Yearly Archives: 2022

Whether you’re a new or seasoned social media manager, managing a brand’s social presence can be overwhelming. After all, you’re behind every post and every interaction with potential customers so the pressure is on.

One way to ease that and make sure you’re at the top of your game is with a social media checklist. In this article, we’ll cover the daily and monthly tasks every social media manager needs to succeed.

Social Media Tasks

Before we get into the checklist, we’re going to break down the work of a social media manager into four pillars.

Sharing – You must post on social media regularly to grow and maintain an audience.
Engaging – Connecting with your audience, via polls, responding to comments and DMs, and reposting user-generated content, is key to building that brand loyalty.
Monitoring – It’s important to know how your brand is perceived online, so you’ll need to monitor mentions of your brand as well as topics within your industry.
Reviewing and Optimizing – If you’re not reviewing your performance, how can you improve? This is a necessary part of every social media strategy.

If you don’t share often, you’ll struggle to build an audience. Without an audience, you won’t have much to engage with. This also means that you’ll have little to no data about what works well and nothing to optimize or review.

This is all to say that to have a robust social media presence, you must be strong in all four areas. Now, let’s dive into the daily tasks you’ll need to complete in this role.

Social Media Daily Checklist

On a daily basis, you will be focused on the first three pillars: sharing, engaging, and monitoring.

While there is some reviewing and optimizing that can happen daily, you can better identify patterns when you do so on a monthly basis once you have compiled a good data set.

1. Sharing content.

Your number one priority on social media should be sharing content.

That’s what will allow you to reach your target audience, attract them to your brand, and keep them engaged.

When we surveyed 310 U.S.-based marketers in 2022, we found that most social media marketers post between four to six times a week on social media platforms.

While that is the average, some marketers post more or less depending on the platform. For instance, 29% of marketers surveyed said they post on Facebook every day while 35% said they do the same on Twitter.

However, when asked about Pinterest, most marketers surveyed only post two to three times a week.

Of course, how often you post will depend on a variety of factors including the return on investment.

Something else to consider is that sharing content doesn’t only mean from your brand. It can include user-generated content or content from another non-competitor that would add value to your audience.

2. Responding to comments and DMs.

One of the easiest ways to engage your audience is by responding to their comments.

If you’re struggling to generate comments in the first place, try starting a conversation and asking your audience to join it.

In this post, sunscreen brand KINLÒ asks its audience to share ways they protect their skin.

In that same vein, you can ask your audience to tag a friend that would enjoy your post.

Another way to engage your audience is by responding to direct messages. Often, consumers will reach out to brands on social media to learn more about the brand, ask specific questions related to shared content, or get help.

It’s important that you review these questions every day to leave a positive impression on your audience. If you take too long to answer, they may lose interest or escalate the issue by complaining to the public.

You can take it one step further by working internally with your customer support team to develop an escalation process once a customer reaches out via social media.

3. Monitor brand mentions and industry-related content.

When you’re growing your business, it’s vital that you know how your brand is being perceived online and what is being said about it.

According to our 2022 social media marketing report, 35% of marketers surveyed track brand mentions and hashtags on social media.

Thankfully with social media, that information is within reach. You can easily set up alerts to be noticed whenever your brand is tagged or mentioned on social media.

You can also routinely do searches on platforms like TikTok where alerts aren’t readily available.

This will allow you to gauge brand sentiment and quickly address concerns from your target audience.

Pro-tip: HubSpot’s social media management software includes a brand monitoring tool that will help you stay on top of all mentions and even track your competitors.

4. Identify trends and buzzy content.

Trends come and go just about every week on social media.

The trick is jumping in as they’re growing in popularity and knowing when they’ve died out.

The best way to find trends is by simply being on social media – social listening. You may start to notice a particular sound being used often or a song being added to every Reel you come across.

Some social platforms will tell you exactly what’s trending, like on TikTok’s “Discover” tab and Twitter’s “Trending” tab.

There are also accounts that are dedicated to finding trends as they happen and explaining their origin. This will help you determine which ones are worth joining and which ones you should stay out of.

As a brand, everything you put out there is a representation of your values. That’s why it’s important that you be extra careful when assessing trends.

