The rivalry is heating up between these two platforms, both vying for a big slice of every consumer’s attention. For advertisers, it’s still a tough call. Facebook Ads or TikTok Ads – which of these two social giants should you consider for your business?

You should know by now that paid advertising on social media is one of the most effective ways to drive leads for your business. And of course, you’re now ready to cash in on the potential of reaching billions of people worldwide for your business. But, your most pressing question is, on which platform should you go all-in on?

This blog post will deliver the facts about both Facebook and TikTok as social advertising platforms. What are their key differences? What advantages does one have over the other?

Dive in below.

What are Facebook and TikTok Ads?

Before rolling out each of their advertising networks, we first knew both platforms as a place to share content and connect with other people. Now, aside from organically growing audience reach and engagement, Facebook and TikTok offer ads which help you grow exponentially.

Facebook Ads

Facebook launched in 2004 and has no doubt dominated the social media landscape for over a decade with 2.7 billion active monthly users. Less than a year after its inception, Facebook started allowing advertisers into the platform. 

Originally dubbed “Flyers”, this new form of digital advertising allowed local businesses to send ads to particular college campuses. These ads were placed on Facebook’s homepage. The term then became “Facebook Ads” in 2007 and the name has stuck ever since.

What are Facebook Ads? 

An ad is a paid targeted message placed by businesses on Facebook. With farther and wider reach in contrast to organic posts, Facebook Ads can get right in front of a specific demographic. It allows advertisers to target age clusters, gender, location, and so on.

Facebook Ads have become pivotal for every business seeking to drive qualified leads with these powerful functionalities.

There are at least 11 types of Facebook Ads including:

• Image ads
• Video ads
• Poll Ads
• Carousel Ads
• Slideshow Ads
• Collection Ads
• Instant Experience
• Lead Ads
• Dynamic Ads
• Messenger Ads
• Stories Ads
• Augmented Reality Ads

Each ad type serves a different purpose depending on your business or the level of awareness the audience you are targeting has.

For a complete breakdown on Facebook marketing – click here.

TikTok Ads

Formerly known as Musical.ly, TikTok was acquired and rebranded by ByteDance in 2016.

If Facebook was the uncrowned king of paid social media advertising, TikTok is the rising rookie with over 1 billion active monthly users in just two years.

As a platform for fun and entertainment, TikTok focuses on video content. And with all the videos floating around, statistics show that kind of content that gets the most views are the funny and entertaining ones.

Also, videos where people shatter glass doors tend to do pretty well…

In 2020, amidst the rising COVID-19 pandemic, TikTok started rolling out advertising features for digital and online businesses. They called this new rollout “TikTok for Business” where advertisers can access all TikTok advertising and marketing tools.

Types of TikTok Ads:

• In-Feed Ads
• Brand Takeover
• TopView
• Branded Hashtag Challenge
• Branded Effects

For a complete breakdown of the different types of TikTok ads and their use cases, click here.

How do they work differently from each other?

With over 14 years of research and development in ad targeting, Facebook Ads undoubtedly has a more sophisticated edge over TikTok Ads, which has only been on the playing field for the past three or so years.

Users

TikTok is very popular amongst Gen Z users and millennials who have a high appreciation for shorter and entertaining video content, proven by how 47% of its users are between the ages of 10 and 29. This is followed by users between 30 to 49 at 42% — a good indication that TikTok is starting to attract older demographics.

It is also good to note that 57% of TikTok users are women.

On the other hand, Facebook’s highest demographic users are between the ages of 35 to 45, both male and female.

In 2021 alone, 69% of Americans over 18 years old use Facebook as a source of entertainment and news.

With these numbers, it is clear that Facebook has a broader range of audiences in terms of age.

Cost of advertising

There is no set number when it comes to advertising costs for both platforms. It depends heavily on how competitive your niche is and how much you are willing to spend to reach a goal.

A good example of the latter is when you bid for a spot for $2.00 only to be beaten by a $2.01 bid. If you want that spot bad enough, you can always choose to outbid the other at $2.03 or higher.

What’s apparent though, is that Facebook Ads’ average CPC this year has climbed to 0.43 USD — 13% higher than the 2020 CPC. And this number is expected to rise even higher according to experts as Facebook Ads continue to prove its effectiveness and maintain its competitive edge.

As for CPM, TikTok Ads charges $10.00 on average, $4.00 lower compared to Facebook Ads’ current $14.00. CPM (or Cost per 1,000 impressions) is considered a very important metric. It tells an advertiser how frequently their ads are being shown to their target audience. 

Targeting

Established over a decade ago, Facebook has a long history of accumulating and calibrating the data they have collected from its users compared to TikTok. This means Facebook advertisers have cutting-edge access to user demographic data and a deeper insight into their behavior.

Although TikTok also has its targeting functionalities, it is still in its infancy compared to Facebook’s robust data i.e. pixel tracking. As evidenced by how 90% of websites looking to retarget users and visitors are using the Facebook pixel over the TikTok pixel.

This is the reason why Facebook is considered the king of advertising and can get pricey in its demands.

Facebook Ads vs. TikTok Ads, which one should you choose?

This is the main question you came here to find an answer for. You may want us to give you an easy answer, but the truth is, this is for you to decide. Some businesses might see more success from TikTok, and some may see better results from Facebook. Before crowning one platform over the other, you should consider several factors.

Who are you targeting? Are your ideal customers on the platform of your choice? You may love TikTok because of its creative flexibility, only to find out that a good number of your target audience is on Facebook, and vice versa.

Always consider user numbers and stats when making a marketing decision. The fact that TikTok is more popular with Gen Z and that 57% of its total active users are female are important data to consider. It should give you a good idea of whether the platform is for you or not.

The decision

A smart marketer never puts all his eggs in one basket. As always, diversify and create multiple advertising channels for your business. Why choose one over the other when both platforms provide sizable markets for your business?

While it is true that Facebook Ads is more established, you also cannot deny the fact that it is saturated and competition can be cut-throat. Tiktok Ads might be new but the platform has a lot of advertising potential, as shown by how it is starting to attract older users.

If you are still unsure about the best course of action to take, you can always contact us. Strikepoint Media has a team of expert marketers ready to help you!