These days, different e-commerce channels are fighting a full-fledged battle for audience attention and engagement. This is especially true when it comes to social media advertising. We know this very well, as advertising and digital marketing are currently the best ways to promote a brand, regardless of the business sector.
Retailers who want to attract the maximum audience and increase conversions are wondering which channel is the most effective: TikTok ads vs Facebook ads. Each platform boasts several advantages as well as disadvantages. That being said, each is geared towards a specific demographic. You can’t explain it all in a nutshell. In this article, we’ll delve deeper into which platform is better by breaking down each one on many parameters and comparing them. In the end, you’ll get an expert opinion.
What Are Facebook Ads?
Facebook currently has over 3,000,000,000,000 active users. It is more than any other application. Therefore, in terms of reach, Facebook is one of the most powerful advertising sources. A professional facebook ads consultant will tell you about all the advertising options on this platform and choose the best option for your business. But the main ad formats are videos, images, carousels and etc.
Facebook ads are online ads that users of this social network can see in their newsfeeds. The first comparison is where TikTok ads or Facebook ads come in. The fact is that in the former, users are more likely to see video ads. Meanwhile, Facebook is best suited for graphic ads.
As statistics indicate, 90% of social media marketers prefer to use it in advertising on the social network Facebook, which achieves the task of popularising the brand.
Advantages of Facebook Ads
Brand promotion on Facebook has a lot of positive characteristics. The main ones include the following:
- It is not immediately conspicuous. Facebook adverts appear in the users’ news feeds and are immediately displayed to an interested audience. Of course, this is possible with the competent setting of targeting parameters in this social network.
- Effective increase in traffic to the landing page. Facebook advertising provides for CTA buttons. With their help, the interested target audience will be directed exactly to your site if the advert appears in the application’s news feed. Behind this option is a deep-link mechanism called app-to-web. The main plus in this situation is that users can visit the landing page without leaving the social network.
- Reaching a huge audience. It is a proven fact that Facebook has much more monthly users than TikTok. Moreover, Meta not only owns Facebook but also Instagram. For this reason, placing adverts on Facebook automatically opens up access to effective promotion on Instagram.
- Setting up a specific targeting algorithm. One of the advantages of the Facebook platform is that it has incredibly advanced targeting options. It means you can simultaneously tailor the same ad campaign to multiple categories of target audiences. Furthermore, during the setup process, you can also precisely segment the target audience based on specific CA demographics. Accordingly, you get access to a huge number of users at a very reasonable cost. Moreover, Facebook provides a lot of valuable information from this accurate segmentation of the CA.
- A/B split testing is provided. Due to the presented option, testing different versions of your adverts is possible. It allows you to understand which solution works best for your target audience. Accordingly, this testing gives you valuable data on the most effective content solutions. As a result, you will be able to minimise user fatigue and choose the most appropriate advertising options so that all your investment in promotion pays for itself.
To get all these benefits, Facebook pay-form advertising should be handled by real professionals who are well-versed in the matter. They should study the target audience, choose the right ad formats, and much more. Our marketing agency specialists can help with this.
Disadvantages of Facebook Ads
But also the issue of promotion on the Facebook platform has disadvantages. There are not as many advantages. The main disadvantages should be attributed to the following:
- The complexity of promotion. For an advertising campaign to give the desired result, you must study in detail all the features of targeting and retargeting Facebook. It is impossible to master only in 1 day. To become a professional in this matter, you need a lot of practice, patience, and flexibility to understand the subtleties of the audience’s interests and how to use them in your favour.
- It is not always original content. Compared to TikTok, video ads can be unedited or polished to a high gloss. They can be informative or funny, using the creators of the product or not at all. On Facebook, however, adverts are often heavily edited, mostly using pictures, with little reliance on creativity. TikTok attracts a younger target audience, while Facebook’s audience is mature.
Trust the experts to get the most out of your Facebook ad campaign.
What Are TikTok Ads?