See what videos other brands and users are creating with that trend. Are they funny and creative? Are they offensive? Do they align with your brand?

If not, it’s always OK to skip because there’ll be another one coming around the corner.

5. Answer queries on forums.

When we think of social media, we often think of content-sharing apps like TikTok, Twitter, and Twitch.

However, some social apps – think Reddit and Quora – focus instead on conversations and community.

You may be surprised to find how many conversations people may be having about your brand on these websites. In addition to being a great source of information surrounding brand sentiment, you can also learn a lot about your audience’s challenges and pain points.

You can then leverage that information into value-packed posts to attract your audience.

6. Connect with brand evangelists.

Building brand loyalty is no easy feat. So once you’ve accomplished it, you have to invest time to maintain it.

This means connecting with your brand evangelists on a regular basis.

Yes! 😍

— Brandon Blackwood (@BBlackwoodNYC)
April 27, 2022

This can look like commenting on their content and/or sharing it on your platform, giving them access to exclusive content, shouting them out, and inviting them to participate during live streams.

While social media can be filled with parasocial relationships, don’t let that be the case for you and your audience.

Social Media Monthly Checklist

1. Check your analytics.

Data is every brand’s most sacred asset. It holds incredibly valuable insights about your target audience.

On social media, your data will tell you the type of content your audience enjoys, what grabs their attention, and what generates conversions.

It will also help you identify trends. In fact, when we asked social media marketers “How do you predict which social media trends are worth investing in?” The top answer was by analyzing their social media analytics.

So, which metrics are marketers reviewing? Here are the top five, according to our survey:

Likes and comments (41%)
Sales (41%)
Traffic to their website (41%)
Impressions and views (40%)
Brand mentions and hashtags (35%)

If you have at least one month’s worth of data, you can start finding out which posts perform the best and dig into the why.

Through your analytics, you can also assess which social platforms are worth investing in. According to our survey, the top three metrics marketers look at to make this decision are:

Impressions/views
Sales
Follower or subscriber count

Whether you’re already succeeding or struggling on social media, reviewing your data will always set you up for a better month ahead.

2. Set goals.

Once you’ve reviewed your analytics and know what went well and what can be improved, you can set your goals for next month.

For instance, say you notice that last month’s videos outperformed any other content type and generated 2,000 visits to your website. For next month, you can up the number of videos you post and set a visit goal of 3,000.

Whether it’s increasing your reach, generating more engagement, or driving more traffic to your website, setting goals will serve as your north star and allow you to schedule content that aligns with these goals.

3. Schedule next month’s content.

When you’re managing multiple social media accounts, you have to plan your content ahead of time. Otherwise, you risk under planning and not having enough content.

You’ve already set your goals for the month. So now, it’s just a matter of creating content that best aligns with them.

For instance, say you want to increase your reach and last month’s data shows that your most shared content relates to three main topics. You can then center next month’s content on these three topics.

When scheduling content, you should also consult other teams to determine if there are any events, announcements, or campaigns that you will need to share.

The earlier you have your creative assets – images, videos, copy – the easier it will be to create your content calendar.

Pro-tip: We created a social media content calendar template to make planning posts and coordinating campaigns easy.

There you have it – a detailed social media checklist that will have you on top of your game every day.

There’s no shortage of advice in the blogosphere on how and where to spend your time on social media. How organizations are actually spending their time online, however, is a different story.

Unlike most marketing campaigns you see looking to get you using a product or service, non-profit social marketing is all about getting you to take action for a cause.

Often, non-profit organizations are tight on resources and don’t always have the ability to produce large, high-visibility campaigns. That’s where social media can help. Let’s dive into the social media platforms that non-profit orgs can leverage today.

How Non-Profits Leverage Social Media

There are three major ways that non-profit organizations can use social media to get the word out on causes that matter.

The first is through social challenges.

Think back to 2014 when the ice bucket challenge went viral. This challenge involved taking a bucket full of ice water and pouring it onto yourself, posting it on social media, donating to the cause, then nominating friends and family to follow suit.

This challenge, designed to raise awareness of ALS or Lou Gherig’s diseases, spread like wildfire through social media and helped the ALS association increase its annual funding by 187%.

