Hi there,
Thanks for reaching out!
I had a look at your question about the big difference in views you're seeing between TikTok and Instagram. It's a really common problem, so don't worry, you're not alone in this. It can be proper frustrating when you put the effort into a video and it just doesn't fly on one platform. I'm happy to give you some of my initial thoughts and a bit of guidance based on the campaigns we run for our clients. There's usually a few reasons why this happens, and it's almost never just one single thing you're doing wrong.
What you're describing points to some fundamental differences in how these platforms work, especially for new accounts. It's less about you doing something 'wrong' and more about not having a specific strategy that plays to the strengths (and weaknesses) of each platform, particularly when it comes to growing from a small base. Let's get into it.
We'll need to look at why this is happening...
First off, the 100-follower count on TikTok is the big red flag here. On Instagram, even with a small following, Reels can get a bit of an initial push from your existing network and the accounts that already follow you. The algorithm has *some* data, even if it's not much, about who your followers are and who might be interested in your content. It can push your reel to 'lookalikes' of your followers, which gives it a fighting chance to get some early traction.
TikTok is a different beast entirely. When you have a tiny following, the algorithm has almost zero data to work with. It doesn't know who you are, who likes your stuff, or who to show it to on the For You Page (FYP). It'll throw your video out to a very small, random test audience. If that tiny group doesn't engage with it almost immediately – watch it all the way through, like, comment, share – the algorithm just kills it. It stops showing it to anyone else. That's why you can see it stall at 100 or 200 views. It's hit a brick wall because it failed that initial, brutal test. It's a cold start problem, and it's incredibly difficult to overcome organically unless you get lucky and have a video go viral out of nowhere, which you can't build a business on.
There's also an uncomfortable truth here that applies to organic content just as much as it does to ads. Just posting content and hoping for views is a bit like running what we call a 'Reach' or 'Brand Awareness' campaign in the ad world. When you tell an algorithm you just want 'views' or 'reach', it does exactly what you ask: it finds the cheapest, easiest people to show your content to. These are often the people who are least likely to engage, least likely to click, and definately least likely to ever buy anything. They're passive scrollers. You're essentially paying (with your time, in this case) for the platform to find you the worst possible audience. That's why we almost never optimise for just 'views'. It's a vanity metric that doesn't lead to business results. You could have a video with a million views but if it doesn't lead to a single sale or signup, what's the point? It's much better to have 1,000 views from the right people who might actually become customers.
So, the massive difference you're seeing isn't necessarily a sign that your TikTok content is bad. It's more likely a sign that your strategy is based on hope, and TikTok's algorithm is just far more ruthless with new accounts that don't have a clear, targeted push behind them.
I'd say you need to define your actual goal...
This brings me to the most important question: what are you actually trying to acheive? Getting more views is not a business goal. It's a means to an end. The real goal is probably something like:
- -> Selling more of your eCommerce product.
- -> Getting more signups for your software or app.
- -> Generating leads for your service-based business.
- -> Driving bookings for your course.
Once you're clear on that one conversion goal, your entire perspective on TikTok and Instagram should change. The question is no longer "How do I get more views?". The question becomes "How do I get more [sales/signups/leads]?". And the answer is almost always to build a proper marketing funnel and use paid advertising to fuel it.
The best kind of 'awareness' you can get is a competitor's customer switching to your product and telling their friends about it. That only happens through conversion. Everything you do, every video you make, every caption you write, should be designed to move someone one step closer to that final conversion event. Right now, your videos are just floating in the void. They need to be part of a system.
We see this all the time. For instance, we worked on an app growth campaign where the goal was crystal clear: get signups. We drove over 45,000 signups at under £2 per signup. We used Meta Ads, TikTok Ads, Apple Ads, and Google Ads to do it. The key wasn't chasing views; it was relentlessly optimising for that one single action: a completed signup. Some ads got loads of views, others didn't, but we didn't care. All we cared about was the cost per signup. If an ad was delivering signups at our target cost, we kept it. If it wasn't, we turned it off, no matter how many 'vanity' views it had.
You need to adopt this same mindset. Stop worrying about the 100x view difference and start asking yourself how many conversions your Instagram videos are driving versus your TikTok videos. I'm guessing the answer for both is probably close to zero, because they aren't designed to convert. Shifting your focus from views to conversions is the first, and most important, step to building a marketing approach that actually works on any platform.