To understand the issue of tiktok vs facebook ads, it is also worth exploring all the features of promotion on the former platform. Ads on the TikTok platform are videos that are published to be seen by users of the social network, most importantly, your potential customers. Specialists from our advertising agency are actively engaged in TikTok ads to effectively promote brands to a young audience.
As our agency’s options have shown, the most successful examples of promotion on the TikTok platform involve the following unique structure:
- A clinging element. This is a special phrase that attracts the attention of users already from the first minute of viewing. It is the bait that should not allow the user to scroll the page further without looking at your ad.
- A unique selling proposition demonstrates how your product, service, or brand can meet customers’ needs. The offer should include the main advantage over competitors.
- Call to action. It is required for the user to understand what exactly is wanted from him.
If you do not know the intricacies of promotion using the TikTok platform, you can entrust this issue to the specialists of our agency. We will develop a catchy advert that will interest the user and show your company at its best.
Advantages of TikTok Ads
Most often, brands aimed at Generation Z’s young audience are promoted using the social network TikTok. TikTok ads are also suitable for targeting audiences that interact best with raw content.
With TikTok, various products can be promoted, and the topic is almost irrelevant, from finance and fashion to new mobile apps. Overall, the TikTok platform reaches a huge audience that surpasses the users of other channels.
The main advantages of advertising on TikTok include the following:
- Excellent growth trajectory. The TikTok social network has shown an excellent growth trajectory in the number of users. At the moment, their number is over 1,000,000,000,000 from many countries around the world. Therefore, it can be argued that this channel offers access to a huge target audience. Its main feature is that the CA consumes many short videos.
- Original content (raw, catchy, and lively). The content in the TikTok app is uneditable; it’s uplifting videos. Meta offers slightly different content to watch. The TikTok platform has become a great place to promote various businesses, regardless of niche (cleaning, fashion, finance, automotive, and more).
- TikTok is used as a search engine. It is proven that TikTok is gradually replacing Google as a search engine among young users. TikTok developers claim that users search for products, goods, educational content and more on this platform.
- Attracting the attention of Generation Z. TikTok users include a huge number of Gen Z and young millennials. Reaching this represented demographic can be extremely important for your business. Therefore, TikTok will allow you to focus your promotional efforts on this target audience.
- Sophisticated behavioural algorithm. The TikTok platform looks for specific behavioural patterns of social network users. This encourages organic content distribution and increases user engagement. Suppose you think through your TikTok advertising campaign to the last detail, which seems relevant or useful to the user. In that case, the social network users will start publishing content about your product, service or brand. This effective promotional strategy will elevate your company to the top spot.
- Excellent user engagement. The TikTok platform has rightfully earned the social network title with the highest user engagement. Moreover, it reaches a huge audience even if you have a very limited budget for promotion. With an effective strategy and proper planning, you can achieve impressive results with a relatively modest investment in advertising.
Advertising on TikTok is peculiar because it reaches a young audience that does not always use Facebook.
Disadvantages of TikTok Ads
At the moment, we have noticed only one major disadvantage of TikTok in terms of promotion—an inaccurate algorithm for targeting the target audience. Simply put, this means that promotion on this platform is more difficult to control, particularly when reaching a narrow audience with the help of advertising on the social network.
Even with fine-tuned targeting parameters, TikTok can make certain content more visible to a specific target audience. This is done using its ‘personal observations’ of who is best to show an advert to.
This is one of the main features that should help to understand what makes TikTok ads better than Facebook ads. The former platform provides basic analytics, while Facebook is almost unrivalled in the matter of advanced targeting capabilities.
Also, one of TikTok’s disadvantages is poor mobile attribution—at the moment, the attribution window is only 24 hours. That’s not enough.
Facebook versus TikTok Ads Cost
To understand the issue of Facebook vs TikTok ads in more detail, it is also worth examining the issue of cost separately. The comparison should be made based on key performance indicators. This is a prerequisite. Further, we offer a more detailed look at the results of the battle between the two most popular promotion channels.
CTR
The presented indicator demonstrates how many users, from all who looked at the advert, clicked on your link. The higher this indicator, the better. CTR figures are as follows:
- Facebook CTR is 5-1.6%;
- TikTok CTR: feed ad 1-5%, top ad 16%.
