TikTok vs. Instagram: How to Choose the Best Platform in 2024

If you’ve been hesitant to plunge head-first into social media platforms like TikTok or Instagram, there’s no better time than now. The water is warm—and it’s only getting hotter. 

Users are turning to apps like TikTok and Instagram instead of once-popular search engines like Google. Now is the time to establish a social media presence on one or both of these platforms and begin targeting the diverse audiences each one holds.

What is Instagram?

Instagram is a social media platform that originally gained popularity for its photo-sharing capabilities in 2010. Since then, the app has evolved to offer different content formats such as Reels, Stories, Lives, IGTV, carousel posts, and video posts.

Instagram is owned by Meta, the same company that owns Facebook. Instagram is the third most popular social media platform—falling short only to Facebook and YouTube. It has around 1.3 billion active users each month.

Here are the different types of posts Instagram users can format their content as:

• Single photo posts. At Instagram’s inception, this was the only format option. Users can post a single photo that displays on their grid and is added to the Instagram algorithm.

• Carousel photo posts. Users can upload up to 10 photos in a single post. This is displayed in the popular carousel format where viewers can swipe to see more pictures.

• Reels. Instagram added a tab to users’ profiles dedicated to reels in 2020. This content is meant to compete with TikTok and functions similarly where your video can pop up when users are viewing other reels. 

• Stories. Unlike Reels, stories are only available for 24 hours, and they can be photos or videos. Many users attach links to Instagram stories, or use interactive elements such as polls or questions.

• Lives. Instagram introduced live video sharing, where users can stream live content that alerts their audience who can then like and comment. Once the live-stream has ended, users can choose to save the video as a reel on their profile.

• Guides. Guides also have a special tab on users’ profiles, where creators can curate a selection of content and add relevant commentary or images. Guides can be in the format of “Places,” “Products,” or “Posts.”

• Shopping. Redirect users to your product’s page by tagging relevant items through the Instagram Shopping feature. Description, image, price, and link are all visible for a seamless shopping experience. 

What is TikTok?

Before being rebranded as TikTok, the social media app was named Musical.ly. It rose to popularity due to its short-form video content and a specialized algorithm and ‘For You Page.’

The usage of TikTok skyrocketed in 2020. In the first quarter alone, the app was downloaded 315 million times across Apple and Android devices. Currently, the app had 1.7 billion monthly active users in 2023.

TikTok and Instagram share many of the same features, though TikTok is exclusively a platform for short-form videos—even if those videos can contain pictures. TikTok makes it easy to do everything in the app, from recording to video editing to publishing.

Here are the different types of posts TikTok users can format their content as:

• Short-form videos. The most common format, videos can be up to 10 minutes long, a recent update that more than tripled the previous cap of 3 minutes. Users can create original content as well as stitch, duet, or react to other videos.

• Stories. TikTok stories can only be 15 seconds long, and similar to Instagram, they disappear after 24 hours. Like a normal post, followers can still like and comment on stories.

• Lives. Go live on TikTok similar to how you would on any other live-streaming platform, and receive virtual gifts that can be exchanged for currency. Lives will pop up in users’ ‘For You Page’ just as any other video will.

Key differences between TikTok and Instagram

TikTok and Instagram have many similarities, but there are plenty of differences—from user base to content types to algorithms. It’s possible to make money on both and raise your brand’s awareness when a strategy is executed properly.

Audience

The most crucial difference between TikTok and Instagram is their demographics. Both Instagram and TikTok attract a younger crowd, though Instagram has a larger presence of Gen Z, compared to TikTok who mainly attracts Gen X. It’s crucial to identify your target audience and use that information to plan your marketing strategy. 

Age group isn’t the only important factor—gender and availability differ too. 54% of TikTok’s global audience is female and 46% is male, according to Datareportal. It’s a more even split on Instagram with 48% female users and 52% male users. 

Instagram is available in 170 countries, while TikTok is only available in 150. India has the largest presence on Instagram, according to Statista, with 229 million users. The US follows with 143 million. On TikTok, the US has the most users at 113 million, followed by Indonesia where110 million people use TikTok.

Make yourself present where your target audience is already spending their time. If your target audience is the younger generation, invest in TikTok. If your audience leans slightly older age group, or your brand is more mature, choose Instagram.

