How to create a successful TikTok marketing strategy? With more than 1 billion monthly active users, every astute marketer takes every possible measure to captivate their customers using TikTok marketing videos.
TikTok is a helpful tool if you’re wanting to connect with a younger audience because 62% of its users are between the ages of 10 and 29. TikTok is one of the social media platforms with the quickest growth, and it’s gaining popularity among all demographics. You may probably use TikTok to reach your target audience.
You name it—dance competitions, practical advice, narrative tales, brief instructions, or even instructional movies. Users find it difficult to stop browsing through their feeds because of all the snackable content.
Suddenly it makes sense why it is becoming more and more difficult for marketers to ignore TikTok’s influence and popularity. As a result, they join the bandwagon in increasing numbers.
Of course, getting started on a new platform might be advantageous. The truth is that uninteresting material or dull postings may harm your brand’s reputation more than not interacting at all. After all, using TikTok involves much more than just setting up an account and posting videos.
The list continues on: you also need to examine your brand identity, write the proper message, and study your audience. Although there are several tutorials on TikTok marketing, is TikTok even a good fit for your company in the first place?
Let’s investigate how to create a successful TikTok marketing strategy.
How TikTok Marketing Has Advanceed
TikTok undoubtedly appears to be merely a teen-focused vertical video app for lip-syncing. You would imagine that everyone with a phone and a bedroom door can use it as a stage.
But it goes much beyond that.
It has now developed into the perfect location for today’s marketers to strengthen their web presence. Although the software is still in its early stages, the number of new users is significant.
To put this in perspective, consider that TikTok attained the same number of monthly active users in less than three years as Instagram did at least six years after the latter’s start.
In order to understand why TikTok is such a worthwhile marketing channel in the first place, let’s look at some marketing data for the site. Review the following stats:
- 3 billion people have downloaded TikTok globally (it was the most-downloaded app in 2021).
- TikTok is utilized by 21% of the 4.8 billion internet users on the planet.
- With 37.3 million users compared to Instagram’s 33.3 million, TikTok has surpassed Instagram in popularity among US users in the Gen Z (born 1997–2022) demographic.
- 57% of TikTok’s users are female.
- Up to 88.7 million people are anticipated to utilize TikTok in the US by 2024.
- TikTok is used once a week by 63% of American users between the ages of 12 and 17.
- 90 percent of users visit TikTok more than once daily, and users spend an average of 52 minutes each day on the app.
- In 2022, TikTok ad income is anticipated to be close to $12 billion.
- According to studies, more people than any other social media network found TikTok advertising to be inspirational (72%).
- 74% of TikTok users said that the app has motivated them to research a company or product online.
Employ TikTok Marketing When:
You might be convinced that TikTok is a must-use video marketing platform for your company after seeing those startling statistics up top.
But, compared to other business and person kinds, there are those that have a better probability of gaining a following.
We’ll go into various indicators that could indicate it’s time to use TikTok.
Your target market is younger audiences.
As we briefly noted previously, younger viewers predominate on TikTok.
The app is intrinsically enticing to younger generations due to its blend of eye-catching images, catchy music, vibrant filters, and engaging sort of content.
You see, the app is primarily targeted towards users between the ages of 12 and 24.
Hence, having a presence on the platform could be entertaining and useful if your brand is young and fun and appeals to a young audience.
This can be seen in the kind of short, sweet films that many marketers create for the platform in order to provide rapid satisfaction.
So, these films are very shareable and are certain to be devoured by younger viewers.
It could be more challenging to create material that appeals to an audience that is significantly older than the normal TikTok viewer (Gen X: 41 to 56 years old or Boomers: 57 to 75), simply because they aren’t there. It is preferable to use Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.
Your Company Is Very Visual
TikTok may be useful for businesses that offer visual goods like cosmetics, clothing, and even some types of food and drinks (F&B).
Text descriptions of these items are typically difficult, which makes it challenging for firms to communicate their message.
For instance, if you offer skincare items, it’s vital to show them how to use them and include some reviews.
Your viewers will find it very difficult to believe in your items if all of your content is plain text since they won’t be able to see any endorsements.
The food and beverage industry is the same. The audience may be given an impression of how the meal would feel, smell, and taste just by looking at the visual presentations using appetizing images (whether they be photographs or movies).
TikTok is a very visual platform that enables businesses to share their products through rich graphics, therefore it might be useful in this situation.
Long-term, this may significantly boost conversions and engagement.
Your marketing budget is limited.
The nice thing about social media is that you may use it for free in general, however, you will need to pay to access the paid marketing tools.
By all means, you may interact with your audience on TikTok using the free services that are already there.
