TikTok Ads vs Facebook Ads: Which is the best for your business?
In this article, we'll look at the main ways that TikTok Ads vs. Facebook Ads are different when it comes to running ad campaigns on each platform.
Facebook is undoubtfully the most popular and much penetrated social media platform around the world. With 2.895 billion monthly active users in July 2021 and 42 million new users in the last three months, it’s not hard to see why Facebook is such a huge platform.
TikTok, the new entrant in the space with about 1 billion active monthly users in the first quarter of 2022, and that may reach 1.8 billion till the end of 2022. TikTok is the only platform that can topple Facebook. Brands and advertisers have been keeping an eye on TikTok because it is a new social media platform that is on the rise.
In this article, we’ll look at the most important ways that TikTok and Facebook are different when it comes to running ads on each platform.
Why Advertise on TikTok?
If you’re wondering whether your target market uses TikTok, they probably do. Since 64% of TikTok users are older than 20, Gen Z is no longer the only demographic. Additionally, users are active on the platform a lot. They use the app eight times per day on average, and they stay on it for 52 minutes each day.
The For You page, which is unique to each user, is what draws visitors. The TikTok algorithm quickly picks up on the types of content users enjoy and keeps presenting it to them.
For instance, you might see a healthy amount of DIY and business content in your feed, as well as popular videos that aren’t always created by young children or dancing teenagers. Adults could be laughing as they discuss parenting and family dynamics. At its core, TikTok is a platform that is based on communities.
TikTok is appealing to marketers because it wants as many users to see your content as possible. They’ll find your audience for you if you stay on the app, which is why they want you to.
The fact that TikTok ads are much more affordable and yield results much quicker than those on other platforms is one of their advantages. On one occasion, Caleb spent $0.11 per click and $1.50 per CPM to reach 4.4 million users on TikTok.
Your costs may be very low if you invest in an organic TikTok video that has attained some level of virality. If you don’t have the right kind of content, your cost per click and cost per thousand views (CPM) could go up if you’re just starting out on the platform and want a lot of views on a video.
TikTok advertisements are immersive, full-screen, and the audio is not muted. For your advertisements, you can select from a variety of pre-programmed CTA buttons, including Download, Shop Now, Contact Us, Subscribe, Order Now, and Learn More.
The best TikTok ads blend in more with organic posts so that viewers are less likely to notice that they are advertisements. This gives you a brief window of opportunity to capture your audience’s interest before they swipe.
If you run a business in the U.S., you can open an ad account right away since TikTok self-service ads are only readily available there. To run advertisements in other parts of the world, you must either go through an agency or go through an interview process.
Let’s now take a closer look at how Facebook ads compare to TikTok ads, the targeting options on TikTok, and the different types of ad creative.
1: How TikTok Ads Differ From Facebook Ads
You have a regular account and an ads account with the TikTok self-service ad platform, unlike Facebook, where your page acts as your representative when you advertise. There is no link between the two accounts. The views you receive won’t be saved, and while users will be able to interact with and engage with your TikTok ads, they won’t be able to follow your ad account.
Furthermore, Facebook’s pixel tracking is more accurate than that of TikTok. The issue is that audiences don’t update, so you must make a new audience each time you receive new data. TikTok advises targeting for in-app events rather than pixel data because of this.
TikTok allows you to target both interests and categories, but their selection pales in comparison to Facebook’s. For instance, unlike Facebook, the platform does not allow you to target the audiences of other creators.
You can retarget viewers of one video with another using TikTok. There are targeting options for those who finished watching the video and left comments.
Similar to Facebook, viewers will be able to comment on your TikTok advertisements, but unless you partner with an agency, you won’t be able to reply to those comments. Some advertisers will simply disable comments because they are unable to defend themselves in the event of a poor advertisement. Caleb advises that you leave them on because, if you just turn them off, TikTok users won’t respect your brand or who you are. They seek openness.
Ad Types and Formats
Another thing to think about is what kind of ad you want to run and how it will look.
On Facebook, advertisers can run both still image ads and video ads with different aspect ratios (1:1, 4:5, etc.). This gives you more ways to make your ads look the way you want them to. Facebook also lets you run ads in Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, which is something you can’t do on TikTok right now. Messenger ads can be used to directly reach people who might be interested in buying your brand’s products.
You can run lead generation ads on both Facebook and TikTok, which can help you reach people who might be interested in your product or service. Lead generation ads have custom questionnaires that help your brand learn more about its audience, who may become customers and help you reach your business goals.
TikTok does not allow ads with still images; only 16:9 video ads are allowed. Even though this could be seen as a downside, TikTok is a video-only app where people go to watch vertical videos. In the end, it’s up to your brand to decide what works best for the marketing strategy of your brand.
TikTok’s branded hashtag challenge is a unique way to advertise. It lets brands connect with their audiences through a sponsored hashtag challenge that encourages user-generated content (UGC).
With millions of videos on TikTok, hashtags are a big part of how users find videos and build communities of people who like the same things.
Here is an example of one TikTok Advertiser uses the branded hashtag challenge:
@zaloramy How many outfit changes can you do for Zstylenow challenge? Can you top Jaylyn? #sponsored
TikTok is also getting ready to launch a new ad format that is focused on eCommerce. This will help the company make more money and add to its variety of in-stream shopping tools. With this feature, brands would be able to combine their product catalogue listings and branded videos, which would make it so much easier to shop for products. Douyin, the app that TikTok is based on, has already started, and its in-app sales are doing better than its in-app ads.
