- TikTok or YouTube Shorts: which is better for your influencer marketing?
- Published 12/09/2023
- 11 min Read
- Written by Julia Shandrokha
Table of contents
Short-form video content has proven its popularity. Marketers named social videos to be the most important trend for the year 2023. According to the latest survey, short-form videos are believed to have the biggest impact on consumers (69% of respondents agreed with that).
Source: Marketing Charts
TikTok and YouTube Shorts are both designed for sharing short-form video content, and they have come to prominence in an era dominated by mobile-first consumption. TikTok can be named the trend-setter in terms of brief and engaging videos. YouTube has been the latest platform to introduce similar content. While TikTok has gained immense popularity in its short existence, YouTube Shorts leverages YouTube’s vast user base. With the decline of Instagram Reels, the choice mainly boils down to these two platforms.
But is YouTube Shorts the new TikTok? Are there more similarities or differences between the two? Let us provide you with a few insights in this regard – so that you make up your mind which is better for your influencer marketing campaigns: TikTok or YouTube Shorts.
WHAT DO TIKTOK AND YOUTUBE SHORTS HAVE IN COMMON?
Both platforms emphasize short-form videos, often less than a minute long. They both use the mobile-friendly vertical video format which fills the entire screen of a smartphone. TikTok and YouTube Shorts primarily cater to mobile users with a vertical (9:16) video format. While horizontal videos can be uploaded, vertical videos shot natively on phones are preferred.
There are a variety of interactive features on TikTok as well as on YouTube Shorts. They also allow users to incorporate music into their videos, and both have deals with various music labels and publishers to facilitate this. There are analytical tools on both platforms, including the number of views, watch time, likes, comments, shares, reach and impressions. These metrics are available on a desktop or mobile device for TikTok, and the Shorts as well.
As far as content is concerned, both platforms rely heavily on user-generated content, and have empowered a new generation of content creators. Thus, in 2022 YouTube sent its 10 short-video creators to attend the FIFA World Cup 2022. Creators Deestroying, Jesser, Cheeky Boyos, Noor Stars, Rima, Carter Sharer, Lizzy Capri, Ahmad Aburob, AboFlah, and Saba7o Korah were sharing their experiences with a total of their 90 million followers around the globe. This is a good example of how the platform is supporting its content creators, popularizing its ‘Shorts’ format at the same time.
WHAT’S PECULIAR ABOUT TIKTOK?
As TikTok keeps picking up steam within the social media landscape, it presents a plethora of opportunities for brands. According to the New York Times, more and more brands have been investing in TikTok ad space, including influencer marketing campaigns. The #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt hashtag has gained more than 7 billion views.
Read more on the topic:
“People are going there for lots of different reasons — they’re looking to connect, they’re looking to laugh, they’re looking to find feel-good stories, and they’re looking, inadvertently, to shop, whether they know it consciously or not,” says Christine White, senior director at Ulta Beauty (lately, the company has significantly increased its investments in TikTok campaigns).
TikTok has become famous as one of the leading platforms for brand-influencer collaborations, particularly for its unmatched virality and engagement rates. Read further to discover the reasons why TikTok is an excellent platform for launching influencer marketing campaigns.
Unparalleled engagement
TikTok’s algorithm is tailored to show users content they’re likely to engage with, making it possible for even newer brands to gain viral traction.
The platform is literally designed to make content go viral! Catchy challenges, trends, and the use of popular music can catapult a video to millions of views in a matter of hours. Besides, 56% of users admit they can post on TikTok the kinds of videos they couldn’t post anywhere else.
Authenticity and creativity
TikTok encourages raw, unfiltered content. This authenticity resonates with audiences and can make influencer endorsements seem more genuine compared to highly-produced content on other platforms.
Interactive challenges and unique features
Brands can create hashtag challenges that encourage user participation. These challenges can spread rapidly, resulting in widespread brand visibility and user-generated content that further promotes the brand.
