TikTok is an immense platform with a global audience and an ever expanding user demographic. More popular than SnapChat and Twitter, TikTok offers a major opportunity to advertisers. The app is also less saturated with ads than other social or entertainment platforms (think YouTube, Facebook or Instagram).
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The first hurdle for many in the marketing field, is familiarizing themselves with the app. Its unique interface and relatively young audience (predominantly Gen Z), can be challenging barriers to entry. When determining if and how you should incorporate TikTok into your marketing strategy, you may want to consider the following:
Influencer Marketing
If you have any experience working with YouTube influencers, TikTok is in a similar vein. The best recommendation we can give is allowing your influencer the freedom to have creative liberty with your service or product. They, more so than you, know what their viewers want to see and will most likely come up with a more cohesive, authentic strategy than your marketing team. Room for engagement and creativity is incredibly important since each TikTok is made to visually stimulate the viewer for 15-60 seconds. With such a short amount of time to gain the viewer’s attention, your brand can’t afford to waste any one of those seconds with irrelevant content, so trusting your influencer is key.
User Generated Content
The best form of advertising a brand could hope for, user generated content. One of our favorite examples of user generated content is to the benefit of your neighborhood grocery store: Trader Joe’s. The TikTok trend is 5 Favorite Things from Trader Joe’s, featuring videos in the store or unpacking groceries at home. Why it works: Trader Joe’s is present in almost every state and known for reasonable prices. This makes the brand friendly and accessible to TikTok’s audience. The most important factor for any content on the app is its ability to engage other users. Trader Joe’s low pricing strategy, wide array of products and numerous locations appeal to a wide audience and allows the brand to thrive on this app.
It may seem unlikely that TikTok (originally popularized by dance and lip synching videos) is benefiting a grocery store, but the platform is becoming increasingly diverse in terms of content. A more strategic way of earning user generated content is launching a hashtag challenge.
One of the most successful hashtag challenges was launched in 2018 by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, #TumbleweedChallenge. Much like the name suggests, the challenge at hand was to stop what you were doing and roll like a tumbleweed, complete with western music of course. TikTok allows users to share audio, making the challenge cohesive and recognizable even without the hashtag. It’s fun, replicable premise allowed the challenge to go viral.
Paid Advertising
TikTok introduced paid advertising in late-2018 and is experimenting with ads in the United States and Europe. If you want to create an ad campaign for one of the fastest growing social media apps, see how to get started with TikTok Ads.
Two of the ads available are Brand Takeovers (full screen ads that automatically play) and In-Feed Native Video (a similar format but can be skipped immediately). Keep in mind that the app doesn’t accept every advertising application and most likely the ads will run at a higher rate than other platforms due to the limited amount of advertising currently present on the app.
Brand Channel
Most importantly, if you’re thinking about implementing TikTok into your marketing strategy and want to benefit from growing with this social media giant, create a channel for your brand. Having an account allows you to be tagged, followed and keep up with trends. Visibility is increasingly important and if you can generate visually appealing and engaging content, your brand will benefit from its TikTok account.
Marketing strategies need to be evaluated and updated to maintain relevance. If there’s a possibility your brand could benefit from exposure on TikTok, it’s in your best interest to start familiarizing yourself with the platform and start seeking out growth opportunities. Existing on multiple platforms will diversify your marketing plan, creating a more comprehensive strategy; and being on TikTok in particular can help you grow brand equity within Gen Z, one of the largest growing consumer markets.
Do you want to leverage TikTok to grow your business? Contact us!