Choosing between TikTok ads and Facebook ads is like choosing between a crossbow and a fishing pole.
Fishing poles are better for fishing, and crossbows are better in a zombie apocalypse.
You need to set your goals – marketing goals in this case.
As a go-to TikTok ads agency, we’ll teach you how to do that.
This guide discusses key differences in TikTok ads vs. Facebook ads starting from your campaign objectives.
We’ll show you how to judge these social media platforms not solely based on their generic features but on what you need.
To spice things up, we’ll sprinkle this article with insider tips, actionable advice, and stories from our clients.
Keep reading below!
TL;DR
- TikTok: Raw content, Gen Z focus, organic reach.
- Facebook: Precise targeting, diverse ad formats, large audience.
- TikTok costs more, offers content creator options.
- TikTok: CPM $10, CPC $1, ROAS $1.20-$3.
- Facebook: CPM $7-$20, CPC $0.6-$1.50, ROAS $2.
- Both platforms offer targeting, but Facebook has more options.
- TikTok’s algorithm boosts reach intuitively.
- Choose based on goals, audience, not familiarity.
TikTok Ads vs. Facebook Ads: Pros and Cons
Let’s start with the obvious question: what are these social media platforms’ advantages and disadvantages?
What Are TikTok Ads?
TikTok Ads are ads you publish on TikTok so that it becomes visible to the platform’s user base and, more importantly, your potential customers. A
t inBeat, we discovered that TikTok success examples use the following structure for their ads:
- Hook: This phrase captures people’s interest from the first few seconds and prevents them from scrolling away.
- Offer: The unique selling point shows how the brand/products can fulfill people’s needs like no other.
- CTA: The call-to-action is essential for people to understand what’s required of them.
Insider tip: inBeat has discovered that longer TikTok video ads perform better if they have more hooks.
We typically use three hooks for such longer clips; we also noticed that a good first hook could decrease CPAs by 30 to 70%.
For example, travel app Hopper partners with content creators that showcase it as a “travel hack” or “travel secret.” Therefore, people get curious and are likelier to watch the entire ad:
Pros of TikTok Advertising
At inBeat, we often use TikTok advertising for brands that target Gen Z or whose audiences crave raw content.
Our research also shows that TikTok is the ideal platform for various topics, from finances to mobile apps and fashion.
That means TikTok is home to a wider variety of audiences than other channels.
Here are the advantages our growth marketing agency leverages:
- Growth trajectory: TikTok has had an impressive growth trajectory, reaching 1 billion active users worldwide. This channel, therefore, gives you access to an impressive target audience who consumes an impressive amount of short-form videos.
- Unique content (raw, uplifting): TikTok’s content is raw, relatable, and uplifting, whereas Meta primarily relies on negative reinforcement. The platform is home to a wide range of niches, from automotive to cleaning, e-commerce businesses, fashion, binance, and more. Ads with user-generated content perform extremely well on TikTok.
- Used as a search engine: Studies show that TikTok has slowly replaced Google as a search engine. TikTok’s own research suggests that people use this platform for product discovery, education, and purchase.
- Targets Gen Z: Gen Z and young Millennials comprise much of TikTok’s user demographics. Reaching this age group might be essential for your business to thrive, so you can focus your advertising efforts here.
- Algorithm: TikTok’s algorithm detects specific user patterns, encouraging organic distribution and user engagement. If you create a compelling ad that people find useful or relatable, regular users can post content about it. This is an excellent advertising strategy to keep your brand top-of-mind.
- High engagement rates: TikTok is one of the social media platforms with the highest engagement rates. Still, it allows you to reach a broad range of audiences, even with limited budgets. Although you have minimum budget requirements for specific types of ads, the results will be impressive too.
inBeat successfully helped NYC to reach young voters through a series of Spark ads and TikTok influencers.
This generation can’t be reached through conventional voting campaigns because they’re more skeptical of political messages.
However, TikTok’s native format and the creators’ raw messages appeal to Gen Z’s needs.
This format makes them feel:
- Included in the discussion
- Part of the solution
Our campaign brought these results:
- 10 seconds average view time
- 5 million video views
- 56% of users watched more than 50%
Cons of TikTok Advertising
The main disadvantage of TikTok advertising we noticed at inBeat is the less precise audience targeting algorithm.