Social challenges are fantastic for two reasons: They usually involve doing something funny which increases their viral potential and they invite people to join in.

Another marketing tactic non-profit organizations use is user-generated content.

Social proof is used in marketing all the time to foster trust between a brand and its target audience. Brands often do this by sharing customer reviews.

Non-profit orgs can also use social proof to drive action.

In 2021, Habitat for Humanity included drawings done by children of Habitat homeowners sharing messages of hope, strength, and resilience.

For non-profits, the best stories come directly from the beneficiaries themselves. Everything from a video to a handwritten message can be used to show how impactful the work is.

TikTok

When it comes to non-profit marketing, TikTok is a great platform to raise awareness. It’s particularly helpful for reaching a younger audience, like Gen Z and Millennials.

According to TikTok, users made close to 75,000 donations on the platform in 2021 for causes ranging from fighting hunger to humanitarian relief efforts.

The social platform arms non-profit organizations with features that help them generate interest in their causes and fundraise.

For instance, in April 2020, TikTok introduced donation stickers that could be added to videos, live streams, and profiles.

They work with a third-party platform called Tiltify to process donations securely. As such, non-profit organizations that want to use this functionality must go through an approval process by Tiltify.

In addition, TikTok has also financially contributed to these organizations, recently donating $7 million to #GivingTuesday initiatives and matching donations when users use branded hashtags.

@siennamae
#duet with @samsmith
♬ original sound – Sam Smith

Meta

Similar to TikTok, the social media platforms under Meta – notably Instagram and Facebook – also offer non-profit friendly features that facilitate donations and promote awareness.

To access these features, organizations must be eligible and sign up for charitable giving tools on Facebook.

Once that’s done, they’ll have access to a series of tools, such as:

Donation buttons that they can add to their profile and share during live streams.
Page fundraisers
Volunteering sign-up forms
Profile support buttons

You can find a list of tools by Meta here.

In addition to providing these tools, Meta has also contributed to many campaigns. Last year, on Giving Tuesday, the company matched up to $8 million in donations made to fundraisers on Facebook.

Image Source

To celebrate Instagram’s 11th anniversary, the social platform also matched fundraisers up to $50,000 from seven top creators on the platform through Giving Tuesday.

While TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook currently offer the most advanced features for non-profits, organizations can still leverage other social platforms like Twitter and Clubhouse to drive awareness and action. However, if you’re a new org looking to gain some traction, these are great places to start.

Language has the ability to build relationships and forge connections, but it’s equally liable for creating barriers and impacting someone’s sense of belonging. 

Using inclusive language, and having workplace conversations devoid of exclusive language, means employees are more likely to feel like they belong and can be their authentic selves at work. 

Here we’ll explore what inclusive language is and provide examples to ensure you create an inclusive workplace and inclusive marketing material and 2022 and beyond. 

To explore how you might promote inclusive language at your organization, I spoke with some experts at HubSpot who have first-hand knowledge of incorporating inclusive language into their processes, products, and overall team culture.

For instance, Hannah Fleishman, who led the charge on updating HubSpot’s Careers website to be more inclusive, told me, “Language has a big impact on our sense of belonging in the workplace. The challenge is, language is nuanced. The changes we should consider making to how we talk and write are often subtle.”

Melissa Obleada, an Associate User Experience Researcher at HubSpot, echoes this thought, mentioning, “Many of us don’t realize that our language has additional meaning hidden between the lines. Certain words can imply a certain age, gender, educational background, social class, and so much more. We see this a lot in the ways many folks write job descriptions.”

Consider, for instance, the last time you were in a meeting and a leader said, “Okay, guys, let’s get started” — do you think that automatically made female colleagues feel a little less-welcomed than their male peers? Would it have been better if he’d said “ya’ll” or “everyone”?

Alternatively, imagine you’re hiring a new person on your team and your boss tells you, “We’re looking for a good culture fit.” You know most people on your team are extraverted — does that make you unfairly biased during interviews as you seek out a “good culture fit” by looking for candidates that mirror your colleagues’ personality type?