Type of content

Users visit Instagram and TikTok for different reasons. Even though Instagram added Reels to compete with TikTok, it doesn’t mean that Instagram’s existing audience will suddenly favor reels over TikTok.

And if you thought you could hack the system by uploading the same content to both Instagram and TikTok, think again. Social media users expect completely different types of content from each platform. While an Instagram marketing strategy will involve content that’s edited and high-quality, TikTok users expect to see authentic and unfiltered videos. Trending sounds and duets or stitches are also key to a successful TikTok video.

As mentioned earlier, there are different formats you can create content in for these two platforms. TikTok is only concerned with video content creation and sharing, while Instagram is more comprehensive in its features. Also, Instagram supports relatively long-form videos. However, Instagram doesn’t have as many effects and editing tools, which means users need to use another app for this process, while TikTok does everything.

Qualities of a good company Instagram page:

• Product posts that are eye-catching, well-edited, and conjure an emotion

• A mix of company and user-generated content

• Universal aesthetic or branding on all posts

• Life-style related content

Glossier’s Instagram page is well-curated and evokes the same feeling across every post. They frequently share user-generated content, which encourages community engagement.

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Qualities of a good TikTok page:

• Humorous, relatable content

• Behind-the-scenes footage

• Educational content

• Trends, duets, stitches

Ryanair, a European airline that offers cheap flights, demonstrates how to lean into TikTok’s quirky and humorous side as a business. Their page is full of videos that capitalize on the latest trends/news as well as relatable content—just look at their short bio.

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Algorithm and feeds

While TikTok and Instagram both feature an area where you can discover content from accounts you don’t follow, TikTok’s is much more robust and engaging. The ‘For You Page’ on TikTok is the equivalent of Instagram’s ‘Explore’ tab. 

Sometimes it feels like TikTok’s algorithm can read your mind, only serving you content that you’re truly interested in—or didn’t know you were until TikTok made you realize you were. The For You page is a filled vertical screen that encourages endless scrollingas it’s tailored to their interests. Instagram’s Explore page is much less interactive and it doesn’t display captions or account names.

The popularity of the ‘For You’ page is both a blessing and a curse. TikTok is all about trends, which brands can use to their advantage in an attempt to go viral. But, just because your viral video pops up on the ‘For You’ page doesn’t mean you’re going to gain a lot of followers. Many users don’t check the ‘Following’ tab as often, while on Instagram the main feed is mainly content from accounts you follow. 

The comparison below shows the different interfaces users are met with when they land on TikTok’s ‘For You’ page or Instagram’s ‘Explore’ page.

How to choose the best platform for your brand

Deciding which platform to invest in is no easy task, which is why you need to carefully consider the goals behind your social media marketing strategy. When you’ve got that nailed down, you can decide which platform will best help you achieve those goals. 

Evaluate and compare the prospects of investing in TikTok and Instagram and make an informed decision on which platform to invest in. 

It’s hard to do it all, so commit yourself to one platform before you try to juggle both. While Instagram promises more consistency and stability in terms of followers and engagement rates, TikTok offers the chance for overnight success, especially to small businesses. 

Plan, implement, and analyze an efficient social media strategy, whether on TikTok or Instagram.

Now that you’ve made the choice to commit, develop a digital marketing plan — don’t just aimlessly post. Form your strategy around the features and key components of the platform. Assuming you’ve already done the basics like defining your ideal audience, researching competitors, and setting goals, it’s time to implement your strategy.

For TikTok, this means:

• Closely monitoring viral videos, trending sounds, and hashtag challenges

• Putting brand members behind the camera and giving videos a personal feel

• Posting regularly and monitoring your progress/analytics

• Engaging with your community and other creators

For Instagram, this means:

• Ensuring every post contributes to a cohesive brand feed

• Writing engaging captions that speak to your target customers

• Posting regularly and monitoring your progress/analytics

• Diversifying your content with carousel posts, reels, and stories

Understand the skills and experience required for the process and work with freelancers

If your brand successfully scales to a point that’s unmanageable, it’s time to hire some helping hands. Experienced freelancers can assist in all aspects of social media—whether that’s setting a strategy, designing social media visuals, running Instagram or TikTok ads, or even helping with market research.

