TikTok and Facebook sit at the top of the social media world, and both keep growing. TikTok now reaches close to two billion people every month, while Facebook counts more than three billion. For marketers, that reach is only part of the appeal. Both platforms give you room to connect with potential customers through video that people actually remember.
Below, we break down TikTok vs. Facebook across their users, audience behaviors, and advertising tools so you can decide how each one fits into the way you represent your brand through video.
What Is TikTok?
A relative newcomer to the social media scene, TikTok is a short-form video platform that allows users to generate and post content. Videos generally range from three seconds to three minutes in length, which gives you the flexibility to be creative. You can use filters and sounds to enhance your videos and make them more engaging. You can also tag followers, influencers, and other partners in your videos to broaden your reach.
Audience Demographics
You may still picture TikTok as a place only for younger Millennials and Gen Z, but its audience has broadened well beyond that. The platform still skews young, yet its largest single age group now sits in the mid-twenties to mid-thirties, and older users are a steadily growing part of the mix. The gender split is close to even, and the United States remains its biggest single market.
But remember: these numbers won’t stay the same forever. When it comes to social media user demographics, things change fast, so you’ll need to keep up with the evolving trends.
User Behavior
TikTok is where a lot of people first run into new topics and brands, with 81% stating that the platform influenced their decision to buy something. Most videos are short and entertaining, easy to watch and easy to pass along to friends, which helps explain why users tend to spend so much time in the app each day. TikTok has also leaned further into longer content: you can now record up to 10 minutes directly in the app and upload pre-recorded video productions as long as an hour, though short clips still dominate what people watch.
Types of Content
Users have free reign to make their TikTok video ideas as creative as possible. Since most of its content is user-generated, the more polished a video is, the less authentic it feels. You can create videos based on trending sounds, hop on the most recent TikTok challenge, or lip-sync to a popular song. For brands using the platform, the goal is to create videos that look organic and blend in with others on the platform.
Tools for Business
In 2020, as TikTok’s popularity was blowing up, the platform launched TikTok for Business. This tool includes Ads Manager, which helps you launch affordable, targeted ads through the platform. With it, you can choose target audiences by location, demographics, and viewing behaviors. Use a content calendar to brainstorm and schedule posts based on your marketing goals.
TikTok offers a library of templates if you’re looking for a place to start on the app. It also offers a database of resources such as best practices, popular hashtags, and other tools for inspiration.
The TikTok Algorithm
Like other social media platforms, the TikTok algorithm helps connect viewers with content they’ll likely enjoy. Using their likes, viewing preferences, searches, and more, TikTok brings new, similar content to users via their For You page.
If you run a targeted ad to users based on interests, it may show up on the For You pages of people who have liked and commented on similar content. Once users interact with one video, TikTok feeds them similar content until it understands their likes and dislikes. Eventually, the algorithm leads to a highly curated experience of engaging content.
What Is Facebook?
Facebook is one of the earlier social media platforms, launched on college campuses in the mid-2000s. It has since grown to more than 3 billion monthly active users and remains one of the most popular social networks in the world.
Since its inception, Facebook has continued to evolve with its users, which is one way the platform has stayed atop the industry for so long. You can post videos, host live chats and events, and connect with audiences using polling and other interactive tools. Over three million companies use Facebook to connect with new customers through advertisements.
Audience Demographics
Like with TikTok, it’s easy to make assumptions about Facebook. Without looking at the research, you might assume this platform is home to older users. But young adults make up a majority of users, with 42% being between ages 18 and 34. Across age groups, more men than women use Facebook to connect. The majority of Facebook users live in India, followed by the United States and Indonesia.
User Behavior
When comparing Facebook vs TikTok, one of the biggest differences lies in how users engage with the platform. TikTok is exclusively used for video, while Facebook users watch videos, engage with posts, and interact using Messenger. Businesses on Facebook use the platform to send billions of messages to customers each month, making it a valuable customer service tool.
On average, Facebook users spend 33 minutes a day on the platform, interacting with family and friends, sharing videos and photos, and staying up to date on events.
Types of Content
Meta introduced Reels across both Instagram and Facebook as a short-form video format built to rival TikTok. Reels are typically brief creative videos and made to entertain, and Facebook now supports longer ones, up to a few minutes, giving you more room to tell a story. With Facebook Reels, you can also post status updates, share photos, and promote special events or sales on your page.
Tools for Business
Facebook’s Meta Ads Manager allows you to deploy digital marketing on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads in one location. With it, you can launch targeted ad campaigns based on demographics, location, and user behavior. This feature also gives you detailed insights into user behavior that help you identify which trends will appeal most to your target audience. Use the analytics tools to tweak your marketing strategy based on previous results.
The Facebook Algorithm
Like other aspects of the platform, Facebook’s algorithm has evolved, and a growing share of what users see is now recommended based on their interests rather than only posts from the accounts they follow. The algorithm works with machine learning to assess a user’s actions on the site and recommend content that will likely appeal to them. With the algorithm, your sponsored posts should be more likely to land among users who will respond.
Summary of Key Differences
The main difference between TikTok and Facebook is the nature of how people use each site. While TikTok does have messaging and commenting capabilities, most people use the app for entertainment. Conversely, most of Facebook’s users still use the platform primarily for its social aspects, including connecting with family and friends to share content that interests them.
Facebook also lets users host live streams, which are interactive videos that let you engage directly with your audience. TikTok offers live-streaming too and continues to expand it, but Facebook remains one of the more established live-streaming platforms.
The Importance of Using TikTok and Facebook
Using TikTok and Facebook together as part of your social media video strategy lets you appeal to a wider audience. Each platform appeals to users in different ways, allowing you to target users on different steps of the customer journey. For example, since TikTok is a great way for users to discover new topics, use it to build your awareness. Since Facebook is a key customer service tool, use it to create content for existing customers.
Make Social Media Videos at Scale
Different platforms, same need for strong creative. With QuickFrame AI, you can produce high-performing video ads tailored for both TikTok and Facebook, each formatted to their unique specs and styles. Add voiceover, music, and your brand’s visuals, then publish directly to TikTok Ads Manager or Meta Ads Manager to reach your audience where they’re most engaged.
Build platform-specific ads that perform everywhere with QuickFrame AI.
TikTok vs. Facebook: Final Thoughts
With the volume of social media platforms available, you may be tempted to stick with the platforms you’re already using. You may have written off TikTok because you thought it was just for teens and young adults. You might have ditched Facebook because you thought it was turning into a ghost town.
But every brand needs to (at least) consider all available options. Both TikTok and Facebook can play a vital role in helping you attract new potential customers and connect with your audience. When you understand how users are engaging on each platform, you can update your content and make sure each platform serves its purpose as part of your overall digital marketing strategy.
Ready to get started? Learn more about our AI Video Generator for TikTok.