Beth Dunn, Marketing Fellow at HubSpot, wrote a Medium piece on the topic of instilling a human voice in product content, and said, “Try not to present the privileged, tech-savvy, wealthy, able-bodied, white, cisgendered, anglo-centric male experience as ‘standard’ and everything else as ‘other’ or ‘diverse.’ Seek ways to place the ‘other’ in the center of things instead.”

Additionally, Dunn told me, “What’s great is that the English language is such a flexible, expressive language, so there are all sorts of ways to say what you need to say without indicating anything that might be exclusive. It just takes a little imagination, empathy, and practice, that’s all.”

Take job descriptions as an example — you might’ve heard by now that women only apply for jobs when they feel they’ve met 100% of the requirements, while men will apply when they feel they’ve met 60% of them.

Fleishman suggests, “Try to avoid writing job descriptions with unattainable requirements. Using more inclusive language can be like building a new muscle; you need to get in the habit of recognizing nuances and asking yourself if what you’re saying, or writing, is accessible for everyone.”

Obleada adds that it’s not just job descriptions that you should edit for inclusivity — it’s all communication, whether through email, Slack, text, Facebook, or in-person: “When it comes to implementing inclusive language, it takes practice to shift your typical ways of speaking and writing.”

To monitor whether your communication is exclusive to certain groups, you’ll want to look at resources and tools online. For instance, Textio is an augmented writing tool that identifies whether you’re using gendered language in your writing or words with a strong feminine or masculine association. This can be undeniably helpful for both job descriptions and even emails to colleagues.

Additionally, you might consider taking a look at the Conscious Style Guide, a resource on conscious language that breaks down exclusive language into categories, including age and disability.

Finally, to identify your own implicit biases, try taking a Hidden Bias Test, like this one created by Psychologists at Harvard, the University of Virginia, and the University of Washington, to uncover how your biases might be inhibiting you from expressing yourself more inclusively.

If this all sounds like a lot of work to you, it’s important to note — this isn’t just about creating a more inclusive environment at work. It’s also critical for your company’s bottom line, particularly if you work for a global company or plan to expand your offerings to other regions in the future.

Obleada explains it like this: “For some, writing and speaking inclusively may feel like a restrictive set of rules, hindering instead of helping us. In reality, it’s just the opposite.”

“Inclusive language opens up and amplifies your message to more people, making your blog post, job description, or website copy more accessible than before.”

Next, let’s explore some inclusive language examples in-practice.

1. Avoid company or team acronyms.

Fleishman told me, “Acronyms have become part of most companies’ vocabulary, but they can be alienating for new employees, candidates, or global teams.”

I personally remember how frustrated I felt when I first joined my team at HubSpot and everyone kept saying “TL;DR” in meetings. I was too embarrassed to ask what it meant. I finally Googled the term, but in the interim, the acronym made me feel separate from the larger group.

While this is a small and innocent example, there might be bigger acronyms you use every day within your team that continue to alienate new members or employees from other teams. And if your company does choose to use specific acronyms (like, in HubSpot’s case, H.E.A.R.T.), make sure you explain what it means during the employee onboarding process.

2. Use plain language in your writing rather than expressions or jargon.

Many of us use colloquial expressions every day. For instance, I often say, “It’s just a ballpark figure” or “it should be a piece of cake,” without pausing to consider whether the listener knows or has heard the term before.

Of course, this can be confusing to other parts of the world that aren’t familiar with such expressions. If your company has global offices or works with customers from across the globe, expressions that are common to you can pose a major deterrent to clear communication. 

For instance, in Dunn’s Medium article, she writes, “We also avoid using metaphors (visual and written) that are specific to just one culture or class. So, for instance, we avoid using phrases like ‘knock it out of the park’ or ‘hit a home run,’ even though these phrases are pretty common in North America as they’re just not going to resonate outside of the U.S. Not because people will be offended by a reference to baseball, but because they won’t be as familiar, so the meaning won’t be as clear.”

The graphic below displays examples of colloquial words and phrases and plain language alternatives to ensure everyone understands you.

3. Refer to a theoretical person as “they” instead of “he” or “she.”

As marketers, we’re exceptional storytellers. Sometimes, however, whether you’re talking offhandedly with a colleague or delivering a pitch, you might get caught up in using pronouns that unintentionally support stereotypes.