Not everyone is fluent in the language of social media. If your brand is older, but you want to maintain a presence on TikTok, consider hiring a freelancer. Staying on top of trends is basically a full-time job on its own. 

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If you’re struggling to find the time to edit high-quality Instagram photos or come up with engaging captions, a freelancer can help out there, too.

Examples of successful brands on TikTok and Instagram

No matter which platform you decide on, you’re able to attain success if you work consistently at it, whether you’re selling clothes, books, or plants. The following brands are examples of how you can succeed on both TikTok and Instagram. 

Noite Rose uses Reels on Instagram

Diandra Harvin, Founder and Owner of Noite Rose invests in Instagram as her platform of choice to connect with her ideal audience. One of her recent Instagram reels amassed 18.2k views, which converted into sales.

“Using the text on the screen for Reels is most beneficial because people don't read captions. I told the story of being featured in a retailer that was my first job and there were views, shares, comments and reposts that helped spread the message,” Rose says. “Customers found and shopped with me in the retailer and told me that they saw my reel which inspired them.”

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She prefers Instagram for certain features, such as being able to DM almost anyone for collaboration opportunities. TikTok doesn’t have this option, users instead have to communicate via another channel. 

“TikTok users are less likely to comment and engage on my business page than Instagram. Additionally, it's more difficult to convert users to followers on TikTok,” says Harvin. “TikTok can be hit and often miss with views and engagement. You may have killer content, but it feels like the powers that be don't select your video to go viral.”

Croptuck uses influencer marketing on TikTok

Croptuck gifted TikTok influencer @helloashleesawn a free product, which the influencer then showcased on her page. It wasn’t a paid collaboration—she just enjoyed the product—and her recommendation gained Croptuck a huge spike in web traffic and sales.

“I gifted Croptucks to dozens of micro-influencers who had high engagement. Many of them loved Croptuck so much that they posted about Croptuck and showed different ways to use my product,” says Bethany Ratliff, Founder and CEO of Croptuck. “Multiple of these reviews have gone viral on TikTok and I was able to repurpose the videos on Croptuck's social media as well. A few of the micro-influencers even credited Croptuck to them amassing more followers and hitting their next growth goals.” 

The most recent TikTok video accumulated 210k views and earned Croptuck over $2k in sales in the two days following the posting of the video. The top comment on the post refers to the Croptuck product Ashlee is seen using: “Wait…the purple thing to hold up your shirt…what is it?!”

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Establishing partnerships with influencers is one proven way to achieve success on both TikTok and Instagram, especially for ecommerce businesses.

Head to the Fiverr marketplace to partner with Instagram influencers or TikTok influencers who can do lip-syncing and voice-overs, conduct research on the best influencers to partner with, or act as the influencers themselves and promote your products.

Partly Sunny Projects founder is the face of her brand on TikTok

Partly Sunny Projects has amassed nearly 450k followers on TikTok. Owner Sonja Detrinidad—who is a one-woman-show—regularly posts videos about plant care tips, new plants in her shop, and other behind-the-scenes footage. She starts nearly every video with “Hey plant peeps,” which has fostered a sense of community that she’s built a loyal following out of.

Detrinidad found that TikTok works best for her brand because she enjoys being personable and verbally engaging her audience.

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“TikTok just has loyal fans. It’s easy to pop on, show your products, and see your website come alive with sales,” says Detrinidad. “I did this video a few weeks back, just in the greenhouse highlighting a plant. I sold out in 20 minutes of the posting, bought more to sell, and sold all of those. I have a waiting list for another 70.”

Hire a social media strategist with Fiverr

Looking to expand your brand’s social media presence, but struggling to keep an active profile and stay up-to-date on the latest trends? It may be time to reach out to a freelancer, who can take busy work off your plate so that you have time for essential business operations.

“Is learning the ins and outs of social media the best use of your time?” says Detrinidad. “If I had a toothache, I wouldn’t go to dental school to figure it out, I’d go to a dentist. Think of a social media manager in the same way.”

You can partner with social media experts in the Fiverr marketplace whospecialize in influencer marketing campaigns, social media strategy, and even community management.

Join Fiverr today to build your social media dream team.