Instagram Reels vs TikTok: what’s best?

In 2020, Instagram launched Reels, a format of short videos that are often mistaken with TikTok’s format of videos. Similar on several points, those two formats actually have their distinct functionalities. 

Your marketing team struggles to move on from your 1000 followers? You wish to find ways to engage your audience more effectively? Well, to perfect your social media strategy, it should be interesting that you differentiate both formats to choose the one format that better sticks to your expectations. 

It is no secret that there is a fierce competition between the American giant Instagram and the mighty Chinese social media TikTok rages. This article should help you understand the main differences between TikTok and Instagram Reels and decide which one is better for your social media strategy.

Instagram Reels: a powerful tool
to increase conversions

What are Instagram Reels?

Reels are included on Instagram. It is a feature just like posts and stories. Reels are short videos launched in 2020 to compete with TikTok. Easy to create, this engaging video format helps you draw users to your account and have them follow your page. 
If you want to know more about Instagram Reels, we advise you to read our article Why are Instagram Reels powerful business opportunities? 

What are the benefits of Instagram Reels?

Instagram Reels are easy to create and highly effective. Directly linked to your profile, Reels can help you create an effective lead generation strategy that will boost your conversions. 

If your Reels go viral, chances are your number of followers will skyrocket. This format of short and entertaining video is used to either: 

• Increase your visibility and drive people to your profile 
• Educate and divert your audience. 

While TikTok can help new users to know your business, Instagram Reels go a step further and directly guide them to your posts and other content. All they need to do is click on your profile to access all your page content. It is often said that, for now, Instagram provides a more business-friendly interface than Tik Tok, as your content is less likely to blend into insignificant content. 

TikTok: the future of digital
storytelling on mobile devices

“Make every second count”.
This is Tik Tok’s marketing slogan that we can’t get enough of. In the digital era we live in, people used to scroll social media without paying attention to the content displayed on the device. Still, TikTok gives creators the opportunity to make short and entertaining videos that we mind watching. 

What is TikTok?

The fastest growing social media is on the rise since the first lockdown. For instance, according to the Harris Poll, between March and May 2019, 46% to 51% of US adults were using social media more since the beginning of the outbreak.
TikTok was purchased in 2018 by a Chinese company. It is now surfing on the wave of short-video content. On this platform, celebrities videos meet your business videos. This social media’s content is highly fed by certified accounts (accounts of those who received a “verification badge” to certify the authenticity of a high profile account). 

Why using this platform for your marketing campaigns?

It is easier to go viral on TikTok than it is with Instagram Reels. This platform allows brands to create organic traffic without much effort… all you have to do is to be creative and efficient. 

But be careful: if it is easier to drive traffic to your page with TikTok, users have to leave the app to access more detailed content, whereas on Instagram this content can be directly displayed on the account’s page.

Want to know more about TikTok’s impact on your digital business? Take a look at our infographics.

TikTok vs Reels: match point

Our intention is not to tell you that a format is better than the other. Both formats have their own benefits and their own drawbacks. But at the time of choosing the platform you prefer to make the most of your digital marketing campaigns, there are several factors you should take into account.  

Which factors should you care about?

If TikTok and Instagram Reels are similar on many points, they differ in:

• The editing. Think about music. The audio is such an essential element while scrolling tens of thousands of videos a day. The problem is that on Reels, you may face some troubles accessing audio files and get locked out with the Instagram music library. This is a fault that Instagram is trying to modify. 
  
  
• The audience. According to Dataportal, in 2020, there were 800 million active users worldwide on TikTok, among which 41% were aged between 16 and 24 years old. The social media Instagram had more users. According to Instagram Ads Audience, in 2021, there were 1.3 billion monthly active users on the platform, among which the most represented profile of users was people between 25 and 34 years old. Depending on your intentions, you may be interested in targeting an audience or the other. 
  
  
• The algorithm. On TikTok, your audience “for you page” is filled with recommended content based on their interest. The interest of your audience is defined by TikTok, thanks to user interactions, account settings and hashtags or captions he likes. On Instagram, the Reel page takes other factors into account, such as the accounts you follow or posts you like. The Reel Page looks more like a melting pot than a suggestion page. 

Is TikTok or Instagram Reels
best suited for your social
media strategy?

Depending on your strategy, you may be interested in posting short videos on TikTok or Instagram Reels. To determine which one will impact your business more, make sure you know which audience you want to target, the message you wish to display and your campaign objectives. 

Keep Tiktok to raise your brand visibility and Instagram Reels to add depth to your brand’s presentation. But if you can, use both platforms to multiply your business opportunities with impactful campaigns. It is easy to build bridges between your Reels and Tiktoks’s content creation! 

Still wondering which one to choose? Let's have a talk! Our dedicated experts will be happy to discuss this issue.