By now you know short-form videos are whereit’sat when it comes to reaching your audience.
But where do you start?
TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, stories? There are multiple short-form video options to keep you guessing.
Today we’re going to breakdown the difference between TikTok and Instagram Reels, discussing which is the best platform to use in 2021.
TikTok & Instagram Reels Similarities
First, let’s start with where these platforms overlap.
If you don’t have much experience on either TikTok or IG Reels, you need to know that they are virtually the same thing.
If you are creating content on either platform, you are creating shorter videos, often with a focus on humor or education. Both apps maintain a music and trend focus, allowing people to play off of the creations of other creators.
Both IG Reels and TIkTok also maintain an algorithm that is beyond anything we’ve ever seen with Facebook or Instagram or YouTube.
Rather than your content mostly going to the people who follow your account (unless you use hashtags and/or it gets shared enough to go viral), TikTok and IG Reels both have virality built into their platforms.
What do we mean by that?
We mean the apps themselves will push your content, beyond your followers to people who might enjoy what you are saying based on other TikToks and Reels they have interacted with.
If these people respond well to your content, they will keep on pushing it out and out, making it far easier to go viral on platforms like IG Reels and TikTok than any other social platform.
It’s worth noting that on each platform there is a sense that polished videos do not always perform well and that haphazardly filmed videos are sometimes the most viral.
Neither TikTok or Reels want to see the prettiest, most put together content 100% of the time. They want the raw silly videos, they want the real unfiltered thoughts in your head.
This is not the time for the stylized filter and top tier editing – this is an opportunity to be yourself.
TikTok and Instagram Reels Differences
The two biggest differences between TikTok and Instagram Reels is the length of the video content and the makeup of the platform.
Video Length
TikTok offers longer video recording. Simple as that.
TikTok allows all creators to post videos up to 60 seconds in length and is even rolling out an opportunity for some creators to post for 3 entire minutes.
This used to be a huge comparison difference to Instagram Reels’ limit of 30 seconds per video; but now, not to be outdone, IG has increased the length of their videos to 60 seconds for some users as well!
This time difference is worth noting, especially if you are planning to repurpose the same content on both platforms. You will need to record at the Reels’ time limit so that you don’t record too long for TikTok and run out of time when sharing it on Reels.
Platform Makeup
The platform makeup is another difference between TikTok and Instagram Reels.
TikTok is it’s own beast.
It is a platform with nothing other than the short-form videos we all know and love (and are quite addicted to).
On the other hand, Instagram offers many more capabilities. You have the ability to post photos and videos (with much longer text captions). You can share stories, save highlights, make longer form IGTV videos, etc.
While TikTok does a great job of making it easy for people to find your additional social media profiles (with an easily accessible button right on your profile), Instagram already offers an entire platform in itself.
So Which Platform is Best?
As with most social media platform discussions, it really comes down to where your people are and who you are trying to reach.
To be quite honest, either platform is going to allow you to not only reach people in your community but spread your reach far and wide.
If you have the time, our recommendation would be to try both! Keep your videos under 30 seconds and repurpose your TikToks onto IG Reels.
If you are trying to focus on people already IN your community, IG Reels may make more sense because you might not only already have some followers on your Instagram account but you can easily share these videos directly to Facebook.
This way, when you do reach others outside your current community, people will easily be able to see and engage with the rest of your Instagram profile which may offer more insight into who you are and what you do.
Alternatively, if you are hoping to expand your reach and don’t really care if the people that you impact EVER walk into your physical community space, TikTok may be a wonderful new platform for you to dive into.
If they need to go elsewhere for more information, just make sure you have a strong call to action in your bio, captions, and at the end of your videos.
Be sure to follow us on TikTok and Instagram Reels for more examples of how to use each of these platforms to spread your message of hope, healing, and light!