That means TikTok Ads may be harder to control, especially when you want to reach custom audiences with your social media advertising.
Even if you set all the campaign’s targeting options, the advertising platform can still make some content more visible to a specific audience based on its “observations.”
That's one of the fundamental differences between these social media giants: TikTok has basic analytics and Facebook boasts very advanced targeting options.
Insider tip: That less specific targeting is why we recommend TikTok for broader audiences.
Another significant disadvantage with TikTok is mobile attribution; your attribution window is currently just one day.
What Are Facebook Ads?
Facebook ads are online ads that Facebook users see in their newsfeeds.
Unlike TikTok, where you typically see video ads, Facebook is a great go-to platform for image ads.
90% of social media marketers already tap into the impressive power of Facebook ads to achieve their marketing goals.
Pros of Facebook Advertising
Facebook ads sport plenty of advantages as well:
- Not intrusive: These ads appear on people’s Facebook Newsfeeds, so they’re already addressing an interested audience. Of course, if you used Facebook’s targeting options correctly.
- Help increase traffic: Facebook ads have CTA buttons that send people directly to your website if they see your ad on their phones. The mechanism behind this is called app-to-web deep linking. A huge advantage here is that users visit this website without leaving Facebook.
- Access to a large audience: Facebook has more monthly users than TikTok, reaching 96 billion. Besides, Meta has both Facebook and Instagram, so using Facebook Ads also gives you access to Instagram Ads.
- Specific targeting algorithm: Facebook has extremely advanced targeting options. That means you can simultaneously adapt the same ad campaign to multiple audience segments. You can also do a precise audience segmentation based on specific audience demographics. Again, this gives you access to a significant number of people at a reduced cost. Plus, you can gain valuable insights from this precise audience segmentation.
- Included A/B split testing: This feature allows you to test different versions of your ad creatives to see which content performs better. Again, this also gives you valuable insights into high-performing content assets, so you can reduce fatigue among users and select the right advertising options to maximize ROI.
Side note: If A/B testing is what you need, use our free ad mockup generators.
They’re not limited to Facebook; you can use them for different platforms, from TikTok to Snapchat and Instagram.
Here’s a video ad example from the investing app eToro that targets a vast user base:
Cons of Facebook Ads
Facebook Ads aren’t perfect either:
- The learning curve is steeper: You must master Facebook’s detailed targeting and retargeting options. And that’s not something you do in one day; it takes a lot of practice, patience, and flexibility to understand audience insights and apply them to reach a broader user base.
- The content is not as unique: TikTok video ads can be polished or unedited, funny or informative, using creators or not. By comparison, Facebook ads are typically highly edited, using mostly images and not relying on the power of content creators. So, while TikTok helps you attract more youthful user bases, Facebook is great for mature audiences.
Get the most out of your TikTok advertising campaigns with inBeat TikTok Ads Agency
TikTok vs. Facebook Ad Types
These two marketing platforms have almost the same number of formats.
The point is not how many ad formats you have; it’s how to use them according to your goals.
Facebook ad types include:
- Carousel ads: These ads comprise up to ten slides that can showcase different products of facets of the same product. Leverage these ads for a remarketing campaign or generate awareness about a more complex product.
- Image and video ads: These ads appear in Facebook users’ feeds. You can use them to sell your products, drive engagement, or increase traffic. Remember to test different variations for different types of audiences so you can attract a broad user base.
- Poll ads: Best for engagement campaigns because your engaged audience interacts with your brand, answering your questions.
- Story ads: You can achieve a wide range of goals with Facebook Stories Ads, especially if you’re also using organic Instagram user-generated content. Since Instagram and Facebook have the same parent company, you can synchronize advertising opportunities on both platforms and attract your relevant audience on two channels. But most importantly, social media users who click on your stories are a more interested audience than those who don’t. For example, parents clicking on this story with a crying baby immediately find out about Swaddelini:
- Collection ads: These allow you to showcase your ecommerce products to a wider audience. In fact, your marketing messages can reach a completely untapped audience with this option. Besides, you can ensure a seamless shopping experience and increase your likelihood of conversions.
