Shake it with a BigMac, sync lips with grandma, and grow your business with the fastest growing social platform in the world, TikTok.
Have you ever heard about TikTok? Sure you have. You might just not have thought it was something for your business.
Let me put it this way: TikTok is a social media platform with over 689 million active users worldwide. They've launched in 155 different countries. And, statistically speaking, there's a good chance that your targeted audience is located in one of these countries.
TikTok as a content marketing channel is super interesting to business who targeted audience is Generation Z, people born between 1995 and early 2000. After all, over 41% of the users on TikTok are between 16-24. Although your audience might not be Gen Z's, TikTok is growing fast, and it's possible that in a short period, your target audience will be hanging out there too.
Always want to be top-of-mind?" TikTok on the clock, but the party don't stop," Ke$ha sings in her hit song from 2011 – and explains head-on how TikTok works. There's a virtual party that doesn't stop, and short videos play all around the clock!
What is TikTok?
TikTok is a social media app where you can create and watch short videos where the creator can play with music, lip-sync, dance, and all different filters. And it allows anyone to succeed with their own videos!
The Chinese company behind the TikTok app is ByteDance, and it was first launched in China under the name Douyin, 2016. A year later, they launched TikTok to the rest of the world. During 2018 TikTok merged with musical.ly and grew its user base strategically towards young adults.
TikTok is growing in popularity among content creators and brands who want to expose content to a larger audience, engage with buying personas and reach millions of people.
It's an entertaining social platform where you can market a more playful version of your brand by experiencing shorter videos that increase traffic to your website.
While TikTok competes with other social media platforms – such as YouTube, Instagram, or Snapchat – TikTok is a platform that only aims for content creators. The intelligent software behind the app is unique in its way and can make anyone look professional, as long as the content idea is good.
Although, it can be a scary new social media platform for some users. What if I can't dance? Can't sync? No worries, you don't have to be a video expert to use or succeed on TikTik - no dancing or camera experience is needed. The app is advanced enough to turn anyone to John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever!
Is TikTok right for your marketing strategy?
As the fastest growing social media platform, TikTok kicks Instagram and Facebook's butt!
If we compare the growth of TikTok with how other apps performed, we can see that it took Instagram nearly six's years from their launch to gain the same amount of monthly active users that TikTok succeeded with during three years! For Facebook, it took more than four years to reach the same active users.
You need to understand that TikTok is a social hub for young adults and that 66% of all 689 million monthly users are under 30 years old. So if your targeted audience fit's this age group, defiantly add TikTok to your content marketing strategy and start looking for influencers that attract your buying personas.
TikTok was during 2019-2020 the most downloaded app for social media platforms in the world, right after WhatsApp! Also, TikTok creates the most engaging content that followers interact with than any other social media platform.
The short video contents fascinate and entertain in an almost magical way, and it's super easy to get hooked and spend hours on the app. 90% of the users on TikTok use the app many times per day. For those of you who have tried TikTok - you get what I mean - It's nearly impossible to stop watching!
How to start tip-tapping on the TikTok app
A great way to start marketing your business on TikTok is to download the app yourself and start consuming short videos and posting some content of your own. I can't tell you enough the importance of understanding the platform and all its features before your brand starts producing content so that it does for sure fit the TikTok way.
Brands from all over the world and from different niches have already found TikTok and have set up a company account where they share easy-going content, but still relevant for their audiences and brand.
The videos should be short, relevant, and fit the TikTok format. The main reason companies have a presence on TikTok is to strengthen their brand awareness and create inbound content that keeps you top of mind when your potential customers are ready to buy.
But there are also opportunities to sell on TikTik. Not long ago, the app started to create a suitable environment for e-commerce by letting some users link to rhea websites. Just like Instagram does when you can add a website address in your biography or" bio." In that way, it's easier for the followers to be exposed to a campaign and converting. But to succeed with this, you have to create a campaign and content with great value for your audience.
Although, it's easier to follow real people, and not brands, on TikTok. Therefore it can be in your most significant interest as a marketeer to start researching influencers on TikTok.
Growing, selling, and engaging with your potential customers on TikTok
Sponsoring hashtags on TikTok is a phenomenon that has grown. It can be memes or duties. A buzz trend that challenges the user to do something specific and videoing themselves doing it. Some companies have implemented this in their marketing strategy and have created their own challenges. Hashtag Challenges is a way for brands to engage with their users and audiences by encouraging them to create and share content related to a sponsored hashtag connected to a brand or company.
