Created in September 2016 by the Chinese tech company, ByteDance, TikTok has seen its ups and downs over the past few years. It was launched off of the app Musically, and initially, people weren’t fully satisfied. However, after being around for six years, TikTok marketing is more popular than ever, and the platform has international officers in Seoul, Beijing, Lose Angeles, Moscow, Mumbai, and Tokyo. According to the latest research, TikTok is expected to hit $11.64 in ad revenues this year.
Whether it’s a new business or your company has been in the industry for years, TikTok is a great channel to market your products and services. If you want to learn more about TikTok marketing, how it works, and how you can benefit from them, read on!
Why is TikTok the Place to be?
In August 2020, TikTok hit a milestone as it became the most downloaded non-gaming app worldwide, surpassing apps that have been in the industry for years, like Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and Facebook. If there is one thing that is true about TikTok, it’s that it is prevalent and continues to grow in popularity as more people get on it. TikTok is said to have the highest engagement rate from its followers, with over 100,000 users.
TikTok is home to a broad and diverse range of people. The app has all kinds of individuals on its platform, from little kids to older people, from dancers to comedians, fans to celebrities, and from all different cultures and ethnicities. If you want to reach a specific kind of audience, TikTok marketing will help you find and reach them. Depending on who your target market is, you can promote your product in a certain way to appeal to them.
TikTok Marketing 101
The benefit of TikTok is that it is a budget-friendly way to create engaging and entertaining content. The app became extremely popular extremely fast because, compared to its competitors, TikTok consists of short and appealing videos curated for each user.
The thing about the TikTok algorithm is that any video can go viral. A user with a small following can get millions of views, similar to how many views a celebrity account would have. So, if you are a new business just starting on TikTok, you shouldn’t be discouraged by your small number of followers and likes. If you create a plan and see how potential clients like and interact with your posts, you can keep adjusting your campaign based on the findings.
Quick Tips to Promote on TikTok
1. Stay on top of trends.
Trends come and go on TikTok. You must stay updated with the trends and current hashtags to reach more people, but make them your own! Whether you want to participate in the latest dance trend, or a meme circulating on the app, find a creative way to market yourself while participating in these trends by standing out from the crowd.
If potential clients and users see that you post entertaining content and are an ordinary TikTok user like them, they’ll feel more inclined to trust your company and buy from you. It is also essential to look for trending hashtags, as these help you gain more visibility. Use a couple of hashtags specific to your company and a few more related to your product or service.
With all these things, you educate the algorithm on who you are and what audience you want to target. This will optimize your reach in the future and take your videos straight to the people who want to see them.
2. Experiment and test.
The key is being creative and open to trying new things. Trends come and go, so you move with the trends and experiment to see what works best for your company. Don’t be discouraged if a video didn’t help you gain the visibility you hoped it would. There is always room for improvement; maybe it is time to adjust your techniques and test new ideas.
3. Get inspired.
Grab inspiration and ideas from other accounts that motivate you along the way. If you need the motivation to start, here are a few companies on TikTok that do a great job promoting themselves:
Duolingo
With over five million followers on TikTok, Duolingo does a great job of creating engaging content while also efficiently promoting its product. Duolingo is an app that allows you to learn over 20 different languages in a fun and easy way. One of the ongoing jokes on Duolingo’s TikTok is that the mascot, called Duo, is in love with the pop star Dua Lipa.
For example, in one of their recent TikToks, they edited a picture of Duo with Dua to show they were getting married. This TikTok has over 100,000 likes and 1811 comments. Overall, a lot of engagement because clients and users love this kind of comedic content.
Godess.ca
A smaller business, Godess.ca focuses on providing its clients with durable and pretty claw clips. Clients like this company’s TikTok because they constantly show the audience the benefit of their products (durability) in a fun way. A claw clip is a large clip that can be put in your hair. Many people find that these clips can break easily or simply just don’t stick in the hair effortlessly.
Goddess.ca understands these two things are essential to their client, and they are determined to provide the perfect solution. For example, the brand has a series on its TikTok called “Claw Clip Break Test.” In this series, a group of men steps on the claw clip to see if it will break. The claw clip has not failed in all their videos so far!
Burberry
You can tell that this company puts time and dedication into its videos. They have a series on their page called the “Burberry Night Creatures,” a thrilling short story.
The attention to detail, animations, effects, and music make this piece incredibly impactful. Burberry split it into parts with cliffhangers so that users continue to engage and watch their content. This short story is a fan favorite because Burberry knows how to appeal to its audience. They know how to keep the intrigue going, which motivates the audience to see more videos.
Key Takeaways
TikTok has become one of the most popular apps since 2020. Why? Because it has content for everyone, from dance to cooking and acting videos. Since TikTok has such a diverse audience, it is an excellent place for business owners to be. This app has shown its ability to attract different users and keep them entertained.
The quality that separates TikTok from other apps is that it has engaging and entertaining content tailored just for you. Your FYP is a page made to suit your interests. With hard work and motivation, business owners promote their products and services on TikTok and reach the target audience they are looking for. Thus, making it the new place to be for brands and people alike.
Read the second part of this blog to get a more in-depth idea of starting your page and creating a TikTok marketing strategy for ads. Still have questions? Schedule a complimentary session with our team to get answers.