TikTok has been named as the fastest growing social media platform of all time and so as a business, you might be wondering whether you should be adding it to your social media marketing repertoire. In this blog we discuss what TikTok is and how it can be used by businesses to increase sales.
One of the first indicators that you are not TikTok’s key demographic, is when signing up you spend the first 5 minutes scrolling down the years to find your date of birth!
Despite being one of the downloaded apps around the world for the past two years, TikTok is only really used by millennials who enjoy the opportunity to be creative. If your brand’s target market is the under 30 year old market, such as an online clothing store or makeup outlet etc., TikTok is the perfect platform to engage with your key audience, raise awareness of your brand and drive sales.
What is TikTok?
TikTok users film short videos (up to 15 seconds), usually lip-synching or dancing to a song and edit them with effects, filters, captions, and music. Although this is what the platform became famous for, it has now moved towards users posting videos discussing current issues and advice – who can forget the video that went viral where school kids shared tips on how to create fake positive COVID-19 tests!
Using TikTok for business marketing
There are three main ways that brands can market the product or service on TikTok.
Create a channel and upload relevant videos
Work with influencers, to spread content to a broader audience
Pay to advertise on TikTok
Global brands, such a Nike, FIFA and Pepsi, have recognized the importance of TikTok as a key way to engage with young audiences, encouraging user-generated content and partnering with relevant influencers.
‘Challenges’ are a key feature of TikTok’s community, where users take up a challenge and make videos accordingly using the challenge hashtags. Brands can also make use of hashtag challenges for marketing, with many brands having incredible success with TikTok campaigns. American food chain Chipotle, whose #GuacDance challenge, generated 250,000 video submissions in 6 days which resulted in Chipotle’s serving a record 800,000 sides of the dish in one day!
Unlike many other social media channels, such as Instagram, where image is everything where reels and videos need to be expertly put together and glossy, most TikTok videos are filmed in bedrooms and so you don’t need a big budget to put content together. In addition the platform doesn’t favour profiles will lots of followers, so provides a level playing field when it comes to reach and engagement as organic engagement is heavily weighted in the platform’s algorithm.
It is important, however, to remember your audience profile and for now, TikTok marketing only really works for brands with a young audience who use the platform. However, for brands marketing to this demographic then TikTok is a great marketing tool and offers an excellent opportunity to engage with your audience and promote your product.
Waypoint Digital Marketing
Waypoint is a Winchester marketing company specialising in delivering marketing and social media strategies. If you are looking to outsource your social media marketing or need social media marketing support, please get in touch by calling 01962 862760 or emailing info@waypointdigitalmarketing.com.
