Companies and start-ups targeting the younger generation will certainly see the appeal of TikTok for social media marketing. Due to a sudden boom in user-base, which especially consists of young adults and teenagers, TikTok sounds like a viable or even the better option. However, YouTube certainly has its perks as well.

Due to the sheer amount of data uploaded every second to all social platforms, it can prove difficult to decide which one is right for you. Your campaign will need more and more YouTube views, and you will need to gain TikTok followers before either of them proves effective. However, let us say you have already done that. 

The next step would be to decide what works, and that is where we come in. In this article, we are going to compare a few major pros and cons of using YouTube and TikTok for social media marketing.

The Basics

For an effective campaign, you will need to go through a quick history of these apps. TikTok hails from China, and its major user base has a large percentage from the Asian Continent. In fact, various of its famous stars hail from India only. 

It was originally known as Musical.ly and then renamed after acquisition in 2018. An estimated 41% of its users are between the age of 16 and 24. This is an enormous number of generation Z users. If your company targets this age group, TikTok is the perfect option.

Meanwhile, YouTube, owned by Google under the aegis of Alphabet Inc. is the most widely popular and well-known video platform currently available on the internet. Browsing YouTube is easier and faster and thus, its user base is vast and not limited by demographics. YouTube is also growing constantly and this, highly popular for entertainment marketing.

Pros

• TikTok

TikTok is much easier to use since the video duration maxes out at 15 seconds. Further, it makes it immensely easy to combine filters, videos, music, various other kinds of effects. Also, most internet challenges and hashtags that go viral start off on TikTok. 

Therefore, if you are trying to follow a viral trend like the Kiki Challenge, TikTok is the way to go.

• YouTube

There is no cap on the duration of videos you can upload. Thus, YouTube delivers more information to your audience. The variety of videos available is also unlimited. Further, YouTube is much more popular than TikTok since anyone can fire it up and browse. 

Not only that, but the advertisement platform on YouTube is highly advanced and robust. Therefore, most companies prefer YouTube over any other video entertainment platform.

Cons

• TikTok

Monetization on TikTok is difficult. This is because it has no ad business model or dedicated advertisement manager. 

Also, delivering content that requires videos longer than 15 seconds is not impossible. Cramming all your information in such a short video and then making it perfect can prove tedious. 

• YouTube

YouTube is expensive; at least when compared to TikTok. Further, its algorithms are much more advanced, and thus, regularly updated channels with longer videos receive better engagement. 

Newcomers also find it hard to achieve user engagement. Word around town is that YouTube is becoming increasingly unfriendly towards creators.

What’s common among the two?

Remember that it does not matter what platform you choose. At the end of the day, you must ensure that your content is just the right blend of entertaining, informational, humorous, witty, creative, and so many other adjectives I can think of. 

Therefore, if you want to gain popularity on any social media platform, you will need to spend a significant amount of time brainstorming the “what” and “how” of your videos/advertisement.

How do I choose?

My recommendation would vary depending upon two major factors: your target and your budget. If you are certain that your product or whatever you want to send into the world through your campaign targets only generation Z, go with TikTok. It will be cheaper, and your campaign will achieve its goal faster. 

However, if your content is not limited in terms of age group and you have money to spare, go on YouTube. You will need to shell out just a few extra bucks if you advertise there. But the difference in the quantity of engagement will be enormous. That being said, you will need to stay active no matter which platform you choose. 

Here is a quick tip for you: engage with others to improve your engagement. Leave a few friendly, creative, witty, and inviting comments on other creators’ videos. This will invite people back to your channel, increase your reach, and at the same time, help your fellow creators.

Conclusion

Video marketing has emerged as a highly popular alternative to plain old vanilla advertisements. Creativity is at an all-time high on the internet and influencers and creators are merging from all parts of the globe.

 In such a rapidly growing industry, social media marketing can prove a highly effective tool for your company’s organic growth. More TikTok views, Instagram likes, YouTube Subscribers, and Twitter followers lead to more engagement and bring more traffic down to your website/blog.

If you think there are more alternatives to YouTube and TikTok, leave them in the comments below.