The growth of influencer marketing : a comparison of TikTok and Instagram

Social media has changed our day to day life in so many aspects, and especially with COVID19 forcing people to stay at home, the use of the internet and platforms has increased dramatically. We now use social media for communication, learning, entertainment, and even for work purposes. There has been a significant increase in the number of people on all social media platforms, and this increase in the number of users viewing all sorts of content gave rise to influencers or “leaders of opinion”, i.e. experts in certain fields with many followers viewing their content. Influencers in many cases have the ability to affect the decision-making process of their followers, which caused many organizations to turn to them, giving them partnerships and sponsorships in exchange for influencers marketing their products/services. In this study, a comparison is attempted between the two biggest influencer marketing platforms, Tiktok and Instagram, and an attempt is made to give businesses who are thinking of using influencer marketing a better understanding of this phenomenon. The paper also aims to help businesses that already have an influencer marketing strategy in place realize if their current platform is most suitable to their business. This study uses qualitative research, as the data has been gathered through the multiple interviews with different types of businesses, influencers and social media experts