CPM
This parameter determines the cost of showing your advert among 1000 people. The lower this parameter, the better for the advertiser:
- TikTok: 10 US dollars;
- Facebook: from 7 to 20 US dollars.
One important point is also worth considering – the SRM in TikTok is constantly changing. It all depends on how many users you want to reach and how many users your competitor wants to reach. Often TikTok is quite competitive, so you can get a great return for the money you spend.
As for Facebook, the pay-per-click is more significant. The fact is that this platform has a huge number of active users, as well as a lot of space for advertising. In particular, this applies to the situation if you are focused on attracting a certain target audience. Therefore, payment for showing an advert to 1000 people may cost a little more when compared to TikTok.
ACR
This parameter refers to the average conversion rate. ACR is defined as a percentage of how many conversions you get from users who clicked on your ad:
- TikTok: 5-3%;
- Facebook: 2-15%.
The higher this figure, the better for the advertiser.
CPC
This parameter determines the cost per click – how much you have to pay if someone clicks on your advert:
- TikTok: from $0.10 to $1.50 ;
- Facebook: from $0.50 to $3.50 per click
The smaller this parameter, the better for the advertiser. In this matter, TikTok has shown itself quite well. The presented platform gives a quite reasonable price per click. Promoting with the help of this social network is much more favourable for your budget if you want to attract as many users as possible to your site.
The cost per click on Facebook can be a bit more. But it is worth considering that the money spent is well worth it. In practice, it has been proven that these clicks on an ad are more likely to turn into real customers who will buy your product or service.
ROAS
This parameter of comparing social networks for promotion indicates the return on investment in advertising. In simple words, it is exactly how much profit you can get from your ads. This is one of the key metrics of Facebook ads vs TikTok ads.
Here’s the average metric for both social networks for every dollar spent on promotion:
- TikTok: $1.20 to $3;
- Facebook: US$2.
TikTok vs Facebook Ad Types
If you can’t determine which is better than Facebook or TikTok ads, it’s worth comparing the ad types. The fact is that both social networks have an almost identical number of formats. But it’s worth remembering that it’s not exactly how many ad formats you use that matters, but how you do it and whether they fit your goals.
Comparing Facebook ads or Tiktok ads suggests starting with a detailed look at the types of Facebook ads:
- Carousel. The ads presented can include a maximum of 10 images. The slides can show different products/services or aspects of the same product/service. A carousel is best used for a retargeting campaign. Also, such an advert can raise awareness of a more complex product to the target audience.
- Advertising video or image. This type of advertising is demonstrated in the feeds of social network users. This format of advertising can be used to sell a product, increase traffic, or attract users’ attention. To make the advert as effective as possible, it is worth demonstrating different options for different segments of the CA to attract as many potential customers as possible.
- An advert with a survey. It is the best option for increasing engagement, as the audience interacts with your product or brand by providing answers.
- Story adverts. You can promote your product or brand in stories to achieve your goal. It is also worth noting that the same company owns Instagram and Facebook, so an advertiser can synchronise promotion opportunities on both social media platforms to simultaneously engage the right target audience on 2 channels. The most important point is that users on both social networks who click on a story with an advert are a more engaged audience compared to those who didn’t click.
- Collection is how you can showcase your product or service to a wider audience of users. In practice, your advertising messages can reach an audience that was previously completely unengaged with your ad campaigns. This option also increases conversion rates and ensures active purchases.
- Messenger advertising. The users interacting with this type of advert are high-quality potential customers. You need them to increase conversions.
To give a clear answer to the question of TikTok or Facebook ads, it is also worth exploring the formats of TikTok ads. These can include:
- Ads in the feed. This promotion option allows you to show content in the feeds of platform users. Its potential is to increase engagement and grow sales.
- The top ad demonstrates a full-screen video that will appear 3 seconds after opening the TikTok app. That is one of the best options for an effective ad campaign.
- Ads that embrace the brand are the best option for making the company recognisable and memorable. This advertising option captures the app screen when you open the app. After that, it becomes a simple advert in the user’s feed.