In order to create expert films for TikTok marketing, you don’t need to spend a lot of money on expensive equipment.
With the camera on your smartphone and free video editing software, you may record a video.
The answer in this situation has always been to focus more on the caliber of your material.
It’s not the video quality that draws TikTok viewers in and keeps them coming back; it’s the genuine, original content ideas.
You rely on Influencers to Promote Your Brand for You
Influencers have a home on TikTok.
There are always those influencers with a sizable audience willing to increase your visibility on the platform, whether you work in the fashion or blockchain gaming industries.
Without spending money on aggressive marketing strategies, you may reach a new generation of consumers by collaborating with influencers.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that 54% of marketers want to boost their spending for TikTok influencer marketing and that almost 88% of marketers believe that the platform’s influencer marketing is successful.
Your preferred kind of content is brief
Our ability to focus online is declining.
The feed on TikTok is essentially a scrolling loop that tempts users to blindly devour material.
Hence, if you enjoy producing concise, consumable material, you could think about using the platform.
You may now post videos to TikTok that are up to 10 minutes long.
Yet, it doesn’t follow that you should constantly produce 10-minute videos.
TikTok consumers want answers right now, and short-form material is a terrific method to communicate a point briefly and effectively.
Consider TikTok as the party app that offers short, snappy bursts of material that are meant to be consumed rapidly.
Any social video should be no more than two minutes.
Similarly, TikTok videos are quick and simple to make because naturally occurring material that is generated in everyday settings has a similar likelihood of succeeding.
Just keep in mind one thing. The material you produce must also be consistent.
You want to reach more regional consumers.
Marketing is becoming more personalized overall, which means that localized information has greater engagement rates.
Is TikTok actually one of the channels that might aid you if your objective is to promote your company to the locals?
For commercial accounts, TikTok has begun adopting the latest DMA Geo Tagging techniques.
The TikTok platform now supports 210 DMA local locations when you purchase sponsored advertising.
What even does that mean?
It implies that you may choose the material that users will see based on where they are.
You would find it much simpler to connect with audiences in more specific, regional areas.
Your attention is on building engagement.
Although some marketers prioritize increasing revenue, others work to create strong audience engagement.
If you fall into the second category, TikTok may be your preferred marketing platform.
The majority of companies utilize the platform to engage viewers with interesting content rather than trying to sell their products.
Users may learn about new items on TikTok and interact with their content there.
Because eCommerce businesses are a better location to achieve that, no one will say on TikTok, “Let’s see what items I need on this platform.”
In other words, it’s always preferable to produce content that doesn’t feel like an ad or like you’re attempting to solicit anything from consumers if you decide to utilize TikTok for your marketing plan.
To get users to remain around, engage them with informative and worthwhile content.
How Companies Are Marketing Their Own Products on TikTok
You can now make an informed decision about whether or not your company belongs on TikTok.
Let’s assume you believe TikTok has some promise for your company.
How can you utilize that to their advantage would be the next question that would be asked after that.
Using Fun for Learning
Although entertainment now seems to be the major lure, there is more instructional information available.
One of the best methods to spread messages, according to producers and influencers, is through material that offers easily consumable instruction.
It also applies to enterprises.
Ultimately, the idea is to increase your visibility on the network without coming across as overly pushy.
Several companies try to utilize it to inform consumers about their products.
Awareness movies on certain subjects, tutorials, how-tos, and even expert views are examples of entertaining educational material.
Your instructional material should impart knowledge, but it shouldn’t come off as a lecture.
Instead, it should be enjoyable and exciting to keep the audience interested while simultaneously promoting education.
The most crucial thing to remember is to conduct thorough research to guarantee that the ideas you convey are accurate and trustworthy, especially if you produce awareness films.
This movie from NatGeo introduces and teaches us about Chinampas, artificial gardens, and floating islands in Mexico.
Source: @natgeo
Using Hashtags
Finding your specific audience on TikTok and participating in the dialogue there are the two main goals.
You may do this by including increasing, pertinent hashtags in your postings.
In addition to contributing to the discussion by utilizing trending hashtags, you make it simpler for the TikTok algorithm to identify your post and display it to more users.
Look at the hashtags being used by companies that are comparable to yours if you’re seeking ideas.
By doing so, you may contribute to the discourse while also enhancing your brand.
You can also keep tabs on which hashtags are used most frequently on TikTok and other applications by using social media monitoring tools like Sprout Social.
Or, you may start your own hashtag by organizing a fun challenge or campaign.
See out how Red Bull used the hashtag #givesyouwings to create a popular TikTok advertising film that was based on their catchphrase “Red Bull gives you wings.”