For instance, let’s say you’re giving a pitch and you say, “We’ve found through analysis that our readers are typically in a VP position or higher, which is why we believe we should lean into LinkedIn as a strategy in 2020. For instance, let’s say our reader needs to deliver a presentation. He might turn to our blog ahead of time, but more likely, he’ll turn to LinkedIn first.”

Your fictitious VP-level reader doesn’t need to be “male” or “female” — why not call them by the non-gendered pronoun “they,” “them,” or “their”? You can still make your point, and you won’t alienate people on your team who feel hurt that you’ve assumed that leaders are likely male.

This also relates to gendered terms that add nouns to the end of them, like salesman. Opting for a more inclusive term could be saying salesperson or sales rep. The image below shows additional examples of gendered terms and alternative phrases to use. 

4. Ensure your company’s designs or images reflect a diverse group of people.

When potential customers take a look at your website, you want them to see people (or figures) that look like them. Simultaneously, you want potential new hires to see themselves reflected.

Otherwise, you’re likely missing out on both potential customers, and future employees for your company.

Image Source

In her Medium post, Dunn writes, “Our product illustrators try to ensure that the people we represent in illustrations are diverse in appearance, and that these different types of people are represented doing many different things (for instance, a person of color doing the talking while others listen, a woman in a wheelchair at an executive desk, etc.).”

As you scale as a company, you want to ensure your marketing materials reflect as many groups of people as possible. Otherwise, you’re unintentionally sending messages to people who don’t see themselves in your content that your brand “isn’t quite right for them.”

5. Be mindful of terms related to race, ethnicity, nationality, and culture. 

Many terms used daily have roots in racism and discrimination, so using them can make people feel unsafe, whether in your marketing materials or day-to-day correspondence with team members. 

Some regularly used terms have roots in racism and discrimination or are taken from celebrations and sacred practices of marginalized communities. Using them in your marketing materials or day-to-day correspondence with team members can make people feel unsafe and unwelcome. 

For example, pow wow is often used informally to describe a meeting or get-together. Using it in such a way disregards pow wows as indigenous cultures’ sacred rituals and social gatherings — ceremonial events that have nothing to do with work. A simple alternative is saying stand-up, meeting, or hang-out. 

The image below displays other examples of words commonly used that are related to ethnicity, race, nationality, and culture that you can easily swap out for more inclusive terms. 

6. When speaking to colleagues about family, use gender-neutral labels for family members.

Obleada told me, “Inclusive language has a real impact on how ‘themselves’ folks feel they can be in a given space. As a queer woman, it makes me cringe when folks ask me about a boyfriend. Intentionally using gender neutral titles — parent, spouse, partner, child, etc. — when speaking about your or others’ families can make a big difference in how comfortable someone may feel.”

Rather than making assumptions, approach conversations with colleagues using gender neutral titles. For instance, it’s better to use “parent” or “guardian” when making conversation with a colleague since “mom” or “dad” excludes family structures such as grandparents as caregivers, same-sex parents, etc.

7. Be mindful of medical conditions and ability terms. 

Common phrases like “turning a blind eye” are ableist and insensitive to people whose lives are impacted by medical conditions.

While likely used innocently, someone who hears such a phrase in the workplace or sees it in your marketing materials may feel unsafe and like you don’t represent them or what they care about. 

It’s best practice not to use such terms unless they’re relevant to your topic of conversation. The image below displays commonly used phrases that can be harmful that you might not have realized before and alternatives to implement.

8. When in doubt, ask individuals which pronouns they prefer (but make it clear they can choose not to identify, as well).

It’s critical to note — there’s no one-size-fits-all “right” and “wrong” when it comes to language. Many people have personal preferences, especially when it comes to identity.

For instance, person-first language (i.e., “people with autism”) was introduced because many feel it’s dehumanizing to put the disability or gender orientation first, as it seems to define the individual.

However, some prefer identity-first language (i.e., “autistic people”) since they accept autism as an inherent part of their identity — identity-first language can even help evoke a sense of pride among individuals.

(For more information on person-first or identity-first, take a look at this article by the Autistic Self Advocacy Network.)