- Branding the adverts with hashtags. This format involves having regular users create clips for the social network using your company’s branded hashtag.
- Branded adverts with branded effects. This ad option encourages users to record clips for TikTok with your company’s branded effect.
- Collection. It is the most favourable solution for promoting online shops. A collection allows social network users to experience several of your products. In general, collection ads are a complete space in TikTok to increase sales.
- Spark Ads. It is a unique native type of advertising. In this case, you can use your posts from your branded account or other pages (with proper permission).
As you can see from all of the above, Facebook ad formats boast a lot of variety, as adverts can be placed in various places on the social network.
At the same time, TikTok adverts offer the opportunity to achieve various marketing objectives. Promotion can be very effective if the ad is displayed in the feed.
Facebook vs TikTok Ads Targeting
To clearly understand what is better: Tiktok or Facebook ads, it is also worthwhile to study the issue of setting up targeting in detail. The presented platforms offer the following types of targeting:
- Interest-based;
- Demographic;
- Behavioural;
- Device targeting.
While running your adverts, you can simultaneously create similar audiences on both platforms. With this solution, you can target the audience segment with the best chance of becoming your customers. In this case, the highest probability is that your product will be bought. Therefore, sales will rapidly increase after the launch of the advertising campaign.
What is the main difference between the social platforms presented? Facebook has a much larger number of targeting options. Moreover, this social network has an advanced advertising algorithm and intuitive panels for customising ads.
TikTok versus Facebook Ad Analytics
If we compare the issue of analytics, Facebook shows better results than TikTok. Facebook knows a lot about its users. In practice, this means you can take advantage of the full capabilities of Facebook Ads Manager to track social media. It uses innovative analytics to maximise the effectiveness of your advertising campaign. The data provided can be used to help you improve your promotional strategy.
Facebook offers a more diverse set of options. At the same time, the TikTok algorithm is highly intuitive. If you want your content to be seen by the right target audience, the TikTok platform is unrivalled. But the choice is always yours, considering your brand needs and goals.
Conclusion: What to Choose?
In conclusion, we still want to give a clear answer to: are TikTok ads better than Facebook ads. We encourage you to first analyse your marketing goals. Your market dictates certain goals. Pay attention to what kind of people you want to attract and what your target audience responds best to.
You can use only one platform, or you can use two at once if your budget allows it, but you can only reach your ideal customers that way. The biggest mistake in this situation is promoting on the social network you are most familiar with while ignoring your business’s real goals.
If you need help with this issue, you can ask the experts at our advertising agency for assistance. During the consultation, we will discuss your business’s goals, what marketing tools are best suited for promotion, and which channels you should focus on to reach your target audience.
FAQ
Are TikTok ads better than Facebook ads?
Whether TikTok vs Fb ads are better depends on your product and target audience. TikTok is the best solution for a brand that targets a younger audience of consumers. Facebook, especially if combined simultaneously with Instagram promotion, is a great option for well-known companies as this social network has a wide reach and extensive targeting and retargeting capabilities.
Does Facebook pay more than TikTok?
If you are interested in the question: is TikTok ads cheaper than Facebook, then not everything is so definite. The promotion price on both platforms depends on the ad format used, targeting settings, and how long the advertising campaign will last. It is worth noting that most often video ads on Facebook cost more money compared to graphic ads.
Is it cheaper to advertise on TikTok?
More often than not, advertising on TikTok requires a larger financial budget compared to the cost of promoting on Facebook. At the same time, some advertising on TikTok can cost less than on Facebook if you use professional content creators.
Are TikTok ads good for small businesses?
The social network TikTok is aimed at a young audience, but the number of users is constantly increasing, including older age groups. So it all depends on what niche the small business is working in and what age target audience it is oriented towards.
What is the minimum budget for TikTok ads?
Everything is calculated individually. The minimum budget for advertising on the TikTok platform should be $500. It is worth consulting with the specialists of our marketing agency to calculate in more detail what it will cost you to promote on this platform.
