy and optimization goals: Choosing conversions as an optimization goal may result in higher costs but potentially better return on investment (ROI).

Average cost estimates:

• Minimum daily budgets:

• Campaign level: $20
• Ad group level: $5

• CPM: Can vary widely
• CPC: Depends on targeting and competition
• Cost Per Action (CPA): Fluctuates based on the desired action and industry benchmarks

Cost management strategies:

• Set clear budgets: Use daily or lifetime budgets to control spending.
• Optimize targeting: Focus on audiences most likely to engage or convert.
• Leverage in-feed ads: These may be more cost-effective than premium ad formats.
• Monitor performance: Regularly review campaign metrics and adjust as needed.

Tips for successful advertising on TikTok

You may maximize your TikTok advertising efforts with these strategies:

• Embrace TikTok’s authentic and playful nature. Ads should feel genuine and not too promotional.
• Participate in popular challenges or use trending hashtags to increase visibility.
• Partnering with TikTok influencers can enhance credibility and reach.
• Incorporate popular tracks or sounds to resonate with the audience.
• Continuously experiment with different creatives and strategies to find what works best.

Integrating Instagram and TikTok into your marketing strategy

Successfully advertising on TikTok and Instagram requires a deep understanding of each platform’s strengths, weaknesses, audience and content styles.

Embrace creativity and authenticity to connect with users who align with your brand. Continuously monitor performance, adapt to trends and refine your strategies based on data-driven insights. Leveraging Instagram’s visual storytelling and tapping into TikTok’s viral potential might help elevate your brand.