Guide to Transitioning Your TikTok Ads to Instagram Reels

If the TikTok ban proceeds without a resolution, advertisers will need a new platform to reallocate their ad spend. With 170 million U.S. TikTok users, now “TikTok refugees”, seeking a new home for short-form content, Instagram Reels is emerging as the top alternative.

Instagram Reels offers an experience that closely mirrors TikTok’s feed, making it a natural transition for audiences and advertisers. Plus, with Instagram’s foundation in photo and video content, brands gain expanded opportunities beyond short-form video.

For advertisers looking to move TikTok ads to Instagram Reels, the transition may seem straightforward. And with the right tools and strategy, it can be. This guide will walk you through everything you need to run ads on Instagram Reels and successfully make the switch.

Why Choose Instagram Reels

Did you know that Reels now make up 38.5% of the content on users’ Instagram feeds? That’s nearly on par with the platform’s original focus—photos, which account for 39.8% of shared content. Despite launching later in August 2020, the growth of this content format is surely not going unnoticed.

Rising Popularity and Engagement

In the plight of the news of TikTok restrictions from 2024, Reels was already the first choice of U.S. users. Based on MGH, Inc.’s survey, about 60% say they will jump to this platform if it totally closes down.

Instagram Reels can easily be seen as TikTok’s competitor, with its significant share of the short-form video audience. While TikTok leads with a 5.53% engagement rate, Instagram Reels is closely behind at 4.36%. The platform is also seeing consistent growth, with a 3.7% YoY increase in user count, further boosting its appeal.

For brands leveraging influencer marketing, Instagram has introduced new updates. One of which is Trial Reels, which allow content creators to A/B test their videos before releasing them to the public.

Additionally, Instagram Reels now allows videos up to 3 minutes long, providing more time for creators and advertisers alike to connect with audiences.

Meta’s Robust Ad Ecosystem

While TikTok captures about a third of the U.S. population, Meta’s dominance in social media advertising is unmatched. With Facebook and Instagram holding 77% and 56% of the U.S. social media market, respectively, TikTok trails behind in fourth place at 45%.

Meta also leads in digital ad spending with a 21.3% share in the U.S. and commands an even larger 74.5% of social media ad spend. This makes advertising on Instagram Reels a strategic move, allowing brands to tap into Meta’s extensive ecosystem.

Beyond Instagram Reels, advertisers gain access to Facebook video placements, Feeds, and Meta Audience Network, which extends its reach across over 10 million publishers.

Stability Amid Regulatory Challenges

With TikTok facing ongoing scrutiny in the U.S., advertisers need a reliable and stable platform to continue reaching their audiences. As part of Meta, Instagram offers a more secure advertising environment, backed by an established U.S. presence and strong financial performance—Meta stocks saw a nearly two-thirds increase by the end of Q4 2024.

Even before the January 19 TikTok ban, creators were already directing their audiences to Instagram as their new content hub. This shift underscores Instagram’s role as the primary beneficiary of ad spend reallocation and the trust and long-term stability the platform provides for brands and advertisers.

Is Instagram Reels the Right Choice?

TikTok has built a unique space in short-form video, but does Instagram Reels truly compare? If you’re considering shifting from TikTok ads to Instagram Reels advertising, it’s important to understand the similarities and differences.

Let’s break down how these platforms align for advertisers and what you need to consider when making the switch.

Audience Demographics

Instagram Reels ads reach users starting at age 18, and Instagram’s audience closely mirrors TikTok’s, especially among younger demographics. In fact, 78% of U.S. adults aged 18-29 use Instagram, compared to 62% on TikTok. Here’s how the two platforms stack up across different age groups:

Age Group	Instagram	TikTok
18-29	78%	62%
30-49	60%	38%
50-64	35%	25%
65+	15%	10%

While younger users are active on both platforms, Instagram has a notable advantage in reaching older demographics—particularly users 30 and above, such as parents, families, and professionals. This makes Instagram Reels a strong alternative for targeting a wider age range beyond Gen Z.

Diversifying Ad Spend

According to eMarketer data, Instagram is set to capture up to 22% of ad spend reallocation. This puts Instagram ahead of its partner app, Facebook (17%), and YouTube (10%), making it the top alternative for advertisers shifting budgets from TikTok.

But what about ad costs? Does transitioning from TikTok ads to Instagram Reels mean a higher cost with the incoming competition? Jump to our costs and budget discussion for an in-depth look at Strike Social’s ad cost data for TikTok and Instagram.

Instagram Reels vs. TikTok Ads: Key Differences to Consider Before the Move

You’ve noticed the similarities—where TikTok and Instagram overlap, the shared features, and the advantages you can leverage. Now, let’s examine how the actual campaign preparation and setup differ. We’ll explore the creative process, ad campaign setup, and optimization as you transition from TikTok to Instagram Reels advertising.

Creative Adjustments

While both TikTok ads and Instagram Reels use a 9:16 vertical format, their safe zones, ad specs, and text placements differ. Optimize your video ad creatives for Instagram Reels’ layout to ensure a smooth transition. For a clearer view, let’s visualize this:

A side-by-side comparison reveals that moving your ad from TikTok to Instagram Reels offers a larger safe zone. TikTok’s ad layout accommodates up to four lines of text, requiring additional space at the bottom—an area that should be kept free of calls to action (CTAs).

Additionally, primary text on Instagram Reels appears in a smaller font size compared to TikTok, providing more space when transferring your video ad.

