Are TikTok or Pinterest Ads Worth it in 2021?

TikTok Advertising Capabilities

With a significant surge in popularity since the beginning of the pandemic and over 800 million monthly active users, it’s impossible to ignore the power of advertising on TikTok. For businesses looking to reach a young target demographic, TikTok offers a variety of ad types and placements that help promote your brand through short-form video content using a native, user-generated feel. TikTok offers five key placement types ranging from standard in-feed video to custom influencer packages that leverage your brand through sponsored content created by TikTok users with influence in your market. In a similar fashion to Facebook Ads, TikTok allows you to target audiences by general demographics, user interests, and device types. The platform also lets you upload custom audiences using CRM lists, website activity, app activity, or ad engagement. If you’re interested in launching a retargeting campaign, the TikTok Pixel can be installed prior to activation. While the platform does offer an enticing range in placement types and targeting options, it’s important to ensure that your brand’s target audience aligns with the platform’s key demographics. 63% of TikTok users in the United States are under the age of 29 so keeping that audience profile in mind when considering their interest in your business will be a key factor in campaign success. 

Pinterest Advertising Capabilities

Pinterest has seen a similar increase in popularity with the recent rise in DIY and home improvement trends as a result of more people staying at home during the pandemic. Unlike most social media platforms, Pinterest allows users to search for inspiration and create mood boards they can save and categorize with content that interests them. Pinterest ads appear as Promoted Pins, making it easier for users to discover and purchase inspirational products or services. For brands focusing on customer acquisition, Pinterest offers a highly motivated audience base with 50% of users purchasing products after viewing a Promoted Pin. Given that Pinterest serves as both a shopping guide and tool, it’s one of the stronger advertising platforms when it comes to increasing brand exposure and promoting your product. When creating your ad campaign, you’ll be able to select your targeting using a customer list, past site visitors, or existing Pinterest audiences. To narrow your audience further, you can input interests and keywords associated with your brand or product based on similar Pins that users have previously engaged with. Pinterest is an excellent tool for driving traffic and reaching users with high purchase intent. Like TikTok, it should be considered that Pinterest also has a very niche audience-base and is catered almost entirely toward female users. 

Should You Consider TikTok or Pinterest Ads?

TikTok and Pinterest are both excellent tools for testing native-style advertising approaches and reaching new audiences. To ensure the most efficient use of your advertising spend, first identify which platform’s user base more closely aligns with your core consumer audience. Both platforms have the potential to improve brand awareness and drive sales, however, it’s important to make sure that your target audience exists within the key demographics for each respective platform. While you can adjust your targeting structure to reach users outside of the platforms’ niche audiences, it’s likely that the engine will need to work harder to serve your ads which can result in high CPMs and overall inefficiency. It’s also important to familiarize yourself with both interfaces and consider how your product may be viewed from the consumer’s perspective. While TikTok may be the superior platform in terms of potential reach, Pinterest may see stronger results when it comes to purchase volume and conversion rates. 

To Sum it All Up

With this summary of the capabilities and benefits of advertising on TikTok and Pinterest, you may have a better idea of which platform makes the most sense when it comes to promoting your brand. As we continue to see both platforms grow in terms of scale and active users, it’s likely that we’ll see improvements and advancements to the advertising capabilities and engine interfaces as well. If you’re still unsure whether you should be considering one over the other, contact our team and we’d be happy to help point you in the right direction for your brand.