Digiday+ Research: TikTok moves ahead of YouTube for brands’ video-focused social media marketing

That’s according to Digiday+ Research surveys of brand and retailer professionals that have asked about social media platforms each summer since 2022.

When it comes to the social media platforms focused specifically on video content — YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat in Digiday’s survey — TikTok ranked the highest for usage among brands and retailers as of this summer. More than two-thirds of brand and retailer pros (67%) said their companies posted content to the platform in the past month, followed by YouTube at 60% and Snapchat, which ended up in a distant third place with only 13% of brands and retailers saying they posted content there.

This ranking marks a big change for YouTube over last year (more on the specific numbers later). In summer 2023, YouTube ranked the highest among the three video-focused social media platforms in the eyes of brands and retailers. But a significant drop in usage — while TikTok simultaneously saw its usage rise — put YouTube in second place this year.

Digiday’s survey found that brands’ and retailers’ use of TikTok has grown over the last few years — and so has their ad spend on the platform.

In summer 2022, 42% of brand and retailer pros said their companies posted content to TikTok. In summer 2023, that percentage rose significantly to 63%, before hitting 67% this summer, making TikTok the top platform for brands and retailers in terms of usage.

At the same time, brands’ and retailers’ ad spend on the platform has also risen steadily. In summer 2022, fewer than a quarter of brand and retailer pros (24%) said their companies purchased advertising on the platform. By summer 2023, more than a third (35%) were buying TikTok ads. This summer, 40% of brands and retailers said they purchase ads on the platform.

It is worth noting, though, that brands’ jumps in usage and ad spend on TikTok from 2022 to 2023 were significant, while the increases from 2023 to 2024 were much less so. It’s likely this potential plateau is due to the “divestment or ban” bill that was signed into law in April of this year. At this point, users are still sticking with the platform so brands and retailers seem to be as well. And while marketers aren’t panicking yet about the potential ban on the platform, they’re not exactly ready to increase the resources and money they’re putting into it either.

As TikTok’s stats continue to rise, Digiday’s survey found that YouTube saw a significant dip in usage among brands and retailers over the last year, causing the platform to fall behind TikTok in our ranking of video-focused social platforms. About two-thirds of brand and retailer pros (60%) said this year that their companies posted content to YouTube in the past month, down from about three-quarters (74%) last year. In 2022, 67% of brands and retailers were using the platform.

Interestingly, though, ad spend on YouTube is up this year among brands and retailers compared with last year. Although it does still fall short of their ad spend on the platform in 2022.

Forty percent of brand and retailer pros told Digiday this year that their companies purchased ads on YouTube, up from 35% last summer. However, in summer 2022, 55% of brands and retailers were buying ads on the platform.

Compared with its video-focused social counterparts, Snapchat has historically struggled to gain traction among brands and retailers. Digiday’s survey found that just 13% of brand and retailer pros said this summer that their companies posted content to the platform in the past month. That’s down slightly from the 19% who said the same last year.

This is a bit disheartening for the platform, considering its high-profile brand marketing campaign launched early this year to establish itself as a unique player in the social media space. It’s especially disheartening considering ad spend on the platform has remained at a low percentage among brands and retailers. As with usage among brands, 13% of brand and retailer pros said this year that their companies purchased advertising on Snapchat, up only slightly from the 12% who said they bought ads on the platform last year and the year before.