TikTok or Instagram Reels? Finally, the answer you've been searching for.

For the past year, the world has been obsessed with TikTok, but is the app's reign coming to an end?

The rise and fall of TikTok

For the past year, the world has become obsessed with the short-form video sharing social media, TikTok. It has been widely used for entertainment and in recent months, as a social media marketing tool for businesses.

But the Chinese-owned social media has recently run into some trouble. Big trouble.

Donald Trump, the President of the United States, has issued an executive order banning Chinese apps such as the TikTok app, from the states, unless they sell to technology giant Microsoft by the 15th of September. With America banning Chinese apps, Europe and the rest of the world will surely follow - taking a massive chunk of TikTok’s users away.

Fortunately for avid TikTokers and marketers, you don’t have to sit anxiously waiting - Facebook has provided a solution in the form of Instagram Reels.

Instagram Reels - the solution we’ve been waiting for?

The latest feature on the Instagram app delivers much of the same functionality as the TikTok app, with the familiarity and aesthetics they come from using Instagram. This is the perfect opportunity to take advantage of short-form video marketing, without having to start your following from scratch on an independent platform.

So what’s the catch? There is only one real potential downside to Instagram Reels when compared to TikTok.

When using the TikTok app, we are accustomed to posting videos up to 60 seconds long, short but enough time to allow users to share real value. With Instagram Reels, you can only share video lengths of up to 15 seconds.

While this could pose a problem initially, users will more than likely adapt, as they always do. So instead of this being a problem, this will instead pose as an opportunity for marketers to deliver massive value in a matter of seconds.

More value in less time, this can only be a good thing.

But you don’t just have to take my word for it, thousands of users are flocking to the Instagram app, for Reels, including Celebrities who had gained a massive following on TikTok. So far we’ve seen Miley Cyrus posting a teaser of her new song, ‘Midnight Sky’ and Jesicca Alba promoting her ‘Honest beauty masks’ in a series of dancing videos.

Jessica Alba (left) @jessicaalba and Miley Cyrus (right) @mileycyrus showing how Instagram Reels is a powerful social media marketing tool.

This just goes to show that Instagram Reels is not only the hot new trend but also a fantastic marketing and promotions tool that you can use to take your brand and business to the next level. When paired with consistent posting to your feed, stories and IGTV, this becomes a powerful combination for you to get more likes for Instagram overall.

So, will you be joining your favourite celebrities and following the latest trends to Reels, or will you get left behind and risk sticking with TikTok?

“But how can I best market my business or brand using Instagram Reels?”

The answer comes in 5 simple steps - and I’ll be sharing them all with you tomorrow morning, turn your notifications on to make sure you don't miss it.

See you there.