You probably should think about paid ads to kickstart things...
So how do you get out of this organic content trap? You use paid ads to force the issue. Organic growth on TikTok and Instagram is incredibly hard and slow, especially now. Paid ads allow you to bypass the painful early stages and get your content directly in front of a highly targeted audience who are likely to be interested in what you offer.
This isn't about just hitting the "Boost Post" button. That's a waste of money. I'm talking about using the proper ads managers (Meta Ads Manager and TikTok Ads Manager) to build strategic campaigns. Here's what that looks like in practice:
1. You choose a CONVERSION objective. When you set up a campaign, you tell the algorithm exactly what you want. Not 'views', not 'reach', not 'traffic'. You tell it you want 'Sales', 'Leads', or 'Signups'. The algorithm will then go and find people within your target audience who have a history of performing that exact action. It will actively hunt for buyers, not just viewers. This is the single biggest difference between amateur and professional advertising.
2. You can target with precision. Organically, you're just shouting into the wind. With paid ads, you can choose who hears you. You can target based on interests (e.g., people who like your competitors' pages), behaviours (e.g., frequent online shoppers), and demographics. This ensures your budget is spent on showing ads to people who might actually care, giving you the initial data and momentum you need.
3. You get real, actionable data. Instead of guessing why a video failed, ads managers give you concrete data. You'll see your Cost Per Click (CPC), your conversion rate, and your Cost Per Acquisition (CPA). You can see which ad creative is working, which audience is performing best, and make decisions based on numbers, not feelings.
Now, you're probably wondering what this all costs. It really depends on your industry, your target country, and your goal. But to give you a rough idea, here are some ballpark figures based on what we see across many campaigns.
Ballpark Cost Per Result Estimates (Developed Countries like UK/US)
| Objective | Typical CPC Range | Typical Conversion Rate | Estimated Cost Per Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signups / Simple Leads | £0.50 - £1.50 | 10% - 30% | £1.60 - £15.00 |
| eCommerce Sales | £0.50 - £1.50 | 2% - 5% | £10.00 - £75.00 |
Note: These are rough estimates. Your actual preformance will vary based on many factors like your ad creative, landing page, and audience targeting.
Seeing these numbers often shocks people, but it brings clarity. If you're selling a £20 product and your cost per sale is £25, you're losing money. But if you're selling a £200 product and your cost per sale is £25, you're doing brilliantly. Paid ads force you to confront the economics of your business, which is something organic content completely ignores.
You'll need to build a proper campaign structure...
Okay, so let's say you're on board with running conversion-focused ads. You can't just throw a bunch of audiences into one campaign and hope for the best. You need a structure. The way we structure accounts for nearly all our clients, whether they are eCommerce or B2B, is based on a funnel: Top of Funnel (ToFu), Middle of Funnel (MoFu), and Bottom of Funnel (BoFu).
This sounds complicated, but it's quite simple. You're creating seperate campaigns to talk to people at different stages of their journey with you.
Top of Funnel (ToFu): Finding New People (Prospecting)
This is where you find people who have never heard of you before. Your goal here is to introduce them to your brand and the problem you solve.
-> Audiences: You'd start with 'Detailed Targeting' on Meta (Facebook/Instagram). This means targeting interests, behaviours, and demographics that align with your ideal customer. Once you have enough data (like 100+ purchases), you can create 'Lookalike Audiences' of your best customers, which is incredibly powerful.
Middle of Funnel (MoFu): Engaging Warm Leads (Retargeting)
This is for people who have shown some interest but haven't taken a key action yet. They've watched your video, visited your profile, or maybe visited your website but left.
-> Audiences: You'd retarget people who have engaged with your Instagram or Facebook page, watched a certain percentage of your video ads, or visited your landing page.
Bottom of Funnel (BoFu): Closing the Deal (Retargeting)
These are your hottest leads. They are very close to converting. They might have added a product to their cart but didn't check out, or they started filling out a form but got distracted.
-> Audiences: You retarget people who have added to cart, initiated checkout, or visited your checkout page but haven't purchased.
