The difference and core logic of Facebook ads VS Tiktok ads

Tiktok and Facebook are both the most popular social media applications in the world, with nearly 4 billion active users worldwide.

For us advertisers, how should we choose?

We will talk about the differences between Tiktok and Fb ads, their advantages and disadvantages, and how to use them!

What are TikTok ads?

Tiktok’s advertising is mainly through video ads, which appear when users are watching videos.

What are Facebook Ads?

Facebook now has more than 3 billion monthly active users, which is a wider coverage than TK. Moreover, FB’s advertising formats are also very diverse, mainly picture ads, video ads, carousel ads, etc.

Key differences between TikTok ads and Facebook ads

One of the main differences between Tiktok and Facebook ads is that Tiktok has more options for direct interaction with users. One ad type that stands out on TikTok is Brand Effects, which allows brands to create their own shareable stickers, AR filters, and lenses.

eBay previously launched an intention campaign on tiktok, allowing people who like sneakers to vote for their favorite shoes through Brand Effects, and eventually 1.2 million people participated in the vote.

However, tk ads have many restrictions in terms of display, and ads are usually displayed on our personal homepage.

Facebook ads are different, and the display positions will be richer, and they will appear in news feeds, messenger applications, search terms, etc.

But tk is a video platform, so 99% of the ads appear in the form of videos. It is very different on FB. The ads we put can even appear in the form of carousels, just like browsing a window, constantly sliding, browsing and selecting.

Another key difference is that Facebook offers AB testing, which is very useful for our campaigns.

When to Use TikTok Advertising

TikTok is a hot app, especially for people aged 25 to 54, who spend at least 45 minutes on it every day, which is more than the time they spend on Facebook. Although Facebook has twice as many users in this age group, TikTok is more popular among young people.
If you want to attract those wealthy millennials and Gen X, TikTok is a good choice. But be aware that people’s attention span on TikTok is short, and you have to grab their attention within a few seconds. If your product or service can’t be explained in five seconds, you may need to try other strategies.
For example, find some influencers or creators on TikTok to cooperate, because their words are more willing to listen to users and are more likely to be patient to watch the ads.

When to use Facebook ads

As an old social platform, Facebook’s advertising function is indeed more mature and comprehensive than TikTok. During the advertising process, I found that Facebook’s positioning function is particularly powerful, and it can accurately find the target audience based on age, region, and even some niche hobbies. Moreover, Facebook’s user base is large and diverse. In contrast, TikTok’s users are mainly young people, and the number of monthly active users is also smaller.
If your brand already has a clear portrait of your ideal customers, Facebook’s advertising system can provide more options to match these characteristics, so that you can find the right people more confidently, and the risk is relatively low.
Moreover, another advantage of advertising on Facebook is that it is connected with Instagram. If your brand has been very successful in advertising on Instagram, you can easily promote your ads to Facebook through Meta’s Business Manager or other advertising management tools. Alternatively, you can also advertise on Facebook and Instagram at the same time, which can expand your influence at once, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

How to choose between TikTok ads and Facebook ads

Whether to advertise on Facebook or TikTok depends mainly on our goals and budget. Facebook’s advertising fees may be higher than TikTok’s, but sometimes you can reduce costs by accurately targeting your audience. The minimum investment threshold for TikTok is at least $500, which may be a bit expensive for small businesses.
TikTok is a video platform, so you need to invest money to make videos, and effective ads require careful planning.
If you are a novice in advertising or don’t have a large budget, Facebook’s picture ads may be simpler and less expensive.

Are Facebook ads cheaper than TikTok ads?

It depends on the type of ads we run, the targeting settings, and the duration of the campaign. Generally speaking, video ads cost more than image ads on Facebook, which is something we need to consider if we want to run a video-centric campaign.
As we mentioned before, TikTok has a minimum budget requirement of $500, while Facebook has a lower minimum budget requirement and gives us more flexibility in deciding how much to spend based on the number of clicks or duration.