Over To You

It’s critical you avoid applying hard-and-fast rules to all individuals, since these preferences are incredibly personal. You might consider asking them what they prefer, or offering up your own preferred pronouns to create a safe space for them to do the same — but only if they feel comfortable doing so. (To learn more about etiquette when it comes to asking pronoun preference, take a look at Gender Neutral Pronouns: What They Are & How to Use Them.)

Ultimately, it’s important to remember none of us will get it “perfect” 100% of the time, but admitting when you’ve made mistakes and consistently working to communicate more inclusively are two major steps towards creating a more unified workforce, and creating deeper connections with your customers.

Remember — inclusive language is about widening your message and allowing it to resonate with as many people as possible, so it’s critical for your business’s bottom-line that you do everything you can to communicate more inclusively every day.

Creating a TikTok is half the battle — now you need the right people to watch it. But with over 1 billion monthly users on the platform, it’s easy to get lost in the crowd.

Enter your secret weapon — the hashtag. While many marketers approach hashtags as an after-thought, they’re a powerhouse for engagement, visibility, and discoverability. Even if you aren’t running a full-scale hashtag campaign, they should be a part of your overall TikTok strategy.

Here, we’ll explore the benefits of using TikTok hashtags, discuss best practices for using them, and uncover what types of hashtags are most popular on the platform.

What are TikTok hashtags?

Like Instagram and Twitter, TikTok uses hashtags to group content around a particular topic, making it easy for people to find videos that interest them.

The hashtag “formula” includes a hash sign (#), followed by a topic (e.g., crafts, travel, fashion, sports, etc.). The best hashtags tend to be relatively short, concise, and easy to remember.

Brands can use hashtags to build brand awareness, increase social engagement, and drive conversions. To go a step further, they can also sponsor a hashtag — known as a branded hashtag — to encourage TikTokers to create content around it. The most popular branded hashtags have amassed millions of views and thousands of response videos.

Next, let’s dive deeper into the importance of TikTok hashtags — and cover best practices for using them.

Why are TikTok hashtags so important?

Hashtags have the power to expand your reach beyond your current audience. Let’s dive deeper into their benefits:

1. Provide context.

For one, hashtags provide a layer of context for your TikTok videos. For instance, if you upload a video of you playing a video game, you could include the hashtag #gaming. Then, the TikTok algorithm decides who would be most interested in seeing your video on their feed.

2. Discoverability and engagement.

Hashtags categorize videos under certain topics — like #gaming — so users can easily find content they’re interested in. As a result, your content has more chances to be discovered, even if someone doesn’t follow your brand.

With more eyes on your content, you have a higher chance of engagement. After all, users can only “like” and comment on videos that appear in front of them. So, more reach typically translates to higher engagement.

3. Building community.

Hashtags are a great tool for building community. For instance, branded hashtags are an effective way to encourage users to engage with your brand and create videos around a sponsored hashtag.

For example, when Nissan Australia wanted to promote its new sports car, the JUKE, they turned to TikTok. They created a branded hashtag — #improvisewithJUKE — and challenged users to make their own car commercial voiceover, with the winner receiving a feature in a future JUKE commercial.

The results? 129.4 million video views globally and over 34,000 video submissions, leading to a 92% lift in brand awareness for the JUKE.

How to Use Hashtags on TikTok

Hashtags on TikTok work just like they do on Instagram and other social platforms. When you upload a video, you have the option to write a caption — and this is where you want to include your hashtags. While this sounds simple, here are a few best practices to keep in mind:

1. Find the best hashtags for your content.

It’s essential to research hashtags relevant to your brand, your industry, and your audience. One way to do this is by checking out your competition because there’s likely an audience overlap. Observe what hashtags they use and note which ones get the most views and engagement.

You can also find inspiration on the app’s Discover page. Here, you can browse through trending hashtags and sounds. Discover also showcases popular videos that use these hashtags to help you find inspiration.

2. Combine niche hashtags with popular ones.

This might sound counterintuitive, but only targeting popular hashtags can be ineffective. While they have a larger audience, they’re also highly competitive. Instead, it’s better to have a mixture of both niche and popular hashtags.

