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Here’s a secret for you special Labor Day readers: I’ve kept my thoughts about Instagram’s TikTok competitor, Reels, to myself, because I didn’t have the data to back them up…until last week. Seek and you will find, I guess.
Whistle Wise’s latest survey asking U.S. Gen Zers about their thoughts on Reels vs. TikTok confirms what I thought all along—unlike the NYT’s Taylor Lorenz, Gen Z doesn’t see a huge difference between Reels and TikTok. Per an email to Marketing Brew from Team Whistle…
- 87% of Gen Z TikTok users who have used Instagram Reels agree with the statement, “Instagram Reels is basically the same as TikTok.”
- Most respondents (daily or weekly) who have used Instagram Reels do not think that TikTok is inherently special.
- 61% of Gen Z TikTok users said they plan to spend more time on Instagram in TikTok’s place.
Instagram was the #1 alternative destination for the youths; Snapchat came in second, with 34% planning to spend more time there instead of TikTok.
Bottom line: Millennials can say all they want about Reels having an inferior UX to TikTok’s, but Gen Z seems interested in Instagram’s latest copycat. Marketers hoping to reach Gen Z might not want to write the feature off just yet—especially given that TikTok's eventual buyer may not even inherit its celebrated algorithm and engineers.