Snapchat vs TikTok: What are the Key Marketing Differences?

Since its debut in 2011, Snapchat has had many ups and downs, but within the past year, it recently gained an additional 7 million users. TikTok is another social media app that has been on the rise lately, but do you know what the key marketing differences are? 

Currently, social media is the number one place to market your products or services for many reasons. It is essentially free, it’s where your target audience is, and you can interact and build connections with your clients. 

When it comes to marketing on Snapchat or TikTok there are plenty of key differences between the two apps. 

Here is our guide on the key marketing differences between Snapchat and TikTok. 

What Are They?

You might be wondering what Snapchat and TikTok are and how you would go about advertising on them. When it comes to these two social media platforms, there is a certain type of person that predominantly use them. The content posted on Snapchat and TikTok will be very different from what you see on Instagram and Facebook. 

When it comes to social media like Instagram and Facebook, you can use photos, videos, and captions to produce the content that you want potential customers to see. On the other hand, Snapchat and TikTok are both primarily visual social media platforms that limit the ways you can interact with potential and current clients. 

Snapchat will let you post “stories” which last for 24 hours. You can either post still photos, or create longer videos to post on your Snapchat story. When marketing on Snapchat you may find it more difficult to interact with your clients. 

TikTok is a much newer social media platform, and you’re limited to posting a 60 second or less video for your target audience to see. On TikTok, you’re able to receive comments and respond to them within the app. You also have more of a profile for potential clients to find and your content won’t disappear after a certain amount of time.  

Using Influencers on These Platforms

One of the main reasons your business should be interested in these two social media platforms is because of the influencers that these apps produce. When you hire a social media influencer to promote your products, then you’re able to connect and reach more people. Plus, the influencer’s followers will generally trust their opinions and want to buy and use the same products that their favorite social media influencers do. 

Another great way to gain more followers and potential customers is by letting a social media influencer take over your Snapchat account for the day. This is an awesome way to get more exposure and let new followers flood in.

When it comes to choosing a social media influencer to take over your Snapchat, you’re going to want to find one that fits your brand. This way you can get more followers because their audience will likely be your target audience. 

Using influencers on TikTok is becoming more and more popular, but most companies are still trying to figure out the best way to go about it. With TikTok marketing being so new you might find that it is less expensive than hiring an influencer on another platform. 

Videos Can Go Viral on TikTok

One awesome thing about TikTok compared to Snapchat is that the videos you create on TikTok will be there forever. This is much different than Snapchat because videos on Snapchat only last for 24 hours. 

When it comes to TikTok, it is much easier to post shareable content and actually get the shares that you deserve. Content on TikTok can be posted easily to another social media platform and then continuously shared from there. 

Unfortunately, on Snapchat it is much more difficult for your content to be shared. Of course, your followers are able to share your content with their friends, but they will only get a limited amount of time to do so. On Snapchat, you may find that some of the awesome content that you create isn’t getting the views that you feel it deserves. 

Your TikTok videos are able to be shared and could eventually become viral. Every company’s dream is for one of their videos to go viral which can help them gain more followers and more traffic to their products. Creating short, funny, and interesting videos is the best way to make your video go viral. When you make good content on TikTok people will see that and want to share it with their friends. 

Find Your Target Audience

Since Snapchat has been around for many years, and TikTok has just recently become popular, you will find different a bit of a different audience on each. Snapchat has more millennials because this age group has grown up using Snapchat on a daily basis. If you’re looking for an older audience as your target market, then Snapchat will be the best place to find them.  

Snapchat is also filled with many people from the Gen Z age group. Since it is a popular app this is where all the kids flock to. On the other hand, you will find mostly Gen Z on TikTok. If your target audience is the younger crowd, then you can find them on both Snapchat and TikTok. 

Unfortunately, if you’re looking to market towards the older generation such as 50 years and up, then you won’t be finding many of them on either platform. You can find the older generation that uses social media over on Facebook. The age group that you should be marketing towards on Snapchat and Twitter is anyone under the age of 24. 

User-Generated Content

An awesome way to get more content created for your business is to have other users make content for you about your products. There are plenty of different ways that you can have your customers actually create posts and help you advertise your products. 