In Malaysia, Mcdonald's challenged the users to dance along with a short video that McDonald's created. Everyone who posted a video to this challenge got a free BigMac and could compete and win prizes. They called the #BigMacTikTok calling, and it went viral!
TikTok has advertising opportunities, but it's not for every company. First and formal, you have to ask yourself who your targeted audience is and if they can be reached on this platform. But if they fit the description for under 30, then absolutely. And then budget. TikTok advertisements are pretty expensive compared to other social media platforms. But on the upside, it's a great way to use influencers for marketing your brand to young adults and get a good reach.
And also – it's a relatively uncharted social platform Mich allows you to take a good piece of the marketing possibilities. But hurry up – your competitor might already plan to establish themselves on TikTok and read this blog post as we speak!
TikTok for business - How to start with TikTok
Get going with TikTok for your business!
Even though it's a brilliant strategy to be creative on TikTok and follow new trends, it's essential to create long-life content relevant to your brand but still entertaining and engaging.
The content you create is timeless and can be used on other social media platforms and on your website or blog. Think about the red third and how you can make an episode of short videos rather than just one.
Research out the influencers on TikTok that matches your targeted audience and create content that can fit their profile and posts. And also, don't be afraid to use micro or nano influencers on TikTok – they can be the next big thing and have great ambition for their profile. But, mainly, they can help you get going on TikTok!
Four steps to start set your marketing strategies on TikTok
- Go crazy on TikTok and find the right tools and filters for you
You have set up your business account and discovered the platform only as a user – not created anything.
TikTok has all the different editing tools and extraordinary effects you possibly need – experiment with them, create creative transfers between clips, and discover what is proper for your brand.
You can also go to the Discovery tab and follow different hashtags to see how people use them and how your competitors are using them.
But it's crucial not to copy anyone else's content – just get inspired by it. And don't be afraid to go outside your box and look at other niches. If you're a fashion brand, you can find inspiration from a food brand. And If you're a makeup brand, you can find inspiration from painting artists!
2. Find your niche
TikTok users loooooove to follow unique accounts that post unique content, and thanks to the powerful technique and algorithms behind TikTok, anyone can find your TikTok profile!
If you focus on a specific niche, you can create more flexibility to be creative, have fun with your audience and find the proper position relevant to your business. And also, you might be the first one there?!
For example, if you're a makeup brand - your TikTok niche can be creative and educating! Your videos on TikTok can show the viewers behind the scene in your factory and see how your employees and machines mix the different colors to a specific tone. Also, you can have a collab with an artist who paints canvas and let them use your makeup products to paint their next masterpiece!
Also, don't forget to set up a link to your website so that your targeted audience can easily find your site.
3. Decide how often you publish content and when
Implement your TikTok strategy into your social media planning schedule and use this sheet to plan creative and engaging content that allies with your other content in other channels.
Set a reachable goal for how many posts per week is possible for you to upload. Reach that goal, and don't go less. Just like every other social media platform, TikTok rewards concisely. So don't go hard and then go home – start small and with high quality.
It's also wise to keep track of how your audience is engaging with your content and what is working for them. You can access statistics on TikTok when creating a Pro-account. Here you can find your best territory, when your audience is active, and it allows you to analyze when's the right time to post something on TikTok.
4. Create a challenge so inspirational no one can't participate
Anyone can become viral on TikTok – and it can happen overnight. The intelligent platform is known for its amazing reach. So hop on the challenge wagon and create or sponsor a TikTok challenge and hashtag!
Challenges are a fantastic way for brands to go viral and to grow quickly by reaching millions of viewers. Collaborate with influencers in your niche or use regular people that often interact or comment on your posts to grow fast and strong in your TikTok niche.
Ready to TikTok?
So, is this trendy, young social media named after Keshas hit TikTok (it's not) the right platform for your brand? Probably! The incredible growth TikTok has gained during the last three years proves that the app is here to stay. If your targeted audience is under 30, then download the app as we speak and get inspired. On the other hand, if your targeted audience is over thirty, this is a fantastic opportunity for your brand to position yourself on a new platform that most conveniently will be the next big thing, even in the older age group!
Four fascinating facts on TikTok
- TikTok app has been downloaded over 2 billion times on App Store and Google Play
- TikTok is available in 155 countries
- 90 % of the users access the app daily
- TikTok has about 689 million monthly active users worldwide.