TikTok offers an extensive suite of in-app editing tools and unique features like “Duets” and “Stitch” for enhanced interactivity. TikTok’s in-app creation tools, effects, and filters are easy-to-use. They make it comfortable for brands to produce engaging content without the need for external tools or software.
Although videos can be shot and edited entirely within the TikTok app, users can also import externally shot or edited videos. Despite its mobile-centric design, TikTok accommodates desktop users through its browser and desktop app, although the editing tools are exclusive to its mobile version. This desktop accessibility is especially beneficial for creators editing on desktop platforms, allowing a seamless video uploading experience.
Influencer collaborations in diverse content niches
From tech to beauty and education, almost every niche finds representation on TikTok. Brands can thus create content tailored to their specific audience segment. The platform is home to a vast number of influencers across different niches. Partnering with them can amplify a brand’s reach and help resonate more deeply with target audiences. Here at Famesters influencer marketing agency we know very well how effective TikTok influencer marketing campaigns can be for your business. We’re ready to help you with the market analysis to determine whether your audience is on TikTok. If it is, it’s worth trying influencer collaborations on TikTok. Contact our experts to know more about brand-influencer partnership on the most engaging social media platform.
Read more on the topic:
INNOVATIVE AD OPPORTUNITIES AND E-COMMERCE INTEGRATION
With features like “Shop Now” buttons and integrations with e-commerce platforms, TikTok is steadily becoming a space not just for brand awareness but also for driving direct sales.
TikTok offers unique ad formats, including in-feed video advertisements, branded effects, and hashtag challenges. More and more brands are trying TikTok livestream shopping events, repurposing the #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt and #TikTokMadeMeGiftIt hashtags. These interactive ad formats can drive high levels of user engagement.
Wrapping things up, TikTok offers brands a modern, dynamic platform to connect with audiences, especially younger ones, in authentic and innovative ways. Its emphasis on short, engaging content combined with its user-centric algorithm makes it a goldmine for brands looking to increase their digital presence and enhance marketing strategies.
YOUTUBE SHORTS AND ITS DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS
Being a more recent addition to the short-form video scene, YouTube Shorts comes with its own set of unique benefits, especially considering the platform’s long-standing reputation and wide-reaching influence. YouTube Shorts has gained its share of popularity at a rapid pace. By the way, YouTube Shorts debuted in India in August 2020 – after TikTok had been banned there.
According to the report by Google, the platform reached 50 billion daily views at quarter IV 2022. YouTube Shorts’ monthly audience is now about 1.5 billion users (thus having caught up with TikTok’s monthly following).
YouTube Shorts present a new avenue for influencer marketing, leveraging the power of short-form content on a well-established platform. Further you can find what lucrative benefits YouTube Shorts can offer for your brand.
Integration with YouTube Ecosystem: cross-promotion opportunities
Shorts is integrated with the larger YouTube platform, so users can easily transition from watching shorts to longer content. YouTube has a massive existing audience, giving Shorts an advantage in terms of potential reach.This can help in retaining viewership and increasing the watch time for channels. For content creators who already have a YouTube channel, diving into Shorts becomes easier. They can leverage their existing subscriber base and use Shorts as an additional tool for engagement. Quite often creators use short-form videos to capture their audience’s attention and invite followers to watch their long-form content. In such a way YouTube offers cross-promotion opportunities.
For example, Timotius Mulyadi, Indonesian swimmer, who used to share long-form videos with his followers on YouTube, has made up his mind to experiment with 60-second swimming tutorials, and that made him one of the most popular content creators in his native country.
SEO BENEFITS AND INCREASED DISCOVERABILITY
Owned by Google, YouTube has a powerful search engine. This can lead to better discoverability for Shorts when users search for related topics, especially if they’re well-optimized with titles, descriptions, and tags. With YouTube’s “Shorts Shelf” feature, there’s a higher chance for influencers’ content to be discovered by new audiences. This can expand an influencer’s reach and bring more eyes to promoted brands. Statistically, almost 70% of the YouTube content is driven by its recommendation algorithm.
