The Future of TikTok & A Possible Migration to Instagram
The Rapid Rise of TikTok
TikTok usage and content creation has grown exponentially among both users and brands since it launched in the US in 2017. As of March 23, 41% of social media users were active on TikTok, beating a number of much older platforms including Twitter, Snapchat, and LinkedIn. Even more impressively, the average user spends nearly 10 hours per week on TikTok – almost doubling the next best platform (YouTube). This kind of engagement, especially among younger audiences, has given brands good reason to dedicate significant marketing resources to growing their presence on TikTok.
TikTok in Trouble
Ever since TikTok’s launch in the US, there have been concerns about TikTok’s data privacy and security practices, particularly as the app is owned by a Chinese company, ByteDance. In 2020, former President Donald Trump signed an executive order that would have effectively banned TikTok in the United States, citing national security concerns, but that ban was blocked by multiple court orders.
More recently, the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce committee grilled CEO Shou Zi Chew about technical issues such as data storage, as well as ethical questions about TikTok’s effect on its users, particularly children. There have also been challenges at the state level – Montana became the first state to totally ban the app. If your business has been working to build up a following on TikTok, it may be time to start preparing for a potential shift of creators and its 150 million users to new platforms.
What Comes Next
While the future of TikTok may be uncertain, there’s no way Americans will be ready to stop creating and consuming short-form, shareable content anytime soon. So where might those users migrate in the event that TikTok does get banned or experiences significant disruption? Fortunately, there has already been a huge wave of TikTok copycats from both existing and new social media platforms, and a clear winner has emerged. Although there will be some percentage of users that move to one of the lesser-known independent platforms such as Triller, Byte, or Dubsmash, a vast majority of TikTok creators are expected to shift to Instagram Reels.
Instagram Reels vs TikTok
From a creative capability standpoint, Instagram reels are not quite on the same level as TikTok. Instagram does have several built in editing tools:
- Draw tool
- Speed controller
- Transitions
- Filters
- Stickers
TikTok offers all of that, plus an additional library of trending effects and a much deeper catalog of music available for use.
Instagram does have some advantages though, most of which come into play when you start to pay to advertise on the platform. The biggest difference is the targeting options available – Instagram has much more detailed targeting available:
- Target more precise geos
- More detailed demographic data
- WAY more interest and in-market audiences available to target
Instagram Reels also typically provide a cheaper CPM than TikTok. WordStream recently ran an experiment comparing TikTok Ads and Instagram Reels Ads. They allocated similar budgets, set the same goals, and used identical content. The result? Reels Ads generated over twice as many impressions as the TikTok Ads did, at half the cost per 1,000 people reached.
This is a frustrating and unusual situation for marketers who have allocated significant resources to building up a TikTok account. It will likely be some time before there’s a true resolution, but in the meantime we recommend at least duplicating content across both platforms in preparation for a potential mass migration to Instagram.