book vs TikTok ads: The Key Differences and How to Use Both

Facebook and TikTok have become the two biggest social media marketing juggernauts.

These platforms are extremely popular with advfertisers all over the world. Both platforms attract huge audiences. They both provide data-driven targeting options and are loaded with powerful marketing tools.

However, if your plan includes TikTok and Facebook, you will need to be able to distinguish the two platforms and understand how to use them together .

This is exactly what this post will cover! Let’s begin by giving an overview of each platform.

Table of Contents

What are Facebook ads?

Let’s begin with some Facebook advertising 101. Facebook ads are image-based ads that include captions and are distributed across the Facebook network.

You can serve them in many places, including Facebook Stories and Facebook Messenger. You can also find them in many formats. These formats are often tailored to specific campaign goals.

While Single Image and Video ads may be effective for top-funnel activity such as video ads, Advantage+ and collection ads are designed to generate clicks, conversions, and revenue.

The targeting capabilities are one of the greatest strengths of Facebook’s advertising platform. Facebook collects huge amounts of data from users. This allows advertisers to use advanced targeting techniques that can produce exceptional results.

It is also possible to easily extend Facebook ads campaigns onto Instagram. This is great for increasing reach and reaching new audiences.



See more Instagram ads here.

What are TikTok ads and how do they work?

It’s time to get some TikTok marketing 101. TikTok ads can also be made in different formats, just like Facebook ads.

While Facebook ads can appear in a variety of places throughout the app (e.g. Stories, Messenger, Reels), the majority TikTok ads are served within and around the main feed.

Standard TikTok video ads In-Feed ads, Top View ads, etc.) They are capable of reaching large audiences and generating high levels of engagement. This is why they are popular with smaller businesses as well as larger corporations ( more information on why TikTok is a good choice).

Branded Effects or Branded Hashtag Challenges are great formats for brands who want to make a strong statement on TikTok.

These ads are intended to increase user engagement and incremental reach. Many brands have gained viral fame through the use of these creative formats.

TikTok ads are a great way to reach your target audience.



Image source

TikTok ads vs Facebook ads: Head to head

It’s time to have a social media battle. After comparing TikTok ads with Instagram Reels ads we now want to compare Facebook and TikTok on a few key marketing areas. We will see how these social powerhouses stack against each other.

Prices

Let’s start by looking at the average cost of TikTok ads:

Below are the average Facebook advertising costs.

Although both platforms have a similar average CPC, Facebook is much cheaper than TikTok when it comes to CPM. This category is won by Facebook, which allows brands to reach more people at a lower cost.

This comes with a caveat.

Keep in mind that campaign costs can be affected by many factors including industry, target audience and ad formats. Although the above numbers can be helpful, they are not guaranteed to be accurate.



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Demographics

Let’s now look at the demographic profiles for the Facebook and TikTok users.

TikTok’s popularity with younger generations is well-known. The data backs up this claim. The staggering 41.7% of TikTok users are between 18 and 24, while 31% are 25-34 years old, while only 24.1% are over 35.



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Facebook attracts a wider range of age groups. Only 22.6% of Facebook’s audience is between 18 and 24, while 31% of its user base are between 25 and 34, making it the largest segment of the platform.

Facebook has 41% more users over 35 than TikTok’s 24.1%.



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What does this all mean for marketers?

TikTok is the best place to target Gen Z and younger millennials. It is a hugely popular platform among younger audiences. Data suggests that 40% prefer TikTok to Google for search queries.

Facebook is a great option for brands that are less focused on young people. It offers a much more diverse user base and a greater reach. Facebook boasts around 2.96bn active monthly users, compared with TikTok’s 1.25bn monthly users.

Targeting

TikTok’s audience targeting system is quite standard across Facebook and TikTok, both platforms offer basic options like:


  • Demographic targeting

  • Interest targeting

  • Behavior targeting

  • Device targeted

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Facebook Targeting Strategies that Work (in Privacy-First Worlds)

Advertisers have the option to create pixel-driven Custom Audiences on Facebook and TikTok, as well generate Lookalikes from these segments.