Besides, since YouTube Shorts is still in its nascent stage compared to TikTok, early adopters might face less competition and could stand out more easily.
Plus, YouTube offers a comprehensive analytics dashboard, which, when fully rolled out for Shorts, will provide creators with deep insights into their content’s performance. So far, TikTok’s analytics tools surrender on many issues.
Trust factor
YouTube, being a long-standing platform, might inspire more credibility in viewers. Brands collaborating with influencers on the well-known platform may enjoy a higher trust factor among audiences, which can lead to better conversion rates.
Most customers (80%) admit that YouTube is the platform where they take their final purchase decision. Though TikTok is known to have “captured” Gen Zers, YouTube Shorts also provide a great opportunity for influencers to connect with younger audiences on YouTube – a platform they might already be familiar with. Meanwhile, 60% of Gen Z followers say they tend to turn to YouTube for additional content on the topics they are interested in.
Diverse content strategy for influencer marketing campaigns
Influencers can diversify their content strategy, alternating between short-form content on Shorts and longer videos on YouTube, that is opening doors for varied brand promotions and engagements.
The short-form nature of Shorts means influencers can create quick, digestible content that can grab the attention of users swiftly, making it easier to engage with followers and promote products or services in a concise manner. Further, influencers can use Shorts as teasers or highlights that direct viewers to their main content, creating an intertwined marketing strategy For instance, a short snippet of a product review can lead viewers to a full-length video.
YouTube and YouTube Shorts are among major platforms the Famesters influencer marketing agency works with. It’s hardly possible to find a brand that cannot reach its target audience via YouTube. You can check here the case studies and get to know how Famesters is managing turn-key YouTube influencer marketing campaigns.
In essence, while YouTube Shorts may not yet have all the features of its short-form video competitor TikTok, it benefits from the immense infrastructure, credibility, and audience of its parent platform, YouTube. As it continues to evolve, it’s likely that Shorts will grow in prominence and offer even more advantages to creators.
WHICH IS BETTER: TIKTOK OR YOUTUBE SHORTS?
In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, short-form video content reigns supreme. Short-form video content, popularized by platforms like TikTok and YouTube Shorts, is gaining traction due to its easy consumption and addictive algorithms. Despite requiring less production effort, these videos can be as profitable as long-form content because multiple short videos can garner as many views as a weekly long-form video (or even much more if it goes viral!) .
While both TikTok and YouTube Shorts cater to the short-form video trend, they do so within different contexts and with slightly different emphases.You might have heard the buzz around TikTok’s unparalleled engagement metrics, or about cross-promotion opportunities of YouTube Shorts, blending the quick engagement of short videos with the massive infrastructure and user base of YouTube. On both platforms content creators have enough tools in their arsenal to collaborate with brands and reach audiences in new, impactful ways.
The key point here is to ensure that brands would harness the power of both platforms optimally. Whether you’re looking to enhance brand visibility, drive user engagement, or streamline marketing strategies, here at our full-cycle influencer marketing agency Famesters we will help you to choose the most relevant platform and the best content creators (namely for your brand!), and manage your influencer marketing campaign step by step.
Frequently asked questions about YouTube Shorts vs TikTok
TikTok vs YouTube Shorts: what are the main similarities between them?
TikTok and YouTube Shorts share several key features that make them popular platforms for short-form video content. Both emphasize videos that are typically less than a minute long and are optimized for a mobile-friendly, vertical (9:16) format that fills the entire screen of a smartphone. They offer interactive features such as the ability to incorporate music, thanks to deals with various music labels, and provide analytical tools that track metrics like views, watch time, likes, comments, shares, reach, and impressions. Both platforms rely heavily on user-generated content, empowering a new generation of content creators to produce engaging, authentic videos. For instance, YouTube has actively supported its Shorts creators, as seen when it sent ten of its short-video creators to the FIFA World Cup 2022 to promote the Shorts format.
Is TikTok better than YouTube Shorts? How does TikTok’s algorithm benefit influencer marketing?