- Messenger ads: People interacting with Facebook messenger ads are qualified, high-quality prospects that you need for conversion campaigns.
Here’s one image-based ad I got in my Facebook Messenger:
TikTok ad formats include:
- In-feed ads: In-stream ads appear in TikTok users’ feeds and allow your user bases to interact with them. Their advertising potential lies in increasing engagement and boosting sales.
- Top view ads: These full-screen videos appear three seconds after opening the app, and they’re perfect for exposure campaigns.
- Brand takeover ads: Best for creating awareness and recall, these ads take over your screen when you open the TikTok app. Afterward, they transform into a typical in-feed ad.
- Branded hashtag ads: These video formats are best for UGC campaigns or hashtag challenges because they ask regular users to create TikTok clips using the company’s hashtag. This is a good option for businesses to develop user familiarity and gather a wealth of user data.
- Branded effects ads: These ads encourage TikTok users to create videos using a branded effect from the company. As a result, you can create desire and social proof, plus build a UGC library.
- Collection ads: Best for e-commerce stores, collection ads allow TikTok users to browse your products. Basically, this social media advertising space becomes a selling space too.
- Spark ads: These native ads allow you to leverage posts from your account and your creators’ accounts (if they allow you, of course). These ads are best for TikTok UGC, increasing interactions between you and your audience. In fact, your audience may produce viral videos themselves in response to these clips.
Here’s an in-stream video ad example we used for the dating app Bumble.
The idea behind this influencer marketing campaign was “Come to my first date with me, ” and we partnered with five influencers who recorded their dating experiences:
And we used Spark Ads to increase the levels of engagement for our NYC Votes online advertising campaign:
As you can see, Facebook ad types are arguably more diverse because you can use them in different places across the platform.
However, TikTok ads help you achieve different marketing goals even if they all appear in people’s home feeds.
TikTok vs. Facebook Ads Cost
You will typically need a higher advertising budget for TikTok than Facebook.
However, some TikTok ads may be cheaper than Facebook ads if you use content creators.
The new TikTok Promote helps you decrease advertising costs, too, because it allows you to turn any TikTok post in your feed into an ad.
But to assess Facebook and TikTok advertising costs more precisely, let’s analyze the performance metrics that measure the ad costs on these social networks:
CPM
The cost per mille (CPM) is the price calculated for 1, 000 impressions.
Let’s look at the average costs:
- TikTok CPM: $10
- Facebook CPM: $7 to $20
CPC
The cost per click (CPC) defines how much you pay when someone clicks on your ad:
- TikTok CPC: $1
- Facebook CPC: $0.6 to $1.50
ROAS
ROAS stands for Return on Ad Spend. That’s basically how much profit you get from these ads.
Here’s the average ROAS for both platforms for each $1 spent:
- TikTok ROAS: $1.20 to $3
- Facebook ROAS: $2
Bonus tip: use a free ROAS calculator to measure your return on ad spend.
CTR
The click-through rate defines how many visitors click on your link out of everyone who saw your ad.
- TikTok CTR:
- In-feed ads: 1-5%
- Brand takeover ads: 7-10%
- Top-view ads: 16%
- Facebook CTR:5-1.6%
ACR
The Average Conversion Rate (ACR) shows how many conversions you got from all the people who clicked on your ad.
- TikTok ACR: 5-3%
- Facebook ACR: 2-15%
TikTok vs Facebook Ad Targeting
Both platforms offer:
- Demographic targeting
- Interest targeting
- Behavior targeting
- Device targeting
Pro tip: You can also create lookalike audiences of people on both social channels.
This option lets you target an audience segment that looks precisely like your customers.
This audience is more likely to purchase your products, thus increasing your sales.
Here’s where these social channels differ:
Facebook boasts more targeting options, and some marketers might love this extra sense of control.
In fact, Facebook has an advanced advertising algorithm and intuitive advertising dashboards.
By comparison, TikTok has a secret weapon: its algorithm.
Storytime:
One of our clients is Unroll.me, an email cleanup app.
Pretty much everybody can relate to having a cluttered inbox, so TikTok UGC was a neat way to advertise a product like that.