Ad placements
Most people are familiar with the TikTok ads that show up when you scroll through your “For You” page. However, TikTok also has news feed apps like BuzzVideo, TopBuzz, News Republic, and Babe, each of which has its own audience from different countries around the world.
Here are the different places where ads can be shown in TikTok’s news feed apps:
- BuzzVideo: in-feed, details page, post video
- TopBuzz: in-feed, details page, post video
- In-feed: News Republic
- Babe: in-feed, details page
TikTok also lets you run ads on Plangle, which helps you reach a wider audience through a variety of high-quality apps. This means that your video ads can reach more people. When you set up your campaign, you could choose to automatically place it on Pangle and other apps, or you could choose a placement that only goes on Pangle (only available in certain countries).
You can run ads on Facebook and Instagram (Feed, Stories, Messenger, etc.) as well as on Facebook’s audience network, which is made up of websites and apps that work with Facebook.
2: Audience Targeting on TikTok via Interests and Categories
The people you want to market to are probably on TikTok, but the platform for TikTok ads isn’t yet sophisticated enough to categorize those users according to their interests. Currently, there are only about 15 interests in 102 categories that you can target with your ads. A category delves deeper into the audience than an interest does.
Many of the targeting options relate to the TikTok viral categories that are popular rather than what you might see on other platforms.
The targetable interests can be strangely specialized. Role-playing games, New Age games, and slime enthusiasts are a few examples of the interests that exist.
Along with talent categories, there is a lip-syncing category. For example, you can also focus on someone’s magic talent.
There are only three options under Lifestyle: food, travel, and daily life. You can also focus on itineraries under travel.
There aren’t any categories for targeting information products or business-to-business at the moment. You can only reach those audiences by creating an account, posting content, and then having TikTok find those audiences for you. With his advertising agency, Caleb has successfully sold to businesses, but he points out that finding your target audience and giving the algorithm the right information through your content are both essential for success.
Reading the comments and guiding viewers through a funnel are the only ways to identify who is watching your TikTok videos and determine the relevant interests and categories to appeal to them. The best categories and interests will become apparent at that point.
Agency Accounts
Since your regular TikTok account and ad account are separate, you cannot directly turn an organic TikTok video into an advertisement with a self-service ad account, but you can if you use an agency. Then, you can market to the viewers of your videos and also aim your advertising at audiences with similar demographics.
Every video on TikTok has an ad code, and there is a beta feature that enables agency accounts to use it to run views to advertisements. You can obtain this code by navigating to your privacy settings and approving its use in advertisements. Big influencers work with very large companies most frequently to accomplish this.
Once you have the ad code, you can upload your video through an agency to the advertising platform and add a CTA button to it.
3: TikTok Ad Creatives to Connect With Your Target Audience
Users of TikTok don’t want their experience there to be fabricated, like it is on Instagram or Pinterest. The best advertisements mimic organic posts because people prefer authentic and relatable content. Caleb advises using your phone to record your video so that it resembles the type of content people are used to seeing in their feed.
If you’re a U.S. company and you don’t already have a self-serve ad account, you can do so at ads.tiktok.com. Make sure to add a profile picture to your ads account so that your ads appear to be original content.
The best way to sell on TikTok is to fabricate a friendship with the audience because the platform is community-based and TikTok wants you to connect with your audience through your ads.
Create your advertisement with subliminal messaging. Create the advertisement as if you were endorsing the product to viewers. You could even contrast your product with one made by a rival. For instance, you might imply that your product is superior by saying, “This company does this, but we do this.”
The hook in your advertisement is the hardest to write. In the first few seconds of your video, you need to pique viewers’ interest.
For a prank company’s TikTok video ad, Caleb slammed the product package down on a desk covered in cash and trash because the product was challenging to explain in two seconds. “This is why you need to look at this product,” he said, wiping off the trash and cash. The movement helped draw attention to the feed and pique viewers’ interest long enough for them to continue watching.
TikTok advertisements can last up to a minute, but typically 30-45 seconds work best. You can choose between a 2-second or 7-second video view if you’re aiming for video views. For a top-of-funnel event, Caleb suggests 2 seconds, and for retargeting, 7 seconds.
Check out your videos as organic posts first before investing any money in advertising. To determine which videos perform the best, publish 10-15. The best performer should then be downloaded without the watermark and reuploaded as an advertisement using your self-service ad account.
Other Key Notes From This Guide
- Get a thorough guide and templates to set up your email campaigns with this episode’s sponsor, Drip. 60 days of free use of Drip.
- On Instagram, Michael Stelzner can be reached at @Stelzner.
- Join the Social Media Examiner Club and follow Michael Stelzner (@Stelzner) on Clubhouse.
- Visit social video summit live to register for the Social Video Summit.
- View the Social Media Examiner’s original videos and exclusive content on YouTube.
- Check out our recurring Social Media Marketing Talk Show. On Fridays at noon Pacific, watch live on YouTube. On Google Podcasts or Apple Podcasts, you can hear the replay.
Conclusion
Even though there isn’t a clear winner between TikTok and Facebook Ads, it’s more important to look at the pros and cons of each and choose the one that best fits your target audience and the way you want to show off your brand.
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