TikTok Advertising 
Are you considering whether to invest in TikTok ads or Facebook ads to boost your e-commerce sales? These two social media giants are popular among e-commerce brands worldwide, providing a wealth of marketing opportunities and potential revenue growth. So, what are the key differences between TikTok ads vs Facebook ads, and what unique advantages they can offer your campaigns?
Find out more about TikTok Ads vs Facebook Ads right here!
TikTok ads vs Facebook ads: The key differences
TikTok and Facebook are two distinct social media platforms with different content formats, algorithms, and interfaces. Consequently, TikTok ads and Facebook ads differ significantly, although you can leverage some prior experience from one platform to expedite your learning on the other. The main distinctions between TikTok and Facebook ads revolve around ad formats, ad placement, targeting options, and cost.
Ad Formats
Regarding the formats for advertisements, both Facebook ads and TikTok ads provide a diverse selection of choices. Let’s go through all the ad formats that are available on both platforms:
As one of the largest social media platforms worldwide, Facebook offers a wide range of ad formats to reach diverse audiences at every step of their journey. These include Photo ads, Video ads, Stories, Messenger ads, Carousel ads, Slideshow ads, Collection ads, and the latest addition, Playable ads.
The variety of ad formats on Facebook provides you with options to create engaging ads that are able to showcase your products creatively. Also, you can cater your ads to different objectives. For instance, if you aim to introduce your brand, Video ads are ideal for storytelling. However, if your goal is just to showcase products, Photo Ads or Slideshow ads are effective choices.
TikTok
In contrast, TikTok is a mobile-focused platform designed exclusively for video content. Hence, TikTok’s ad formats are primarily geared towards enhancing video content. While TikTok may not offer the same range of ad formats as Facebook, it excels at infusing creativity into video ads. Some of its ad formats include In-feed ads, Spark ads, Top view ads, Brand Takeover, Brand Hashtag Challenge, and Branded Effect.
Recently, TikTok introduced a new ad format category known as TikTok Shopping Ads. These ads allow you to display your products directly on TikTok and even enable customers to make purchases within the app. This update reflects TikTok’s commitment to helping businesses boost their conversions and streamline the sales process when using TikTok ads.
Ad Placement
When it comes to where your ads can hang out, the big difference is how many spots they get. Facebook ads can pop up in all sorts of places, thanks to the whole Metaverse thing they’ve got going. TikTok, on the other hand, is all about the For You Page (FYP), where most of the action happens.
After preparing an advertisement and placing it on Facebook, you have the option to share it on other social media platforms like Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp, which are all owned by Metaverse. It is possible to run multiple ads simultaneously, but it is crucial to closely monitor your daily budget since the cost of clicks on your ads may unexpectedly increase.
TikTok
TikTok keeps things simple when it comes to ad placement. By default, TikTok ads appear on the For You Page of the platform. Additionally, for some specific ad objectives, TikTok ads can also be distributed to Pangle. Despite offering fewer ad placements compared to Facebook, your TikTok ads have a higher chance of going viral. This is because TikTok’s algorithm prioritizes new and fresh content, regardless of an account’s number of followers or previous likes.
It’s worth noting that placing TikTok ads on Facebook is easier compared to the reverse. TikTok videos are usually 15-30 seconds long, with a maximum of 60 seconds, making them compatible with many platforms.
Ad Targeting
Ad targeting is another aspect where they differ. Generally, Facebook’s targeting can be a bit more complex, unlike TikTok, which offers simpler options to choose from.
Facebook offers advanced targeting options for businesses, including Gender, Location, and Detailed targeting where you can add specific conditions for your target audience. Remember, Detailed targeting requires a deep understanding of your audience. You’ll need to provide specific information about your target audience like Household income, life events, and even birthdays. If you fill in everything without a clear plan, your audience might become too narrow.
Additionally, businesses can create Custom Audiences using customer data and utilize retargeting options. With Facebook’s Lookalike Audiences feature, you can also target users who are similar to your current customers.
TikTok
TikTok Ads simplifies audience targeting with only the key options: Demographics, Interests & Behaviors, and Device. And within these options are only the basics like Location, Language, and Spending power. It prevents you from overly narrow targeting, but you can expand it smartly if needed with TikTok’s help.
