Instagram VS TikTok: Two opposing networks or complementary ones?

According to a study, in 2022, TikTok was used by 22 million French people. Every day, more than 9 million users log in to the app in France. Thus, it becomes difficult for brands to ignore the platform in their communication strategies. Primarily because, in an attention-driven economy, it would be risky to exclude a space that breaks all retention and engagement records. On average, users spend 95 minutes per day on TikTok. That’s almost twice as much as Instagram or Facebook, three times more than Twitter, and four times more than Snapchat. Lastly, as the young history of social networks has shown us: being present on a platform, even without being hyperactive, remains an excellent way to monitor what is being said about your brand and to control the narrative.

Then comes the question of “how” and the means, both operational and editorial. The ecosystem of social networks continues to expand, and between Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, LinkedIn, and even Pinterest, it sometimes becomes challenging to organize content strategies and prioritize efforts across platforms. Especially when, in recent years, many have heavily invested in Instagram, which seemed the most promising of them all. Should you maximize content repurposing to optimize investments? Be present everywhere, all the time, to occupy space? Or should you diversify as much as possible with ultra-specific approaches for each network, even if it means producing less?

Are TikTok and Instagram (still) different?

The question arises even more so as, in recent months, Instagram, sensing the tide turning, has rolled out updates to resemble TikTok. However, these efforts have failed to slow the meteoric rise of its Chinese competitor. What even Meta’s top minds seem to forget is that people always prefer the original over a copy, especially when it’s opportunistic, rushed, and inevitably less polished and effective.