James Walker Several businesses want in on the trend of short-form videos that are taking over social media. Only one question remains, though: should you invest in YouTube or TikTok as a video-sharing platform?
When compared to TikTok, YouTube is the more established platform. Understanding their respective audiences, marketing possibilities, and algorithms is crucial for making the best choice.
The two video-sharing platforms, YouTube and TikTok, are compared head-to-head, beginning with user demographics.
YouTube
If your intended audience is among YouTube’s more than 2 billion monthly visitors, you’ve found the right platform. The number of people who utilise it is something we should investigate.
YouTube is popular among both sexes, while males are slightly more likely to use it. More than half (53%) of its users are men, while women make up nearly half (46%).
Users of all ages have taken to the system. 77% of Millennials, 75% of Gen Z, and 44% of Baby Boomers use YouTube on a daily basis outside of China. In particular, people in the 18–25 age range make up the bulk of our visitors.
More than ninety-five percent of the world’s online population frequents YouTube.
TikTok
By many measures, TikTok is the go-to social media app for millennials and Generation Z. TikTok has a large user base among Gen Z, with nearly half of all teenagers and young adults (ages 13 to 19) reporting daily use.
Still, TikTok is becoming popular among people of all ages. Up 10% from 2020, 36% of TikTok users in 2021 were aged 35 to 54.
TikTok, in contrast to Youtube, has a disproportionately large number of female users (57% of the total). With TikTok, that percentage increases to 61% among American users. Despite TikTok’s rapidly expanding user base, no viable alternatives exist (yet). Almost half of the world’s population with access to the internet are regular visitors to YouTube’s two billion-plus monthly user base.
But TikTok is a brand new platform with incredible year-over-year growth. TikTok has now surpassed three billion downloads, making it the most downloaded app of 2019 and 2020. As a result, it keeps YouTube on its toes despite having 1.2 billion monthly subscribers that are expected to grow to 1.5 billion by 2022.
Style and Length of Content
YouTube
YouTube is the de facto place to go for long-form material, unlike other social networking sites. You might have found a 30-minute exercise video or a 2-hour podcast on YouTube.
Yet, none can dispute the massive success of Vine and similar short-form video platforms. Specifically, 31% of marketers are already using short-form video, and 29% want to start using it this year.
TikTok
Simply put, TikTok is the undisputed king of short-form video. The app has been widely recognised as the go-to source for entertaining, “snackable” material that appeals to the generation born after 1995 and the generation currently in their early twenties.
When will this be important? By 2022, short-form video will have surpassed all other forms of social media content in popularity and effectiveness. Because of this, 95% of social media marketers that are already using short-form video intend to raise or maintain their investment compared to this time last year, and 50% of those who are not intend to start using it this year.
Several Kind of Commercials
YouTube
Google is behind the advertising on YouTube. There are a variety of ad types available to you, such as:
- Advertisements that can be found on YouTube’s front page or in search results are known as “Discover” advertising.
- Ads that play before a video and may be skipped are called TrueView advertising.
- Ads that appear before, during, or after a video that cannot be skipped.
- Pre-video “bumper” adverts often run for only 6 seconds.
- Ads that play over the video, such as banners.
- Ad formats may be easily tested and modified on YouTube, giving the platform a competitive edge for advertisers. It’s possible to place a short, skippable ad at the beginning of a video that lasts only 6 seconds, or a much longer, non-skippable ad that plays in the middle of a video for 30 seconds.
TikTok
Despite its relative novelty, TikTok has established itself as a solid marketing platform for forward-thinking companies. As a result, in 2021, it introduced TikTok for Business, a tool for advertisers to build and control their own campaigns within the app.
In addition, the platform supports a variety of advertising formats, such as:
- TopView advertising are the first thing users see when they launch the app.
- Advertising that display on a user’s feed, or the page where they find new content.
- Branded hashtags are those that companies use in their marketing of TikTok in the goal of generating more content based on the hashtag.
- Advertisements in the form of “Brand Takeovers” can combine TopView placements with In-Feed placements and branded hashtags. You can also use films, gifs, or even just still photographs.
Budgeting for Commercials
YouTube
Youtube has a pay-per-view pricing structure. The average cost per view ranges from $0.10 to $0.30, but can be even more or lower depending on the niche and keywords used. When a user performs an action, like seeing your ad in its full or clicking a CTA, you will be charged.
TikTok
Advertising on TikTok allows you to set a daily or lifetime budget that may be altered at any time. There must be a minimum of $50 per day and $1,000 for the entire campaign. Your daily budget must be greater than $20 to go to the ad group level.
Which system best suits your company’s needs?
To begin, identify your ideal customer. TikTok’s audience is younger and more likely to be female, but YouTube’s is more general and has a wider demographic range. Conversely, YouTube has widespread appeal across generations. It goes without saying that you should give priority to the medium that will allow you to reach your target demographic.