The sponsored hashtag has now been used in videos with over 1.1 billion views.
Making Emotional Sparks Exist
To generate money via TikTok, you don’t need to sell your goods or services.
Alternatively, you may utilize the app to strengthen your brand and ignite an emotional connection with your audience.
Post things that make others feel something.
You can discuss social concerns, demonstrate your support for the charity, or draw attention to subjects that don’t receive a lot of attention.
TikTok may also be used to impart wisdom. This may or may not be relevant to your goods and services.
The firm 4Ocean, which offers bracelets constructed from recycled materials, provides an example below.
On World Turtle Day, they created a brief, snackable movie on sea turtles.
source: @4ocean
Humanizing the Brand
By making the brand more approachable, TikTok may also be used as a marketing platform.
You may achieve this by incorporating behind-the-scenes material, showcasing staff members and the individuals who create the brand, or by encouraging customers to post queries and take part in product-related surveys.
Here is how Catherine, a worker at a Dairy Queen location, posts a picture of her homemade ice cream on TikTok.
source: @dairyqueen_tr
Despite the fact that it is a personal account, the stuff she produces may humanize and reach the company.
Also, you can utilize TikTok to engage with your fans and clients by responding to their queries, taking their polls, and making polls specifically for them.
This is a fantastic method to humanize your business and increase trust at the same time.
Your fans will recognize you as the actual individuals behind the brand rather than a nameless, faceless corporation. They will feel closer to you as a consequence.
It will be simpler to persuade followers to buy from you in the future with this added trust.
Using a Certain Brand Voice
Several businesses utilize TikTok to highlight how they are unique from rivals.
They may demonstrate the authentic aspect of their business by using a distinctive brand voice. This is a warm technique to get consumers to communicate with you more easily.
source: @chipotle
On TikTok, the top fast food chain is well renowned for its humorous, offbeat content. They also employ a certain type of video editing to raise brand identification.
They do this by frequently incorporating puns, slapstick humor, pop culture references, and other on-trend elements into their videos in a fresh and entertaining way.
Use caution while using TikTok for marketing by avoiding these pitfalls
There are no free meals in life.
While using TikTok as your marketing platform, you can’t expect everything to go smoothly without any bumps along the road.
When you begin your TikTok marketing campaign, consider the following items.
Transparency Issues
It’s unclear what happens behind the scenes on TikTok.
The algorithm’s workings, the most well-liked material, and how visitors discover your stuff are all unclear.
You can see that there is some ambiguity about the precise details of the popular “For You Page.”
Even if you pay for a subscription, TikTok doesn’t offer any information on the crucial parameters.
It might be challenging to determine what is genuinely working and what isn’t when you try to expand your account organically.
No power to influence the content
Videos that are brief and to the point may be best.
Yet, the duration of a TikTok video can vary, from 15 seconds to 10 minutes.
Yet, you must produce several, distinct videos if you want to create a lengthy video series.
If you wish to create a lengthier video since the 10-minute limit is still insufficient for your material, you must link to it from your TikTok stream.
To view the video, users must click the link.
It works well for directing traffic to another website, but it is ineffective for quickly growing TikTok’s user base.
User Behavior Cannot Be Predicted
The majority of the TikTok user population are individuals who are only there for pleasure.
It’s not a community that you can interact with the way you could with a group of individuals who share your interests, like LinkedIn.
Not to mention the trends on TikTok, which change in a flash.
It may be quite challenging to stay on top of the latest trends.
Initially, it was a platform for creators rather than marketers.
A platform for creators is TikTok.
Users adore it because of its creative atmosphere and the ease with which they can express themselves online and gain a following.
Because of this, it might be difficult for marketers to surpass the content that producers generate.
You must follow their guidelines if you want to attract their large fanbase. Even if you are successful in attracting a creator’s attention, you have little influence over how they will use your good or service.
In other words, it’s critical to present oneself on the platform as a content provider rather than marketer.
Final thought
Do you now have a better understanding of TikTok? We have reasons to be hopeful about TikTok marketing based on the statistics and facts, but don’t let that discourage you from conducting your own study.
A successful overall marketing effort depends on selecting the appropriate marketing platform. While some companies discover that TikTok produces the finest advertising results, others believe that Instagram is their best medium.
The point is that just because something works for someone else does not always guarantee that it will work for you as well.
However, you don’t actually have to go viral and wind up in every user’s #ForYouPage to achieve success on TikTok if you decide that TikTok marketing is a good fit for your company and your overall brand image.
Much like any other marketing technique, TikTok marketing demands consistency and patience so you may build your brand over time.