As an artist you probably know you have to be on social media in order to maximize exposure to potential fans and engagement with current fans. A common question we all have: is instagram or TikTok better for artists?
Maybe you’re new to social media and want to start with one platform or you can only commit to one for now because you don’t have enough time. Either way here is a useful comparison between two of the biggest social media platforms, Instagram and TikTok.
Let’s name the most important attributes of this platform:
TikTok serves a very specific purpose apart from engaging with your current audience.
This platform allows you to collaborate not only with fans but with whoever likes your content.
This is something that really changes the dynamic of a traditional social media platform, specially for artists.
Why specially for artists? Because you can add your own original audio to your content and if other users decide to make duets with you, the more they engage the more it will be heard.
The content in TikTok does not have to be like the one on Instagram. Content here is meant to be more organic and natural than what we usually post on Instagram. This can allow you to be more spontaneous and show your true self to your audience.
An important thing is that if you are going to use TikTok you definitely have to have at least a minimum level of comfort in front of a camera. Unless you are planning on posting tutorial videos, most of the content is going to be you talking and interacting to users through the camera.
Editing in TikTok has endless possibilities. From countless filters and backgrounds, to video cuts, text set to a specific duration, sound and VoiceOver control, and more. You don’t need to edit your videos in any other platform apart from TikTok itself in order to get great results.
Instagram gives you so many options to post content, this is great because not all content you’ll post will be the same. If it’s something very in the moment or funny maybe is good to post it on a story. If it’s a big announcement or a more impactful type of material maybe a post would be a better option.
This allows you to be flexible in your content and categorize it in a way that makes sense, not only for you but also for your audience.
Adding a link to your bio is very helpful. Wether it is a link to your music or to your website, this will direct your fans or future fans to all your material in a very easy and clear way. TikTok does have the option to add a link to your bio but it only allows it until you have 1,000 followers.
IGTV is a great tool. Maybe you want to post a long interview or a concert that you had, sometimes 3 minutes are not enough. Having to post long videos is not an everyday occurrence but it might come in handy.
Things to consider:
If you have to choose between one for now, think about what your target audience is in order to choose the best option. According to statistics, TikTok’s largest demographic is 18 to 24 year olds. Instagram’s largest demographic is 25 to 34 year olds.
Take into consideration what type of material are you prepared to post weekly. Maybe you can’t commit to making videos for TikTok or maybe that’s exactly what you want to post for now.
Important studies to know, 1,000 people from different age groups were surveyed by ypulse and this is what we discover about how users discover new music:
We can see that in the 3 age groups, the majority of users answered that they discovered new music through social media.
When asked about the social media platform, the majority answered that they discover new music through Instagram.
We have to keep in mind this study was made in 2019 and new information has to be gathered, but is a good guidance to keep in mind for now.