Although Facebook Ads offer more detailed targeting options than TikTok Ads, TikTok Ads can reach a broader range of target segments. Additionally, TikTok analyzed users’ behavior using data from screen time and engagement actions like scrolling, liking, sharing, and commenting to create customized topics and seamless experiences for each user.
Cost
| Platform | CPC | CPM |
| $1.84 | $14.2 | |
| TikTok | $1.63 | $10.5 |
In general, TikTok’s advertising expenses are lower compared to those on Facebook, but they can vary depending on factors such as the ad format, targeting options, and placement. The average cost per click (CPC) on TikTok under specific conditions is roughly $1.63, and the average cost per thousand impressions (CPM) is around $10.5.
However, noting that although TikTok’s advertising costs are typically lower, the platform has a smaller user base than Facebook, which could limit the reach of your ads. For more details, see how to measure ads performance on TikTok.
TikTok ads vs Facebook ads: Which one is better for your business?
TikTok and Facebook ads are awesome for making your business shine on social media. But, figuring out which one’s best really comes down to what your business is all about, what you’re selling, and what you’ve got to work with. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but besides the key differences we’ve laid out, here are some things to mull over before you decide which one’s worth putting your money into:
Facebook Ads
With a whopping 2.6 billion monthly active users, Facebook is definitely a potential platform to reach your potential customers. Plus, Facebook offers various ad formats like photos, videos, stories, and more, giving you multiple ways to connect with your customers and get your products noticed. And let’s not forget about the vast Meta ecosystem – your ads can reach not just individuals but also businesses. For example, WhatsApp is a hub for businesses. So, whether you’re B2C or B2B, Facebook has advertising opportunities waiting for you!
However, if you’re aiming for a younger crowd like Gen Z or Baby Boomers, Facebook might not be your go-to. It can be quite limiting in terms of creativity due to its strict guidelines. So, if you’re all about spicing up your ads with fresh ideas, Facebook might not be your best bet. Also, be ready for potentially higher ad costs compared to platforms like TikTok.
To conclude, Facebook Ads would suit if you want:
- Wider audiences
- Higher budget
- Both B2C and B2B brands
- A wider variety of ad formats and media types
- Mobile and desktop application
TikTok Ads
TikTok is a social media sensation, especially among the young Gen Z crowd aged 18 to 24. If your target audience is the younger generation, TikTok is the place to be. Unlike Facebook, which can be strict with creative content, TikTok’s algorithm values new, authentic, and fresh content. It can even make your content go viral without needing a massive follower count. Plus, influencer marketing on TikTok is super effective. And guess what? It’s budget-friendly too!
Apart from the advantages of TikTok ads, there are still drawbacks that you need to consider. Firstly, TikTok only offers video ad formats, limiting your advertising options. Additionally, for in-feed or spark ads, you’ll have to work extra hard on your content and visuals to grab attention since they resemble regular TikTok videos. When people are scrolling, they might miss your ads, which makes them less effective.
In general, TikTok ads would be suitable if you want:
- Younger audiences
- Lower budget
- B2C brands
- Creative video content
- Marketing channel with a high conversion rate
- Reach more audiences in a short period
- Mobile application
How to use TikTok ads & Facebook ads together
Combining TikTok and Facebook ads can be a lucrative strategy for businesses of all sizes, whether they are established or just starting out. Each platform has its own strengths and marketing potential, prompting the question of how to effectively use both to maximize returns. Let’s explore how to merge Facebook and TikTok ads to achieve optimal performance.
- Improve your brand identity: You can achieve this by maintaining a consistent tone of voice and branding elements (like colors, fonts, and imagery). This is the key to building trust with consumers. Therefore, try your best to strengthen your brand identity through advertising.
- Use retargeting: Retargeting is a powerful advertising strategy that allows you to target users who have interacted with your brand. You can retarget users who have engaged with your Facebook and TikTok ads to increase conversions and drive more sales.
- Collect and gather insight across platforms: Nowadays, you need to advertise in many different places, not just one. When you advertise in many different places, you can learn more and get better at it.
Want to uncover more insights of your customer journey throughout both Facebook and TikTok? Check out NestAds – our ad tracking and marketing attribution that exclusively built for you to track audience interaction through TikTok, Meta, and Google. It’s basically a business intelligence that allows you to track how ads on all of the platform are performing and analyzing their result. With simplified yet complete analysis, you will be able to make data-driven decisions that make your business grow!
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