Everybody's Chasing TikTok. Your Customers Are on Facebook.
I hate TikTok. There, I said it.
I’m an old fart now, and I don’t like being bombarded with flashing images and blaring sound every time I open an app. “Hey kids, get off my lawn!” I know. I’ve become the guy in the movie who yells at the clouds. I’ve made peace with it.
The problem is that everybody keeps telling business owners they have to be on TikTok. All day. Every day. Dancing, pointing at floating text, eating Tide pods, whatever the kids are doing this week. So I did what any grumpy professional does: I went and looked up whether that’s actually true.
Good news. I was thrilled to find out I don’t necessarily have to be on TikTok all the time. And neither do you. Social media advice is mostly written by people who live on social media, and they assume everybody else is in the same three apps. Your customer, the one who pays invoices and has a mortgage, might not be there at all. So let’s look at where people actually are.
What the numbers say
Read that again. Facebook has nearly twice the reach of TikTok among American adults. Yes, the platform your uncle uses to argue about the weather. It is still the second-biggest place people hang out online, and YouTube is on top.
Now, I'm not saying TikTok is useless. Plenty of businesses do well there, and 37% of adults is still a huge crowd. I'm saying it's one option, not the starting line. Picking your platform based on what's loud, instead of where your customers are, is like opening a shop in the one trendy alley while the whole town shops on Main Street.
Pick your platform like a grown-up
1. Start with who you're selling to
Contractors, dentists, restaurants, financial pros, local shops: a lot of their customers are on Facebook and YouTube, searching, reading reviews and asking neighbors who to call. If your buyer is a 28-year-old looking for concert tickets, different story. Know your buyer first. Then pick the app.
2. Use Facebook for what it's good at
Facebook is basically the town square with a bulletin board. It's good for local reach, events, reviews, community groups and showing people you're a real business with real humans in it. Post a finished job, a team photo, a quick video tip. Reply when someone comments. That's it. That's the whole secret, and nobody believes me.
3. Don't sleep on YouTube
YouTube led the Pew list, and it's more than cat videos. It's where people go to learn how to do things and decide who to trust. One decent video about a question your customers always ask can keep working for you for years. Try getting that kind of shelf life out of a post that disappears by Thursday.
4. Make one video, use it everywhere
You don't need a separate strategy for every app. Shoot one good short video, then cut it down for Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and, sure, TikTok. Same effort, four chances to get seen. That's the cheapest math in marketing. If you want the numbers on why video earns its keep, I wrote them up in Video Marketing Statistics for 2026.
The "two platforms" rule
Here's my advice to anyone who's overwhelmed: pick two platforms and do them well. Not seven badly. A page that's active and useful on two apps beats a ghost town on six. We covered how to keep that going in Stop Posting Like It's a New Year's Resolution, and it still holds.
And a quick reality check: these are survey numbers about who ever uses each app, not who's buying from you. Your own page insights and the question "how did you hear about us?" will tell you more than any chart. Ask it out loud. Customers are surprisingly honest, especially the ones who've had coffee.
Want help figuring out where you belong?
At KWB Media we do social media management, graphics included, plus marketing strategy, AI video and video production (we shoot on location across the Northeast and edit for anyone, anywhere). We'll help you pick the right platforms and then actually keep them updated. Want to see our work? Check out our videos, or browse the specials.
Don't worry, we won't make you dance on TikTok. Unless you ask nicely. And have insurance.
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