Fintech companies, e-commerce platforms, and digital banks are shifting a growing share of their advertising budgets to TikTok to engage younger, mobile-first consumers, while continuing to rely on Facebook for its broad reach, credibility, and proven conversion performance.
The adjustment reflects broader shifts in how audiences consume media and how brands approach customer acquisition, with marketers weighing TikTok’s burgeoning engagement against Facebook’s established infrastructure for scale, targeting, and trust.
TikTok and its emerging role in performance marketing
Analysts project the platform’s global ad revenue will grow substantially in 2025 — potentially topping US$32–33 billion — marking double-digit year-on-year growth and solidifying its position as a core component of the social advertising mix. TikTok’s expanding user base and algorithm-driven content discovery have helped it capture attention in ways traditional social platforms often cannot.
Industry benchmarks show that Facebook continues to dominate advertiser preference, with roughly 89 percent of global marketers investing in Facebook ads in early 2025, largely due to the platform’s unmatched reach, targeting sophistication, and established ROI mechanisms.
TikTok, while smaller in overall ad revenue share, is increasingly valued for its lower cost per mille (CPM) and high engagement rates, particularly among Gen Z and younger millennials.
For fintech, e-commerce, and digital banking brands, this creates a strategic balancing act: TikTok for awareness, culture-driven storytelling, and customer discovery; Facebook for scale, trust, conversion, and measurable performance.
Fintech and digital banks reposition for mobile audiences
Platforms like TikTok allow these brands to speak directly to young consumers through short, relatable video formats that reinforce brand identity — an increasingly critical advantage in categories marked by low loyalty and intense competition.
Meanwhile, traditional and digital banks continue to rely on Facebook’s breadth to reach wider demographics.
In markets such as India and South Korea, consumer banking ad spend remains heavily concentrated on Facebook, accounting for as much as 65 to 83 percent of social ad budgets, underscoring the platform’s role in broad audience penetration and established trust signals for financial services.
Industry experts also point to a broader shift toward mobile-first advertising strategies, with spending increasingly flowing into social platforms optimized for mobile video environments such as TikTok and Instagram, as consumers conduct more financial research and transactions entirely on smartphones.
E-commerce’s dual bet on novelty and reliability
E-commerce players — particularly those targeting Gen Z and millennial buyers — are similarly experimenting with TikTok as part of their media mix.
The platform’s algorithm rewards creative, authentic content, prompting brands to invest in campaigns that blend entertainment with product discovery.
Data shows that product discovery on TikTok is particularly strong, with a majority of users reporting that they find new products on the platform—signaling fertile ground for e-commerce brand building.
Despite these gains, e-commerce firms continue to maintain strong presences on Facebook.
For many brands, Facebook’s advanced targeting, robust conversion tracking, and scale remain central to performance-driven campaigns focused on sales and sign-ups, especially among older demographics where TikTok penetration is lower.
Strategic advertising in a competitive ecosystem
Market observers note that brands aren’t abandoning Facebook; rather, they are reallocating budgets to strike a balance between experimentation and reliability.
Facebook’s mature ad infrastructure and deep targeting capabilities continue to give it an edge in conversions and measurable outcomes, while TikTok’s rising influence and cost efficiencies justify increased exploratory spending aimed at engagement and cultural relevance.
The trend reflects broader shifts in digital advertising, where platforms compete not only for ad dollars but for consumer attention.
As TikTok continues to grow — particularly in daily time spent — advertisers across fintech, e-commerce, and digital banking are positioning themselves to capture its engagement potential without giving up the scale, trust, and performance advantages that Facebook still provides.