The main difference is that Facebook has been gathering and harnessing audience data much longer than TikTok.

Facebook’s ad platform was launched in 2007 while TikTok ads were only introduced in 2020. This is a significant advantage for Facebook as it has access to much more audience data and audience insights that can enhance campaign performance.

TikTok offers similar targeting options to Facebook, but Facebook is more powerful because it has access to a wealth of historical data.

Formats

TikTok as well as Facebook offer many different ad formats. Let’s see how they compare.

Facebook allows advertisers to use the following ad formats

A Facebook Messenger ad example. (Image source)

Here are the available ad formats on TikTok



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This category is again very similar between the two platforms. Both Facebook and TikTok have a variety of ad formats that can help you achieve your goals. You can use In-Feed video ads to build brand awareness or collection ads to drive conversions.

This is because Facebook ads can be served in multiple locations across the app while TikTok’s platform design is simpler.

Messenger and Stories ads, for example, appear in separate sections on the Facebook website, while TikTok ads can be found in the home feed.

Facebook is a great place to try out many different ad formats. TikTok’s simpler layout may be better if you are looking to increase visibility.

Analytics

It is essential to be able to analyze and optimize the performance of your social media ads.

Which network is the best for campaign measurement?

Facebook and TikTok both have the right tools in the analytics department.

Both Facebook and TikTok, as marketing platforms, are intended to assist advertisers in achieving optimal results through accurate and easily accessible analytics. Each platform has an integrated analytics dashboard (i.e. The Facebook Advertising Manager and TickTok Ads Manager allow brands to track performance and create custom reports.

Facebook and TikTok offer more than just basic analytics. They also have additional measurement options like Brand Lift studies or the ability to place a tracking pixel on a website.

Study of how Facebook ads boost brand awareness. (Image source)

This category is an obvious draw because it makes it easy to analyze and track your ads on both these platforms.


What is the performance of your Facebook ads?

Get the free Facebook ads Grader!


How to use Facebook and TikTok ads together

Businesses old and new, large and small, can use TikTok and Facebook ads in combination to be profitable.

Each platform has its own strengths and marketing opportunities. This begs the question: Can you leverage both platforms to increase your returns?

Let’s see how Facebook and TikTok ads can be combined to achieve optimal performance.

1. Collect & Implement Insights across Platforms

A cross-channel marketing strategy is essential if you want to grow your company in today’s market. This includes running ads on search and social channels as well as different platforms within those channels such as TikTok or Facebook.

You can collect more insights by running campaigns on multiple social media platforms. To identify cross-platform opportunities, make sure you regularly review your campaign reports on Facebook and TikTok.

You might find a Facebook audience segment with high performance that you can duplicate on TikTok, or an creative asset you can reuse across platforms.

2. Your brand identity should be strengthened

In my Facebook Trends post, I stressed the importance of establishing your brand identity. This applies to all platforms.

You can do this by maintaining a consistent tone across the platforms and using the same branding elements (colors fonts imagery vibes) and engaging with your audience regularly on both networks. You can build trust with consumers by being consistent. Use both Facebook and TikTok to launch your brand.

3. Extend your reach with your campaign

Although it may seem obvious, you should make sure to use Facebook and TikTok effectively to increase your reach and frequency.

These networks allow you to reach specific audiences and demographics. Take advantage of both of them. Try out different target audiences to find new prospects . Make sure both platforms have enough budget to scale up ( How to Scale Your Facebook Ads here).

Maximize your Facebook and TikTok advertising returns

Both TikTok or Facebook can deliver amazing results when used separately, but when combined, the sky is the limit.

You can make your paid social media marketing a highly-productive, conversion-driving engine by leveraging the strengths of each platform.

The first WordStream article was Facebook Ads vs TikTok Ads. Key Differences and How to Use Them Together.

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