On Snapchat, you can have your follows make videos or post images of them using your products. When you ask them to tag you in their posts, then they may even influence their friends and follows to check out your products. Marketing on Snapchat can be done by having people post about you and your business so other people will see it. 

TikTok is always filled with challenge videos, so what better way to have your customers use your products on TikTok than to create a challenge for them? The thing about TikTok videos is that they’re supposed to be funny, so the more outrageous and funny your TikTok challenge is, then the more people who will want to participate and make their own video about your products. 

Another great way to get your customers to generate content for you is to host a contest with a giveaway. Giveaways can be a cost-effective way to generate more clients, get more traffic to your website, or even generate more followers on your social media accounts. The best thing about giveaways is you can use your products as a giveaway or even invest in a costly prize that people will want to win. 

When you host a giveaway, you should make sure that you set clear rules that you want your followers to follow. You can have them make their own content about your products or you can even just have them repost something from your page. This is an awesome way for their followers to see your products and maybe even enter in your giveaway as well. 

Hosting a giveaway is a great way to get more traffic to your business. You can host giveaways on either platform but make sure you make the rules specific for each contest on each platform. 

Snapchat is More Personal

When it comes to Snapchat, your content can be less professional and more relaxed. Videos shot for Snapchat don’t need to be overly edited or shot with professional equipment. All you need to market on Snapchat is a smartphone and interesting or watchable content. 

With Snapchat, there are plenty of different things you can do since your content will only be shared for 24 hours. You can do a behind the scenes and show your followers what a day in the life at your business is like. This is an awesome way for your clients to get to know more about your brand. 

When it comes to creating your social media brand, you can be more personal on Snapchat since the content doesn’t need to be edited just make sure that your videos are clear and people in them can be heard. You can use fun Snapchat filers to make your content seem even more fun and relatable. 

Another way to post on Snapchat is to show your products in fun and interesting ways. Let your Snapchat followers get to know you as well as the other people who work for your company. This is a fun and interesting way to build connections with the people who follow you and buy your products. 

TikTok is New

One reason to use TikTok in your digital marketing strategy is because it is a new social media platform. This means that there aren’t many regulations or certain things that people will expect when it comes to marketing on this platform. Since Snapchat has been around for quite some time now, there are certain things that people expect when it comes to marketing within this app. 

TikTok is a whole new experience for a lot of people meaning that you can totally experiment and help to set new trend within the app. If you’re looking to interact with teens and young adults, then TikTok is the best place to see what types of things they enjoy. You can use TikToks as inspiration for new content on your own page. 

Unfortunately, TikTok only allows certain users to post links within their content so it might be a bit difficult to direct people right to your website. On the other hand, there are plenty of ways that you can get your followers on TikTok to find you on other social media platforms. TikTok is brand new to many people so it is awesome when you’re trying a new way to market. 

Purchase a Snapchat Ad

If you’re looking to use Snapchat for your marketing strategy, then you can purchase an ad on Snapchat. This will help to benefit companies who are mid-sized, or larger companies, because more people will be able to see the ads that you’re posting. The best thing about marketing with ads on Snapchat is that it can actually help to improve your online and in-store purchases. 

When you buy an ad on Snapchat it can show up on the discover page of your target audience. The awesome thing about ads that you purchase is that Snapchat will automatically put them into a story that someone is watching. This means that your ad could show up at any time for a person who is in your target audience. 

Another awesome aspect of buying a Snapchat ad is that you can include links to your website, other social media, or directly to your products for people to buy. If you post a link to one of your products, then viewers can even use the in-app browser to make purchases. 

You can also get into a contract with Snapchat to become a publisher. This is a great way to advertise because then your ads won’t be skipped. When people frequently see your ads on either your own Snapchat, or through a purchased ad on Snapchat, then they will become more and more familiar with your brand which can lead to more purchases. 

Snapchat vs. TikTok: Which Should You Use?

When it comes to deciding between marketing on Snapchat or TikTok there are tons of pros and cons with each. You should sit down and decide which platform you want to devote your time to. Either platform would be a great place to reach your target audience and get more traffic to your business. 

If you’re looking to up your digital marketing this year, then make sure to get a free digital marketing review from us. We can give you the advice that you need to increase traffic, drive leads, and maximize revenue.