Niche hashtags have fewer people searching for them, but those who do are highly engaged and interested. For instance, #food is a popular TikTok hashtag with millions of impressions, but #cakedecorating is more niche with a fraction of the audience. By incorporating both, you tap into two different audiences.

3. Stay mindful of the character limit.

TikTok limits captions to 300 characters. While you could squeeze as many hashtags as possible into your caption, a long string of hashtags can confuse your audience — and this does a poor job of explaining your video. Instead, experts suggest 3 to 5 hashtags as the optimal number.

Popular TikTok Hashtags

According to a recent Statista report, TikTok sees the most hashtag views from entertainment content (535 billion views, to be exact). This aligns with another study by HubSpot that reports funny and entertaining content has the highest engagement and ROI than any other content type.

The second most popular category on TikTok is dance with 181 billion hashtag views, followed by pranks, fitness and sports content, home renovations, and beauty and skincare.

To find the most popular hashtags in real-time, visit the Trend Discovery page on TikTok. Here, you will find a comprehensive list of trending hashtags, songs, and creators.

Back to You

Once you create a TikTok video, your work isn’t over. Now you need to position your content in front of your audience. One of the best ways to do this is with hashtags. Start with the tips in this article and always keep an eye out for hashtags that relate to your brand or audience.

Short-form video is dominating the social media landscape — and many marketers want to get a piece of the action. But this leaves one important question: which video-sharing platform is worth your time, effort, and money — YouTube or TikTok?

While YouTube is the more mature platform, it’s hard to ignore the buzz around TikTok. In order to make the right decision, it’s essential to understand their unique audiences, marketing opportunities, and algorithms.

Let’s take a closer look at the key differences between YouTube and TikTok — and how to choose the right platform for your business.

YouTube vs. TikTok: A Head-to-Head Comparison

1. Demographics.

YouTube

With a global user base of more than 2 billion people, it’s safe to assume that your target audience is on YouTube. Let’s take a closer look at its user base.

YouTube holds sway with both men and women, almost in equal measure. Male users account for 53% of its population, while female users account for 46%.

The platform is also popular across different age groups. Outside of China, 77% of Gen Z, 75% of millennials, and 44% of Baby Boomers visit YouTube daily. Specifically, the 18-25 year age group commands the largest visitor base.

YouTube attracts a global audience, with more than 95% of the internet population using it. That said, India accounts for the largest audience size, followed by the United States and Indonesia.

TikTok

TikTok is known as the platform for Gen-Z — and the stats confirm it. Over half of Gen-Z consumers are on TikTok, and 46% of 13-19-year-olds say they use the platform daily.

However, TikTok is also picking up steam with other age groups. In 2021, 36% of TikTok users were between 35 and 54 years old, a 10% increase from the year before.

Unlike Youtube, TikTok’s user base skews primarily female (57% worldwide). That figure jumps to 61% for TikTok users in the US. While TikTok’s user base is increasingly diverse, there’s no denying its popularity among younger female audiences.

TikTok is a global platform available in 154 countries worldwide and in 75 different languages. The United States accounts for the largest user base (120 million users), followed by Indonesia, Brazil, and Russia.

2. Popularity.

There’s no real competition here (yet). YouTube commands an audience of over two billion monthly users — almost half of the entire internet-using population. It’s no surprise that one in five social media marketers plans to invest the most in YouTube this year, according to a recent HubSpot Blog’s report.

However, TikTok is a relatively new platform with stellar growth year-over-year. TikTok was the most downloaded app in 2019 and 2020, racking up over three billion downloads so far. It also boasts 1.2 billion monthly users, which experts predict will reach 1.5 billion by the end of 2022 — keeping YouTube on its toes.

Additionally, while TikTok doesn’t bring in the same monthly users, it certainly wins at engagement. In fact, TikTok is the most engaging of all social media apps, with an average user session of 10.85 minutes. As a result, 52% of marketers who use TikTok plan to increase their investment in 2022.

3. Content Format and Length

YouTube

Unlike other social media platforms, YouTube has become the unofficial home for long-form content. For instance, you’ve likely stumbled upon a 30-minute workout video or even a 2-hour podcast on YouTube.

