Social Media
How Much Do Facebook Ads Cost in Australia?
How much do Facebook ads cost? You set the budget, and Meta’s auction sets the price per result. What drives Facebook ads cost in Australia, and what to budget.
TikTok vs Instagram comes down to two things: who your customers are and how much video you can make. Instagram suits most local businesses because it takes photos, carousels, Stories and Reels, and its ads run through Meta alongside Facebook. TikTok suits businesses ready to post short video often for a younger audience. Many businesses do well on one and repurpose for the other.
Our Mildura team is often asked by clients which platform is best. There's no single answer, so here's how we help businesses decide.
What's the difference between TikTok and Instagram for business?
Instagram started as a photo app and now carries almost every format: feed posts, carousels, Stories, Reels and live video. TikTok is built around short vertical video, with the For You feed at its centre.
That makes the instagram vs tiktok content question simple to frame. On Instagram you can mix photos of your work with the odd Reel. On TikTok, video is the whole game.
| TikTok | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Main formats | Photos, carousels, Stories, Reels | Short vertical video, live, photo posts | Posts, events, groups, video |
| How people find you | Followers, Explore, the Reels tab | The For You feed and search | Followers, groups, shares |
| Effort to keep it going | Medium | High (regular new video) | Low to medium |
| Advertising | Meta Ads Manager | TikTok Ads Manager | Meta Ads Manager |
| Best for | Visual products, hospitality, retail, trades with photogenic work | Brands with personality and a younger audience | Local services, events and older customers |
How many users are on TikTok vs Instagram?
In Australia, Instagram reaches more people than TikTok, although TikTok has been growing faster. The Digital 2026 Australia report from DataReportal (published with We Are Social and Meltwater) lists each platform's advertising reach, which is the closest public measure to tiktok vs instagram users.
Treat those numbers as a guide, not a deciding factor. A platform with fewer users can still be the right one if your customers spend their evenings on it.
Is TikTok or Instagram better for your business?
Instagram is the safer first choice for most regional businesses. TikTok is worth it when you can commit to video and your buyers are younger.
Choose Instagram when
- Your work photographs well: food, venues, homes, products, finished jobs
- Your customers range from their 20s to their 50s
- You want one ad account that also covers Facebook
- You can manage 3 to 5 posts a week, with a Reel or two among them
Choose TikTok when
- Your buyers skew younger, or you're recruiting younger staff
- Someone in the business is comfortable on camera
- You can film new video every week, not just once a month
- Your product or process is fun to watch: before and after, behind the scenes, how it's made
When neither fits
If your customers are mostly older, or you sell to other businesses, Facebook or LinkedIn may do more for you. And if your Google Business Profile has old hours and no recent photos, fix that first. It's often the first thing a local customer sees.
Instagram Reels vs TikTok: which is better for short video?
For instagram reels vs tiktok, the format is nearly the same: vertical video with sound, captions and on-screen text. The difference is the audience each one puts you in front of.
TikTok's For You feed shows videos to people based on what they watch, so a new account can reach strangers from its first post. Reels also reach people who don't follow you, through the Reels tab and Explore, but your existing Instagram followers see them too.
Most businesses don't need to choose. Film once in vertical format, then post the original file to both apps with a caption written for each.
How do the Instagram vs TikTok algorithms differ?
The instagram vs tiktok algorithm gap is mostly about followers. TikTok leans heavily on interest, so a video can travel far from a small account. Instagram mixes posts from accounts you follow with recommendations, so a strong following still matters.
For a small business, that means TikTok can grow faster from zero, and Instagram rewards steady posting to people who already know you.
What about TikTok vs Instagram advertising?
TikTok vs Instagram advertising works on the same idea: you set a budget, choose an audience and pay for views, clicks or leads. Instagram ads run through Meta Ads Manager, so one campaign can cover Facebook and Instagram together. TikTok ads run through TikTok Ads Manager and need video made for the feed.
If you're starting with paid social, Meta is usually the simpler place to begin because the same ads reach both apps. Our Meta ads team sets up and runs those campaigns.
Facebook vs Instagram vs TikTok: where do local businesses start?
For facebook vs instagram vs tiktok, start where your customers already are. In many regional towns, Facebook is still where community news, events and local recommendations get shared, and Instagram sits close behind for anything visual.
Pick one main platform, post well for 3 months, then decide whether a second one is worth the time. Our guide to how often you should post on social media helps you set a pace you can keep.
What we see when regional businesses pick a platform
When Rock Solid Marketing plans social media for businesses across Sunraysia and the Mallee, the first question is who buys from you, not which app is newest. A winery's cellar door, a caravan park and a trade supplier would each land on different answers.
The bigger problem is usually capacity. Every extra platform needs its own captions, sizes and replies. That's why our social media management plans cover 1, up to 2 or up to 3 platforms, and include Reels and short video either way.
Frequently asked questions
Does TikTok have highlights like Instagram?
No, TikTok has no direct equivalent of Instagram Story Highlights. The closest options are pinning up to 3 videos to the top of your profile and, where your account has them, playlists that group related videos. Use pinned videos for your best introduction, an offer and a customer favourite.
Can you use a TikTok sound on Instagram?
Not directly: TikTok's sound library doesn't carry over to Instagram. If the audio is your own recording, it's already in your video file and you can upload that file to Instagram. For music, pick a track from Instagram's own library, and remember business accounts on both apps have limited access to commercial music.
How do you share a post from Instagram to TikTok?
There's no share button that sends an Instagram post to TikTok. Upload the original video from your phone's camera roll in the TikTok app, then write a new caption and add TikTok sounds or text there. Using the original file keeps the quality higher than a downloaded copy.
How do you share a video from TikTok to Instagram?
Tap Share on your TikTok video and choose Instagram, or save the video and upload it as a Reel. A saved TikTok carries TikTok's watermark, so for a cleaner Reel, upload the original file you filmed instead and add the caption in Instagram.
Should a small business be on both TikTok and Instagram?
Only if you can keep both going. Start with the one that fits your customers, build a steady rhythm, then repurpose your best videos for the second app. Two half-empty profiles do less for you than one active one.
TikTok vs Instagram for business isn't a contest you need to win on both fronts. Choose the platform your customers use, make content you can keep making, and measure enquiries, not just views. If you'd like a hand, our social media marketing team in Mildura can plan it with you, and our Instagram marketing service covers the posts, Reels and reporting.
