Instagram Reels vs. TikTok Videos | A Business Owner's Guide to Content Creation
What's the difference between TikTok and Instagram reels? This is such an important thing to know if you are a business owner and a content creator. And it's actually one of the most commonly asked questions that I get. My name is Megan and I teach business owners to go from confused to confident on social media. I help you get more clients, build a more loyal community, and a more profitable business.
So the first point we're going to go over is the difference between audience demographics on TikTok and Instagram. Instagram generally has a wider range of age ranges on the platform whereas TikTok skews a bit younger. So you want to keep this in mind when you're going to create content. Are your potential clients or customers going to be varied in age or are they going to be a bit younger. As a business owner, finding your target audience is step number one, which is why I have a free worksheet where you can check out what your ideal client is just by answering a few questions. These questions are really going to get you to dive deeper into who your ideal audience is. So you want to put yourself in their shoes and think about what mindset they're in when they're opening either TikTok or Instagram. Let's say they're opening Instagram just to be entertained, maybe your educational content won't do as well on there and you need to post on Instagram. However, if they're not in a buying mindset when they're going on to Instagram either, then TikTok might be your best option. You have to think about who your ideal client is which will be different for every business so find out what works for you. So make sure you grab that today. I also really recommend that you try posting on both Instagram and TikTok to test it out. What works for one business won't work for the next so make sure you're trying everything to find out what is going to work specifically for you and your business.
Now let's talk about the difference in content style and effort. On TikTok I'm sure if you've noticed when you go on there, it's really raw, unedited videos and a laidback composure. Where on Instagram you will see more curated content that's been edited with a lot of thought process that's gone into making these videos. And again this is going to depend on who your ideal client is. If they like the more polished edited look they are going to be attracted to Instagram more. But if they appreciate the authenticity that TikTok provides, maybe they'll be more attracted to TikTok videos. Choosing which platform to use or how to use each platform will also depend on your own brand personality. Are you more laid-back? Or do you lean towards more a sleek and refined personality? And if you are posting to both, then having this information is crucial to knowing which types of content you're going to post to which platform. You can repurpose content to go from Instagram to TikTok and vice versa, however, I would make sure that your editing style is a bit different. I've personally tested videos that I made for Instagram and posted the same exact ones to Tik Tok and it's very interesting to see how different they perform on each platform based on how they're edited. So if it's something that comes across as really impromptu and of the moment it does better on TikTok. But if I edited it and it's quick and punchy I see that it usually does better on Instagram. So it is possible to use both for example if you are going to make a video, maybe cut it up and make it very raw unedited to TikTok and then Instagram you can add in different effects and make it look a bit fancier and post it to Instagram. But you're using the same piece of content that way which saves you a lot of time.
Moving on to reachability and shop features. This is really where Instagram and TikTok differ in where they're directing your audience to. Let's start with TikTok. Their newest feature called TikTok shop is getting so many of their videos pushed because it is a brand new feature and they want to make sure it does well. What this is, is you can basically make your own video and directly link to a third party product (it could be on Amazon) and basically you would make a commission from anyone who buys this product through your own TikTok link you used in your video. So this is really cool for content creators because they can be making little commissions here and there just from posting videos. I think business owners can also take advantage of this because they can link to the products they're using every day and they can recommend products to clients or products to other people who are in their industry and make commission off of that as well. Most people go on TikTok to direct their audience to an external link which could be an Amazon storefront or their own website or they're leading their audience to their own Instagram page. Where I think TikTok really needs to improve is their direct message capabilities. You can only message someone if they are friends with you which means that you follow them and they follow you back so that's why a lot of people lead them off TikTok and onto Instagram where the direct messaging capabilities are much better. And this is what you're going to notice when you're posting on Instagram. Generally you're going to be moving your audience toward your direct messages or an external link like your website. This is going to be especially important for business owners who are service-based because generally they need to have a conversation with the client before they're ready to invest in your services. However, if you are selling products, especially ones that are of a cheaper value, it may be more beneficial to be posting on TikTok because all you have to do is post a link and people can click and buy right away, no conversation necessary.
So there you have it! Whether it's understanding your audience's demographics, deciding on your content schedule, or strategically directing your audience to where you want them to go, these little nuances can make a huge impact on your strategy and your content style. Don't forget about that FREE ‘Know Your Ideal Client’ Worksheet. Thank you so much for reading, and keep creating awesome content!