However, it’s impossible to deny the popularity of short-form video content. In fact, 31% of marketers are currently leveraging short-form video, and 29% plan to leverage it for the first time this year.

In response, YouTube launched Shorts — enabling users to create 15-second videos with musical overlays. This also allows video marketers to play with different content types on the same platform.

TikTok

To put it plainly, TikTok is a short-form powerhouse. In fact, the app has become synonymous with fun, “snackable” content that attracts Gen-Z and millennial audiences.

Why does this matter? Short-form video is the most popular and effective social media format in 2022. So much so that 50% of social media marketers plan to leverage short-form video for the first time this year, and 95% of those who already use it will increase or maintain their investment.

Initially, TikTok videos could only be 15-seconds long. However, the app has extended the limit to 60 seconds. For marketers, this means more wiggle room to play around with video concepts. However, this only applies to videos recorded natively on the app.

4. Ad Formats

YouTube

YouTube ads are powered by Google. You have several ad formats to choose from, including:

Discover ads — ads that appear on the YouTube homepage or search results pages.
TrueView ads — also known as skippable ads, these are ads that play before a video.
Non-skippable ads — ads that appear before, in the middle, or after a video.
Bumper ads — 6-second ads that play before a video.
Overlay ads — banner ads that appear at the bottom of a video.

YouTube offers a lot of flexibility for marketers to experiment with different ad formats. For example, you can opt for a quick, 6-second ad at the beginning of a video or a 30-second non-skippable ad in the middle of a video.

TikTok

Despite its “newness,” TikTok has become a viable option for brands willing to get creative with their digital marketing. So much so, it launched TikTok for Business in 2021, allowing marketers to create and manage ad campaigns on the platform.

Additionally, there are different ways to advertise on the platform, including:

TopView — ads that appear at the top of their feed immediately after opening the app.
In-Feed Ads — ads that appear on a user’s discovery page.
Branded Hashtags — a hashtag that businesses promote in hopes of inspiring TikTokers to create content around it.
Brand Takeovers — an ad format that can include TopView, In-Feed, and Branded Hashtags all at once. They can also be videos, gifs, or still images.

As we’ll discuss later, each ad format on TikTok has a different price tag — so even if you have a smaller budget, you can play your cards right with a solid strategy.

5. Ad Costs

YouTube

YouTube follows a cost-per-view pricing model. Each view can cost between $0.10 and $0.30, depending on your industry and target keywords. You only pay when a user takes action — such as watching the entirety of your ad or clicking on a call-to-action.

You can spend as little or as much as you want. However, most businesses invest $10 or more a day to run an advertising campaign on YouTube. If you set a daily budget, Google will only charge you up until that amount, making YouTube ads a relatively safe investment.

TikTok

If you decide to advertise on TikTok, you can select a daily or lifetime budget that can be adjusted at any point during your campaign. However, at the campaign level, you must have a minimum daily and total budget of $50. For an ad group level, your budget must exceed $20 daily.

It’s also important to note that TikTok doesn’t use cost-per-click as a metric. Instead, it uses cost-per-mille (CPM), which means cost per 1000 views. TikTok ads start at $10 per CPM, so it’s possible to make an impact at a relatively low cost.

Which platform is right for your business?

One final question remains — which platform is better for my business? Ultimately, the answer hinges on several factors.

First, who is your target audience? As you can see, both YouTube and TikTok boast diverse audiences, but TikTok commands a younger, predominantly female audience. YouTube, on the other hand, is popular across multiple age groups. To state the obvious, you should prioritize the platform that will reach your audience.

Second, what type of content do you want to make? Does it lend itself more to lighthearted, snappy videos or longer, more in-depth ones? Is 15 seconds long enough to convey your message, or do you need more time?

Lastly, it’s important to consider your budget. YouTube offers more flexibility in choosing a daily budget. And, since it follows a cost-per-view pricing model, you only pay when a user takes action. To run a campaign on TikTok, you must commit to a daily budget of $50, which quickly adds up.

With these questions in mind, you have a better idea of which platform is right for your business. But remember, marketing is all about experimentation. You don’t need to commit to one platform right away — in fact, it may be useful to run side experiments on both to see what results you get.