Larry Barnes When it comes to advertising on social media, Facebook and TikTok are two behemoths.
It’s no surprise that these platforms have attracted the attention of advertisers all over the world. Both have the ability to reach massive audiences, provide refined targeting options based on data, and provide an arsenal of effective advertising resources.
In spite of this, if you’re considering incorporating Facebook and TikTok into your paid social plans, you’ll want to familiarise yourself with the fundamental distinctions between the two networks and how to best utilise them together.
Facebook ads
First, let’s go over the basics of advertising on Facebook. Marketing on Facebook can take the form of either text ads or image ads with accompanying captions.
Advertisements can be displayed in a number of different locations on Facebook, such as the Stories tab, Messenger, the main news feed, and more. They come in a variety of forms, each of which is optimised for a different set of campaign goals.
Single Image and Video ads, for instance, can be effective for top-of-funnel activity, but Collection and Advantage+ ads are designed to generate clicks and conversions.
The ability to narrowly target specific audiences is a major strength of Facebook’s advertising platform. As a result of Facebook’s massive data collection from its users, advertisers can employ sophisticated targeting strategies that often produce excellent results.
Instagram ads can be easily extended from Facebook ads, which is great for reaching new people and expanding your reach.
Advertisements on TikTok are what?
It’s time for a crash course in TikTok marketing. Advertisements on TikTok can take many forms, just like those on Facebook.
TikTok ads are predominantly served in and around the main feed, in contrast to Facebook ads, which can appear in a variety of places throughout the app (e.g., Reels, Stories, Messenger).
Businesses of all sizes, from startups to multinational conglomerates, have found success with the standard TikTok video ad formats (such as In-Feed and Top View ads) (more on why you should advertise on TikTok here).
Branded Effects and Branded Hashtag Challenges are just two of the many powerful formats available to companies on TikTok that want to make a splash.
Many brands have become household names thanks to the success of their use of these innovative advertising formats, which are meant to encourage widespread user engagement and incremental reach.
There’s no denying the success that digital advertisers have had with TikTok ads, especially when they’ve capitalised on current cultural phenomena (like Stitching) and produced content that spoke directly to their demographic.
Advertisements on Facebook vs. Advertisements on TikTok.
An old-fashioned Twitter battle is in order. We’ve compared TikTok ads to Instagram Reels ads; now let’s see how these paid social giants, Facebook and TikTok, fare against one another in several key marketing areas.
Costs
Let’s start by taking a look at the typical prices of TikTok ads:
The typical CPM for TikTok is $10.00
The typical cost per click (CPC) on TikTok is $1.
To give you an idea of what to expect, here are the typical costs of Facebook ads:
The median CPM on Facebook is $7.00.
Cost per click on Facebook is $1.
Although Facebook is more cost-effective per thousand impressions (CPM) than TikTok, the average CPC is about the same on both platforms. Therefore, Facebook triumphs in this respect, allowing brands to expand audiences at lower cost.
Here’s the catch, though: there is a catch.
Remember that many factors, such as your industry, target audience, ad formats, and bidding strategy, can affect the total cost of your campaign. The preceding numbers are meant as a guide, but they are not set in stone.
Let’s take a look at the ages, genders, locations, and interests of Facebook and TikTok users.
It’s no secret that young people use TikTok in staggering numbers, and the numbers support the app’s reputation. Nearly half (41.7%) of all TikTok users are under the age of 24; another 31% are between the ages of 25 and 34; and only 24.1% are over the age of 35.
By contrast, Facebook users span the generations. Only 22.6% of Facebook’s users are in the 18-24 age bracket, while the 25-34 age group makes up the largest percentage of users (31%).
Facebook also has a larger proportion of users over the age of 35 (41%) compared to TikTok’s younger demographic (24.1%).
In terms of audience targeting, both TikTok and Facebook offer similar, fundamental features, such as:
- Specific audience targeting
- Aiming at Interests
- Conditional Reinforcement
- Formats Designed with Specific Devices in Mind
- Both TikTok and Facebook provide a number of different ad options, so it’s time to see how they stack up against one another.
All of the following ad formats are available to Facebook advertisers:
- Poster ads
- Commercials in video format
- Commercial carousels
- Streaming video commercials
- Messages in ads
- Publicity for items in a collection
- In-App Commercials
For those interested in advertising on TikTok, the following options are provided:
- Ads that appear in the feed
- Featured Ads
- Ads That Take Over Other Brands
- Advertisements Using Trending Hashtags
- Commercials with a Name Brand Impact
- Promotional Posters
Analytics
If you want to succeed with paid social ads, you need a system to track data, examine trends, and refine your strategy.
Which of these networks do you think will be the most effective for tracking the success of your campaign?
In reality, both Facebook and TikTok have robust analytic capabilities
Both Facebook and TikTok are built with the intention of assisting marketers in getting the most out of their campaigns. Both Facebook Ads Manager and TikTok Ads Manager provide access to a built-in analytics dashboard, where advertisers can see how their campaigns are doing and what kind of results they’re getting.
In spite of this, if you’re considering incorporating Facebook and TikTok into your paid social plans, you’ll want to familiarise yourself with the fundamental distinctions between the two networks and how to best utilise them together.