TikTok’s algorithm is designed to maximize user engagement by showing content tailored to individual user preferences. This highly personalized algorithm increases the likelihood of videos going viral, even for newer brands. The platform is known for its catchy challenges, trends, and the use of popular music, which can catapult a video to millions of views rapidly. This algorithmic advantage means that influencer marketing campaigns on TikTok can achieve high visibility and engagement, providing brands with a powerful tool to reach and influence a large audience quickly. The fact that 56% of TikTok users feel they can post unique content that they wouldn’t post elsewhere highlights the platform’s unique engagement potential.
What makes TikTok content appear more authentic to viewers?
TikTok encourages raw, unfiltered content, which tends to resonate more with audiences compared to highly polished, produced content. This authenticity is crucial for influencer marketing, as it helps endorsements feel more genuine and trustworthy. TikTok’s features, such as “Duets” and “Stitch,” enable interactive and collaborative content creation, fostering a sense of community and authenticity. Additionally, the platform’s in-app editing tools allow for creative expression without the need for external software, making it easier for influencers to produce spontaneous and relatable content.
How can my brand utilize TikTok’s innovative ad opportunities?
TikTok offers several unique ad formats that brands can leverage for effective marketing. These include in-feed video ads that appear in users’ feeds, branded effects that users can apply to their videos, and hashtag challenges that encourage user participation. TikTok also integrates e-commerce features, such as “Shop Now” buttons, which allow users to make purchases directly from the app. Livestream shopping events and popular hashtags like #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt further enhance direct sales opportunities. These interactive and engaging ad formats can drive high levels of user engagement and conversion.
Is YouTube Shorts better than TikTok? What are the benefits of YouTube Shorts’ integration with the larger YouTube ecosystem?
YouTube Shorts is seamlessly integrated with the broader YouTube platform, allowing users to transition easily from watching short-form content to longer videos. This integration offers significant advantages, such as retaining viewership within the YouTube ecosystem and increasing the overall watch time for channels. Content creators who already have a YouTube presence can leverage their existing subscriber base to promote their Shorts, using them as an additional engagement tool. For example, short snippets can capture attention and direct viewers to longer, more detailed videos, creating a cohesive and effective content strategy.
How does SEO enhance discoverability for YouTube Shorts?
YouTube, owned by Google, benefits from a powerful search engine that enhances the discoverability of Shorts. Well-optimized titles, descriptions, and tags can help Shorts appear in search results and recommendations, reaching a broader audience. The “Shorts Shelf” feature on YouTube’s homepage and app increases the visibility of Shorts, making it easier for new audiences to discover content. This search engine optimization capability means that brands and influencers can achieve higher visibility and reach by optimizing their content for relevant keywords and trends.
YouTube Shorts vs TikTok: which platform is better for reaching Gen Z audiences?
Both TikTok and YouTube Shorts have strong followings among Gen Z users, but they serve this demographic in slightly different ways. TikTok is particularly popular for its viral content and engaging trends, making it a go-to platform for younger audiences seeking entertainment and connection. On the other hand, YouTube Shorts benefits from YouTube’s extensive reach and credibility, with many Gen Z users already familiar with the platform. While TikTok is known for capturing spontaneous and trend-driven content, YouTube Shorts can leverage its established user base and SEO advantages to reach Gen Z audiences effectively.
How should I decide between using TikTok vs YouTube Shorts for influencer marketing?
You should consider your brand’s specific marketing goals, target audience, and content strategy when choosing between YouTube Shorts vs TikTok. TikTok’s strengths lie in its high engagement rates, authenticity, and viral potential, making it ideal for brands looking to quickly boost visibility and engagement. YouTube Shorts, on the other hand, offers SEO benefits, integration with a larger video ecosystem, and higher trust among viewers, which can be advantageous for long-term brand building and diverse content strategies. By leveraging the unique strengths of both platforms, you can optimize your brand’s influencer marketing efforts and achieve a balanced and effective presence across different types of content and audiences.