Here's a simplified way you might structure your campaigns and ad sets on Meta to start with:
Example Campaign Structure (eCommerce)
| Campaign (Objective: Sales) | Ad Set (Audience) | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| C1 - Prospecting (ToFu) | Ad Set 1: Interest Group A (e.g., Competitor Brands) | Test which new audiences respond best. |
| Ad Set 2: Interest Group B (e.g., Related Hobbies) | Find winning interests to scale. | |
| C2 - Retargeting (MoFu/BoFu) | Ad Set 3: Website Visitors (Last 30 Days, excl. purchasers) | Bring back people who showed interest. |
| Ad Set 4: Added to Cart (Last 14 Days, excl. purchasers) | Remind hot leads to complete their purchase. |
This kind of structure lets you test systematically, control your budget, and deliver a tailored message to each person based on how familiar they are with your brand. It's a world away from just posting a video and hoping for the best.
I'd say your offer and creative is what really matters...
Even with the perfect campaign structure, your ads will fail if your message is weak or your offer isn't compelling. The video itself—the creative—and the thing you're asking them to do—the offer—are critically important.
Your ad needs to speak directly to a pain point. You don't sell features; you sell a solution to a nightmare. Think about the 'Before' and 'After' state of your customer.
Before: They have a problem. They are frustrated, wasting time, or missing out on something. After: They've used your product. Their problem is solved. They are relieved, efficient, or happy. Bridge: Your product is the bridge that gets them from Before to After.
Let's imagine you have an app that helps people manage their personal finances. Your ad copy could be:
"(Before) Checking your bank account feels like a lottery every month. You have no idea where your money went. (After) Imagine knowing exactly where every pound is going, hitting your savings goals effortlessly, and feeling totally in control of your finances. (Bridge) Our app is the bridge that gets you there. Start a free trial and see your financial picture clearly in 5 minutes."
This is so much more powerful than "Download our finance app. It has charts and graphs." It taps into an emotion and a real problem.
Then there's the offer. "Learn More" is a weak call to action. You need to give them something of value with as little friction as possible. The "Request a Demo" button is the ultimate high-friction, low-value offer. You're asking for their time to be sold to. Who wants that? The gold standard is a free trial (no card details needed), a freemium plan, a useful free tool, or even a heavy discount on their first purchase. Your offer's only job is to deliver an "aha!" moment that makes them sell themselves on your solution. You must solve a small, real problem for free to earn the right to solve the whole thing.
We'll need to look at your customer and their real value...
This is the final piece of the puzzle, and it's what separates businesses that struggle from those that scale aggressively. You need to stop asking "How low can my cost per conversion be?" and start asking "How high a cost can I afford to acquire a great customer?". The answer lies in calculating your Customer Lifetime Value (LTV).
LTV tells you how much profit a typical customer will generate for your business over their entire relationship with you. Once you know this, you know how much you can spend to get them.
Here's the basic maths:
1. Average Revenue Per Account (ARPA): What do you make per customer, per month? (Let's say it's £40 for a subscription). 2. Gross Margin %: What's your profit margin on that? (Let's say 80%). 3. Monthly Churn Rate: What percentage of customers do you lose each month? (Let's say 5%).
The calculation is:
LTV = (ARPA * Gross Margin %) / Monthly Churn Rate
So in our example: LTV = (£40 * 0.80) / 0.05 LTV = £32 / 0.05 = £640
In this case, each customer is worth £640 in gross margin to your business. A healthy ratio of LTV to Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is 3:1. This means you can afford to spend up to £640 / 3 = ~£213 to acquire a single customer and still have a very healthy, profitable business. Suddenly, paying £15 or even £50 for a new customer in your ads doesn't seem so expensive, does it? It looks like an investment in a £640 asset.
This is the maths that unlocks growth. It frees you from the tyranny of chasing cheap leads and allows you to spend what's necessary to beat your competition and acquire the best customers in the market.
This is the main advice I have for you:
This is a lot to take in, I know. It's a huge shift from simply uploading videos. To make it clearer, here are my main recommendations summarised in a table for you to implement.
| Problem Area | My Recommendation | Why It's Important |
|---|---|---|
| Platform Disparity & Low Views | Stop focusing on views. Use paid ads with a clear conversion objective (e.g., sales, signups) to feed the algorithm data and find actual customers on both platforms. | Views don't pay the bills. A small,
Lukas HolschuhFounder, Growth & Advertising Consultant Great campaigns fail without expertise. Lukas and his team provide the missing strategy, optimizing your entire advertising funnel—from ad creatives and copy to landing page design. Backed by a proven track record across SaaS, eLearning, and eCommerce, they don't just run ads; they engineer systems that convert. A data-driven partnership focused on tangible revenue growth.
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