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Meta vs TikTok Advertising
TikTok News
Dec 5, 2024
Let's delve into the key differences between Meta & TikTok advertising...
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Let's delve into the key differences between Meta & TikTok advertising...
If you’re an ecommerce business thinking about diversifying your paid advertising strategy, you may well have considered whether TikTok advertising is worth integrating into the mix.
If you’ve found yourself stuck at a crossroads recently of whether to kickstart a TikTok ads strategy or not, keep scrolling, because we’re about to fill you in on some key differences between TikTok and its older sibling - AKA Meta.
First cab off the rank is advertising formats. While Meta offers a range of ad formats including Statics, Video, Carousel and Collections, TikTok’s advertising suite opts for a ‘streamlined’ approach, with 1 format predominantly centred around immersive videos. Most of the time, these video ads are placed seamlessly within the user’s FYP in between organic posts (In-Feed) or at the top of their feed when first opening the app (Top View).
Like everything in life, an important factor to consider when determining whether TikTok is right for you is the pricepoint. With a minimum daily spend of $50 required at the campaign level, and $20 at the ad set level, it doesn’t come cheap. That being said, some brands swear by the investment, pointing towards key metrics such as reach and engagement to prove their point.
Take CPMs for instance. Recent data suggests that on average, it costs advertisers $10 to reach 1,000 people on TikTok, vs Meta where the average sits around $18. Keep in mind this figure is based on the accumulation of all industries and that CPMs will widely vary depending on the competitiveness of your respective industry,. However, on a broadscale, reaching people on TikTok is the cheaper of the 2. Then there’s the matter of engagement, with one report suggesting that TikTok’s engagement rate sits 2.65% higher than other social platforms. So, although TikTok advertising costs may seem higher on face value, the potential of key metrics can make the investment worthwhile.
You could invest countless dollars into an advertising platform but if your target consumer isn’t hanging out there it’s a complete waste. If we were to imagine a TikTok’s primary user-base I’d hazard a guess most people would think ‘young gen Z/Alpha’. Whereas for Meta you’d probably conjure up an image of your baby boomer mum. So, before determining whether TikTok advertising is a safe bet, it’s crucial to understand who your target market is. With 68% of the TikTok user base consisting of people aged 18-34, if your clientele is Gen Z or verging on Millennials, consider TikTok the perfect platform to advertise.
Last but certainly not least, we need to address the stark difference in advertising content across the 2 platforms. For starters, TikTok is an entertainment rather than a social media platform. This means when it comes to advertising, there’s no getting away with half asked, Lo-Fi ads. Instead, TikTok users need to resonate with your ads and feel as though they aren't disrupting the overall experience. And trust me, authenticity isn’t something you can fake. GenZ are some of the most tech savvy people on the planet, meaning they can see right through promotional efforts.
Alongside this, the churn rate of TikTok advertising is much quicker, meaning you can’t rely on a month’s worth of ads like you might Meta. With trends fatiguing within a matter of days, the demand for new content every week is a must.
So there you have it. With a simplified approach to ad formats, lower CPMs and higher engagement rates, TikTok advertising could well be worth the investment if your product or service caters towards the Gen Z/millennial demographic. However, know that you’ll likely only get out what you put in. Commit to authentic, trend-responsive content and it’ll prove to be a game changer. But give it the bare minimum, and you could be throwing money in the fire pit.