Refer to the table below to make sure your TikTok ads are compatible with Instagram Reels’ specifications. It outlines the minimum requirements to guarantee that when you switch from TikTok to Instagram Reels advertising, you’ll maintain (or even improve) the visual resolution for your audience’s view.

With the data above in mind, you can now tweak your image or video ad creatives to be more compatible before you launch your paid ads on Instagram. Keep in mind that you are entering a more aesthetically coordinated type of content platform, and it’s important to make the right impression with your Instagram Reels ads.

Costs and Budget

As you finalize your transition from TikTok to Instagram Reels ads, ad spend and campaign budget will definitely be important factors to consider. Without understanding how competitive Instagram advertising can be, you might be concerned about the potential increase in costs when making the switch.

To help you make an informed decision, let’s take a look at Strike Social’s campaign data:

CPM and CTR Trends

Many brands are vying for brand awareness on TikTok, leading to historically higher CPMs on the platform. Although TikTok’s CPM for Q1 2025 is projected to drop to $4.20 due to the impending ban, you can also expect lower engagement, especially if your primary audience targeting is largely or exclusively U.S.-based.

This trend has already been observed at the end of Q4, when TikTok’s CPM began to narrow the gap with Instagram CPM. Strike Social’s data further shows that while TikTok’s click-through rates (CTR) have been higher, there is a noticeable drop as the January ban approaches. During the same period, Instagram’s CTR continued to rise, highlighting the growing effectiveness of Instagram Reels advertising and demonstrating that it can now compete on equal footing with TikTok.

As indicated in the data, if impressions and brand awareness are your primary goals, based on our data (and with the steady user growth on IG),  Instagram offers lower CPM trends compared to TikTok. While Q4 does show an uptick in rates—likely due to the holiday season—these higher CPMs are still relatively close to the previous month’s levels, rather than a drastic peak.

TikTok vs. Instagram Cost Benchmarks

To give you a better sense of the cost differences, here’s a quick comparison of cost benchmarks for various campaign types on TikTok and Instagram:

Cost Metrics	Instagram Benchmarks	TikTok Benchmarks
CPM	$1.28 to $4.63	$8.62 to $12.00
CPC	$0.38 to $2.94	$0.89 to $2.00
CPV	$0.0060 to $0.0208	$0.10 to $0.30

It’s clear that Instagram can now match TikTok’s cost levels, particularly in terms of CPM and CPV. While you’ll need to adjust your campaign budget for Instagram advertising, the data suggests it will ultimately be a more efficient investment.

However, competition is likely to increase as more brands consider making the switch, which could raise these costs over time. With the right agency partner, you can optimize your costs while ensuring campaign performance stays strong. Learn more about how we can help you make the switch by scheduling a personalized walkthrough of our AdTech services.

Ad Setup, Targeting, and Campaign Management

While ad management software is generally easy to understand once you’re familiar with how it works, there will be some unfamiliar terms and tools that differ from what you’re used to.

One basic thing, though, is that both TikTok and Meta Ads Manager funnel down starting from Campaign to Ad Groups or Ad Sets and Ads level. However, for instance, TikTok classifies views as 2-second views, 6-second views, and video view-through. For Instagram (Meta), the classification for video views goes from 2-second video plays to 3-second video plays and ThruPlay.

To help simplify your process, we’re going to give you some of the things you can adapt to while shifting your ads over from TikTok to Instagram Reels:

Ad Placements

• TikTok: Available ad placements include TopView (the first ad shown upon opening the app) and In-Feed (For You, Search, Profile). In TikTok Ads Manager, you cannot specifically choose which placement you want your ad to appear in. However, you can deselect the tick box if you do not want your ads to appear in the Search Feed or search results.
• Instagram: Available ad placements include Reels, Explore, and In-Stream (post-loop). In Meta Ads Manager, you can choose to promote exclusively on Instagram Reels or expand to other placements. If you select Advantage+, Meta will automatically determine the placements where your video ad will perform best within the Meta Audience Network.

Audience Targeting

• TikTok and Instagram Reels offer similar audience targeting options. Meta recently added DMA targeting (introduced in 2023), which was already available on TikTok since 2021.
• A key distinction lies in Custom Audiences:
  • TikTok requires a minimum of 1,000 users in a Custom Audience to begin targeting matched users.
  • Meta only requires a minimum of 100 users, making it easier to refine your ad audience with smaller lists.

Ad Monitoring and Management

• Both TikTok Ads Manager and Meta Ads Manager provide comprehensive ad monitoring tools designed for their respective platforms. For a quick comparison, here’s a side-by-side view of TikTok Ads Manager and Meta Ads Manager:

• Getting familiar with a completely new platform may take some time and require adjustment. Browse through our Meta Ads Manager guide to begin your learning.

Make the Switch to Instagram Ads Without Sacrificing Performance

TikTok is still very much active to this point, that much is true. But for U.S. advertisers, your local audiences can still be reached through other mediums that don’t compromise your costs and keep traffic and sales coming through. Your priority now is to never let your ad campaigns go dark, and moving TikTok ads to Instagram Reels may just be the best decision you make.

Simplify this transition by partnering with the right experts and using the right tools. Strike Social specializes in ad activation and management, easing the burden on your in-house advertising team and taking care of the heavy lifting for you.

Ready to make the move to Instagram Reels? Contact Strike Social today to get your Instagram ads up and running.