Being on lockdown has made all people around the world go online and spend most of their time surfing the Internet, watching movies, Youtube videos, and conducting live streaming on a daily basis. While Instagram and Youtube are still in the top lists, there is a networking service that has become the number one destination to look for fun and short videos. And if a while ago the service was popular among teenagers, the current situation with Covid-19 has drastically changed it – most bloggers have shifted from Instagram to TikTok, while many people have managed to massively increase their popularity.
TikTok is positioning itself as a combination of Instagram and Vine and is known for capturing people’s creativity, showcasing funny moments, and teaching life hacks. It is fun, easy, and relatively new, which makes it an ideal place for marketing and advertising. Based on the fact that almost 40% of the TikTok users are young people, from 11 to 20 years old, companies are now able to come up with marketing strategies specifically targeting Gen Z.
TikTok is a perfect place for influencers to expand their audience while the companies have an opportunity to advertise in a more genuine and natural way.
How does everything work?
According to Wyzowl’s statistics, the number of companies that are using videos for marketing purposes has increased by up to 85%. The reason for that is that people nowadays are watching more than 16 hours of video content on a weekly basis and the numbers will only increase. As per the survey’s results, more than 86% of users want more informative, educational and product demo videos.
Being active on TikTok is the key to success. Before starting to advertise, any business should give people reasons to notice them and follow. Getting acquainted with the platform, creating a profile, looking at the trends and exploring TikTok culture makes a difference and helps to understand what people are engaging with. If the company is keeping up with its business vibes and presenting authentic content, which fits the brand, it will most probably attract more users and increase the overall attention to the profile.
Businesses can benefit from different types of ads on TikTok which can be implemented through various challenges, mimicking trending videos, collaborations, and presenting native content. Each option serves its own purpose and gives different results.
Challenges
Challenges are a great way to involve more people and spread the video by asking users to participate and post their own one with a hashtag. Such campaigns can potentially reach a large number of people and become viral which will be highly beneficial for the brands. Dreamwork Pictures and Walmart have already hosted successful challenges with 450 million views and more than 2.6 million people participating.
Mimic trends
Mimicking content gives an opportunity to catch up with the current trends and get noticed. Different companies are constantly monitoring TikTok trends in order to quickly react and recreate content. This gives them an opportunity to reach their potential buyers by presenting adjusted content that will resonate and persuade them to sign up and follow. When compared to other social media platforms, TikTok is said to bring more results in terms of efficiency.
Collaborations
Collaborations can easily help to boost audience engagement and increase overall awareness. For those brands that are just starting their journey and need to grow their TA, such collaborations are truly helpful, while for the existing ones it is a way of expanding and reaching a wider range of customers. If the influencer’s values fit the brand’s ones and will resonate with the audience, the collaboration campaign is destined to succeed.
Native content
Native content on TikTok works the same as story ads do on Instagram and Snapchat. Such ads are from 9 to 15 seconds, full screen, and with the option to skip them. The best thing about them is the ability to track the success of every launched ad: how many clicks it gathered, what the impressions were, and the number of views and user engagement.
Where to start?
TikTok is all about creative and approachable ways for people to express themselves. It is essential for brands to follow some simple rules in order to succeed with advertising on the platform:
- Say “no” to polished and contrived content. It should be fun and casual, without hard-selling features.
- Replace commercial-style content with entertaining and informative one. It gives instant results in terms of customers’ engagement.
- Make sure the videos are adjusted to the brand’s values, culture, and identity. Being true to your brand will always pay off.
- Avoid formality. Head of communications in Hylink Group, Madelyn Fitzpatrick, says that TikTok is an ideal place where fun, creativity, and little madness perfectly coexists, so there should always be a little from each in every video.
- Strive for humor. Those brands that are able to be easy-going, have fun, and create engaging content have all the chances to stand out and gain attention.
Why does your business need TikTok?
The service gives a great opportunity for any brand to explore its existing features and benefit from them. Sometimes, being fun and humorous brings more results in terms of customer’s commitment as they feel like the brand is speaking their language and is not afraid to show another not-so-perfect side. Have you ever imagined that your ability to make fun of yourself can bring you not only followers but also good money? TikTok proves it absolutely can.
On another note, in the constant struggle to market Gen Z, an amazingly difficult-to-please generation, TikTok serves as a lifebuoy. As the millennials are currently taking a more stable foothold in the economy, it is crucial to come up with those marketing strategies that will work and grab the attention of “the most spoiled” generation of buyers. They say that the first step towards achieving the goal is hanging out at the same places, accepting their rules and having fun along the way. TikTok is, as you might have guessed, one of those places.
And if you still have any questions, please feel free to drop us a line and we will assist with your query.