It is evident how TikTok has impacted the social media landscape. It is expected to reach 2.1 million users this year. Other key players, including Instagram, have noticed its success.
Instagram Reels and Stories vertical feeds are just a few of the many new features that Instagram is adding to its platform. You might be curious about the differences between these apps as they become increasingly similar.
Here are two of the most used social media platforms and their comparisons.
What is Instagram?
Instagram was launched in October 2010. It is owned by Facebook and has more than 1 billion active users. The platform’s photo- and video-sharing capabilities are well-known on mobile. It allows users to easily create, edit, and post visual content that their followers can interact with via shares, likes, and comments.
Instagram has focused more on its video-sharing capabilities in recent years thanks to TikTok’s popularity. Instagram users now have three video-sharing options: Stories, IGTV, and Reels. Stories are Snapchat-like short videos that disappear after 24hrs. IGTV has long-form content and IGTV is more YouTube-esque. Reels is Instagram’s version of TikTok.
Instagram is a key factor in the rise of influencer marketing. Instagram has seen many users gain large followings in fashion, lifestyle, and food categories. TikTok has established itself as a major player in the social media world. However, many influential people are now switching to the app.
What is TikTok?
TikTok, formerly known as Musical.ly was a video streaming and social sharing app. It was established in 2014. It was originally used to create and share 15-send, lip-sync music video clips. Bytedance acquired Musical.ly in 2017. In 2019, TikTok was launched.
TikTok’s 60-second videos are well-known today. Users can dance to music, do comedy skits, comment on society, or take part in viral challenges. It is a popular internet trend among Gen Z.
As of January 2021, TikTok had been downloaded over 315,000,000 times on both Android and Apple phones in the first quarter of 2020. This made it the most downloaded app worldwide.
TikTok VS Instagram – Differences to Note
Music Options and Video Editing Features
TikTok offers a large selection of music that can be accessed easily by all users through TikTok’s Sound Library. Instagram Reels doesn’t permit business accounts to access its music feature. If a business account wants to include music in their Reels, they will need to either record their audio or use another person’s audio.
TikTok has more filters, templates, effects, and templates than Instagram Reels. The Instagram Effects library has fewer video effects and users cannot select them before filming any video clips.
TikTok’s Duet and Stitch features are also notable differences. Instagram Reels does not offer any of these capabilities.
The Algorithm
TikTok’s page “For You” is similar to Instagram’s page “Discover”, but it uses a more engaging algorithm. It’s more tailored to users’ interests, and it offers a full vertical screen experience that keeps them scrolling. Instagram’s “Discover” page is a melting pot for content.
Paid advertising
Instagram is more well-known than TikTok in the paid advertising market, due to its long history. TikTok offers paid advertising options including Branded Hashtag Challenges and Branded Effects. Brand Takeovers, Infeed Ads, TopView, and Branded Effects. Reels were given branded content tags in late 2020 by Instagram. Instagram has been facilitating the creation and sharing of branded content for static posts for a long.
Although Instagram appears to be evolving into a TikTok-like app, there are vast differences between the two apps. TikTok’s unique content and ownership by one of the largest technology conglomerates worldwide give Instagram an edge in the constantly changing social media landscape. It has not been subject to the same scrutiny or faced the same political barriers as TikTok.
