Instagram vs. TikTok: Which Platform Yields Greater Insights?
If the current digital landscape were a monarchy, Instagram and TikTok would be crowned king and queen of this virtual nation. But who is who? And is one really more favorable than the other? While there is infinite discourse regarding which platform is better, there is not enough discernment on which may be better for you or your brand. To us, social media success is another term for continuous trial and error. The only real way to get an answer is by putting your content to the test and managing that data accordingly. Until then, we have some insight from creative director, Mark Sommerville, who consistently posted the same content on both platforms and gave us a 60-day analysis based on three main factors; engagement, new followers, and reach.
1. Engagement: (# of Interactions)
Between February 6 and April 6, Sommerville generated 2,434 reel interactions (likes, comments, and shares) on Instagram. Within that same timeframe, Sommerville generated 42,158 video interactions on TikTok. If you’re into percentages, that’s a whopping 1,632% higher engagement rate on TikTok vs. Instagram when it comes to Sommerville’s content.
2. New Net Followers: (# of Followers who didn’t unfollow within that timeframe)
When it came to follower growth, Sommerville observed a net gain of 8,637 new community members to his TikTok account, with only a (quite depressing) net gain of 6 to his Instagram account. With all due respect, we don’t believe a percentage is necessary here.
3. Reach (# of Views)
Lastly, when observing his reach, Sommerville managed to attract 34,617 accounts (32.9k being non-followers) to his Instagram page in total compared to 130,940 accounts for ONE video alone on TikTok.
In conclusion:
When looking at the numbers above, it appears to be a no-brainer that TikTok’s platform and algorithm offers a higher success rate for creators than that of Instagram. However, it is worth noting that regardless, both platforms have shifted priority to video over images (refer to our previous blog post for more insight on why this is). If you have been a long-time, image-only creator or brand on Instagram and are not quite ready to overwhelmingly dive head first into TikTok, don’t fret. Our only advice for you would be to consider making room in your strategy for more video content on Instagram. That alone can be key in greatly impacting your account performance and helping you achieve some of your goals within the platform you feel most comfortable.