We selected broad targeting on TikTok, and we noticed that the TikTok Ads algorithm is excellent at finding who will resonate best with a particular ad:
- One of our top performers from the past few months is in her twenties and has a slow-paced ad with a green screen effect where she shows how the app works. This simple ad delivered great results in the 55+ age group.
- The other top performer is a male in his twenties, a YouTuber with more experience. His ad looks more professional, with better lighting and pro editing. The clip also includes fast-paced animated text instead of captions. This ad performed exceptionally well for 18 to 24 men.
This finding helped us hone our digital advertising strategies on the platform.
TikTok vs. Facebook Ads Analytics
Facebook analytics are also arguably better than what TikTok offers.
After all, the giant company knows everything there is to know about its users.
That means you can use Facebook Ads Manager for social listening, tapping into its slew of advanced analytics to increase your ad performance.
You can also use this data to hone your other digital marketing strategies, especially if you're using cross-channel marketing.
Those results informed us that different TikTok UGC styles can work even for the same brand or product if they target different audiences.
What does this tell us?
Facebook has a more precise targeting mechanism with a broader range of options, but TikTok’s algorithm is more intuitive.
So if you want your content delivered to the right audience, you can count on TikTok, too.
Besides, both platforms have a seamless campaign setup.
TikTok is constantly growing its capabilities, though.
The TikTok Ads Manager allows you to monitor your advertising campaign performance, track conversion, and read detailed reports.
In fact, TikTok shows you all the basic metrics you need to follow your campaign performance. However, Facebook has more robust analytics tools, so you can target your exact market according to your business goals.
FAQ: Facebook Ads vs TikTok Ads
Are Facebook ads cheaper than TikTok ads?
The cost of ads on both platforms varies based on the type of ad, targeting settings, and campaign duration.
Generally, video ads on Facebook tend to be pricier than image ads.
TikTok has a minimum budget of $500, whereas Facebook offers more flexibility with its spending options.
Which platform is better for ads, Facebook or TikTok?
It depends on your product and target audience.
TikTok is great for direct-to-consumer brands targeting younger audiences due to its abundance of micro-influencers and high engagement.
Facebook, especially when combined with Instagram, is ideal for established brands thanks to its broad reach, advanced targeting, and retargeting capabilities.
What are the disadvantages of Facebook ads?
The main disadvantage is the high competition, which can require a larger budget to outbid competitors.
Additionally, new regulations in Europe allowing users to opt for an ad-free experience could impact ad performance and spending.
What are the disadvantages of TikTok ads?
TikTok's younger audience means brands must quickly adapt to trends and capture attention within five seconds.
Maintaining control over your brand narrative and hitting the right tone can be challenging, and there's a risk of your ad being scrolled past if it's not engaging.
Do TikTok ads reach older audiences?
TikTok primarily attracts a younger demographic, but its user base is gradually expanding to include older age groups.
However, if your primary target audience is older, Facebook might be a better option due to its more diverse age range.
How do targeting options compare between Facebook and TikTok?
Facebook offers more advanced and detailed targeting and retargeting options due to its extensive data collection.
TikTok’s targeting options are improving but are not yet as sophisticated as Facebook’s.
Can I use the same content for both Facebook and TikTok ads?
While you can use the same content, it's recommended to tailor your ads to each platform's style.
TikTok favors authentic, trend-driven content, whereas Facebook supports a variety of ad formats that can be more polished.
How important is ad creativity on TikTok compared to Facebook?
Ad creativity is crucial on both platforms but even more so on TikTok due to its fast-paced, trend-focused environment.
Engaging, creative content is essential to capture the audience's attention quickly.
TikTok Ads vs. Facebook Ads: Which Should You Choose?
As always, we encourage you to analyze your marketing goals and even your business model before choosing.
Your target market will dictate those goals; determine what channel these people use and what messages they respond to better.
This will help you decide whether to use TikTok, Facebook, both – or even none to reach your ideal customers.
The biggest mistake you can make is choosing the platform you’re most familiar with, regardless of your business objectives.
So if you need help getting started, book a free call with us.
We’ll discuss your objectives, marketing tools, and the best channels to reach your audience efficiently.
Want more examples of successful influencer marketing strategies? Check out our case studies.
