Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year and a half, you’ve heard of TikTok. However, you may not have heard of Triller. Both of these apps are popular video-editing and sharing platforms that cater to younger demographics.
So if you’re trying to reach these demographics, here’s what you need to know about Triller and TikTok — including the similarities and differences.
What Is Triller?
Triller has been around since 2015 and is known as an “AI-powered” video-editing application. This application offers automatic editing for its users so that it’s easy and straightforward to create and post entertaining videos. Triller works within the music industry, specifically within hip-hop and EDM genres, in terms of its users and its investors.
The most recent numbers from Triller indicate that the platform has 65 million monthly active users with 231 million downloads globally. In August of 2020, it reached the top spot in the App Store as worries about a possible TikTok ban in the United States spread.
So even though this platform has been around since 2015, it was then considered an “alternative” to TikTok at a time when its future in the United States was uncertain.
What Is TikTok?
TikTok has been around since 2016 and is also a video-editing and sharing application. This application curates personalized “For You Pages” or FYPs for its users based on their interests. The platform actually started out as “Musical.ly” until it was acquired by the Chinese company “ByteDance,” and its users transitioned to TikTok.
However, as the app began to gain popularity in the United States around October 2020, there were concerns over the security of its users’ data potentially being provided to the Chinese government. As a result, there were talks about a TikTok ban that never actually came to fruition.
However, these talks were enough to send TikTok’s one billion monthly active users into a panic — showcasing the platform’s popularity.
How Are the Platforms the Same?
At surface level, Triller and TikTok may look like the same platform. Here are some ways that the two platforms look similar:
- Nature: Both Tiktok and Triller are, by nature, short-form video-sharing platforms that allow users to record, edit, and post videos all from within the same platform.
- Organization: Both TikTok and Triller have “Discover” pages where users can explore everything the platforms have to offer as well as search for specific videos, trends, or hashtags.
- Music: Both TikTok and Triller focus a lot on music to make videos more catchy and engaging.
- Artificial Intelligence: Both TikTok and Triller utilize artificial intelligence to make the platforms easy to use.
How Are the Platforms Different?
There are a few key differences between Triller and TikTok that you need to know about to understand the two platforms:
- Music: Music is more accessible within Triller compared to TikTok. For starters, users on TikTok can only listen and use 15 seconds of a song. Users on TikTok also must use songs that are already on TikTok. On the other hand, users on Triller can listen to and use entire songs that can be accessed through Apple Music or Spotify.
- Editing: Triller utilizes artificial intelligence to edit videos for users. TikTok, on the other hand, allows users to edit their own videos using a range of different effects, speeds, and overlays.
- Discover Pages: Although both TikTok and Triller have “Discover” pages, they are designed differently. On TikTok, the Discover page has trending hashtags, top videos, and promoted campaigns. On Triller, the Discover page has leaderboards, different genre categories, promoted campaigns, and top videos.
- Artificial Intelligence: As mentioned above, Triller utilizes artificial intelligence primarily for video editing, whereas TikTok utilizes artificial intelligence to cultivate a “For You Page” for each user based on their interests and behavior on the platform.
Why Should You Advertise on These Platforms?
Obviously, you should advertise on these platforms to reach their user bases. As you now know, TikTok has over one billion monthly active users, and Triller has 65 million.
Most of these users fall into the younger demographic — namely Millennials and Generation Z. Not only that, but these younger demographics actually prefer these platforms to others like Facebook. So if you’re trying to reach these groups where they’re the most engaged and are spending the most time, then you need to advertise on these video-sharing apps.
Which Platform Should You Use?
If you’re looking to maximize your reach, then you definitely need to be on TikTok to reach its one billion users. On the other hand, TikTok’s reach means that there will be more competition for advertising on this platform, which translates into higher advertising costs.
That being said, do you really have to choose between these two platforms? Why not advertise on both of them to truly maximize your reach! Most of the time, you should be able to use the same content on both apps since they are so similar. You can also incorporate the same targeting mechanisms since the apps have similar user bases.
As a result, it’s quite easy for you to run similar and simultaneous ad campaigns on both Triller and TikTok. This allows you to maximize your advertising spend to earn the best return on your investment.
How to Effectively Advertise on These Platforms?
However, a great return on your investment is never guaranteed on Triller or TikTok. So how can you effectively advertise on these platforms? Here are some tips to follow:
- Make it trendy: Triller and TikTok thrive on trends, so your campaigns also need to for the best results. Keep up with the latest trends and incorporate them into your campaigns.
- Keep it short: Since these are short-form video platforms, your campaigns need to be short to blend in with the overall nature of the apps. Generally speaking, try to keep your ads shorter than five seconds.
- Target the right users: TikTok and Triller are able to gather tons of data about their users that they then use to offer advanced targeting options for advertisers. Harness this data by targeting users based on demographic factors, interests, life events, past actions, and more.
- Work with influencers: These platforms also thrive on influencers, so you can effectively tap into their existing follower networks by partnering with them. Just make sure that you’re choosing the right influencers with authority in your industry to promote your brand and products.
- Take advantage of app features: These platforms have unique video-editing capabilities with cool filters and effects. However, these elements aren’t just designed for users — advertisers can also incorporate them into their content to show that they know and understand the app.
Final Thoughts on Triller and TikTok
Triller and TikTok are just two places where you should be advertising. You should use an omnichannel approach that incorporates several different platforms ranging from Pinterest to email and everything in between for the best results.
To learn more about omnichannel marketing and how to make it work for your business, reach out to Greg Gillman for personalized expertise and guidance.
Sources:
TikTok’s US Ban Is on Hold. What Comes Next? | CNN
Triller vs. TikTok: Differences, Similarities, and Why You Need to Know About Both | Medium
How to Work With TikTok: TikTok Influencer Marketing Guide | Business2Community
