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Background:

Instagram’s self-regulation of fashion appears to be over. While the Meta-owned app still has a large user base, more and more brands and creators are turning to TikTok as their go-to marketing platform. As TikTok became his Gen Z favorite, the fashion and beauty industry used the app as a testing ground and did most of its marketing on Instagram. That’s starting to change, shaking up the way brands approach their social media channels.

“The demand for content from brands is escalating,” says BoF contributor Chantal Fernandez.

Key Insights:

• Just a year ago, fashion brands didn’t take TikTok seriously as a marketing platform. It is now seen as a place where all brands need to have a presence. However, the return on TikTok’s marketing investment is still modest. The app is still fairly new, with Facebook and Instagram having more sophisticated advertising platforms from decades ago.
• For influencers, would-be influencers, and regular users, TikTok is appealing. Because TikTok creates a relatively level playing field where anyone can go viral at any time. Casual, individual content is preferred over high-production, over-the-top shots and scenes.
• Instagram still plays an important role for influencers and brands. It can reach older consumers, act as a channel to showcase your products, and act as a mostly secondary website or blog for people to refer to.
• Prompted by the rise of TikTok, social media is moving away from being social and acting as a sort of recommendation machine where algorithms decide what to show users.

Additional resources:

• How TikTok took fashion by storm: Instagram has a growing number of users, but for more and more brands and creators, TikTok has replaced the Meta-owned social network as fashion’s primary marketing platform.
• TikTok ad earnings still don’t live up to the hype: Despite TikTok’s skyrocketing popularity and lower costs compared to Instagram, brands and pundits say the return on ad spend still doesn’t match established platforms, but brands do it. It cannot be ignored.