TikTok is quickly becoming a top contender for social media marketing worldwide. With over one billion active users, there is a huge opportunity for businesses on the platform. Businesses have the ability to build a broader audience, engage with that audience and generate more sales. That is if you use the platform correctly. Below are several tips to help your business market with TikTok videos successfully. But, first, let's look at what TikTok is and how the platform works.
TikTok is a video streaming app where users create short videos on any topic they wish. These videos can be anywhere from 15 seconds to 3 minutes long. Originally, however, TikTok was a dance and lip-syncing video platform, where users danced or sang to popular songs. Now, it hosts a diverse range of topics for a wide range of audiences. The age demographic on TikTok is younger than Instagram, with most users between 16 – 24 years old.
Users interact with content on TikTok by scrolling the feed, which is also known as the FYP (for you page). They can then like, comment, share, or duet videos as they wish. Users can also use the search function to find a niche or trending topic. Be aware that TikTok prioritizes videos with more views and interactions. Thus, audience engagement is key to successful marketing.
There are three popular marketing strategies for the TikTok platform; influencer marketing, organic viral content creation, and paid advertising. Each of these strategies has benefits and downfalls. However, you could utilize all of them in some capacity.
This is a huge part of the TikTok ecosystem, as Gen Z often choose to follow personalities over brands. Thus, collaborating with influencers can dramatically increase your reach and conversions. Now, the influencer does not need to have millions of followers but they must be relevant to your brand niche. There is no point in contacting a makeup influencer to advertise your cooking products. Search and discover relevant rising stars within your industry niche for best results. By doing this your brand will look more natural and authentic while gaining credibility. Ensure that you have a contract with the influencer you work with. This should include how many videos they must post, how often they must post, how to measure results and how much they will be paid. If you do not track the results using a unique hashtag or product code, you won’t be able to analyze the results. Thus, making the campaign ineffective.
This technique requires some planning and a lot of tracking trends. The best way to make viral content for TikTok is to utilize trending music or sounds in your videos. This will ensure more people see your content, which means TikTok will push it to more people. This then repeats and if it happens enough you have a viral video. Now, creating viral content isn’t easy and you may find that only 1 in 5 videos will generate enough traction to go viral. However, to increase your chances ensure your videos have a hook at the beginning, trending sounds, and are relevant to your audience. This means utilizing the viral sounds in a way that makes sense for your brand.
Direct selling isn’t popular on TikTok due to the younger age demographic, however, it can work if done well. TikTok provides a few options for businesses who wish to promote themselves via advertisements. These are;
Ensure you build brand awareness in between marketing campaigns for organic traffic as well.
Having a content plan can make a huge difference to how you market with TikTok videos. You should look ensure you identify and set up a posting schedule for your content. This is where TikTok analytics will help. Use your data to see when your audience is online, and when they are most active. Aim to post an hour to 30 minutes before the most active periods. This will help ensure your target audience sees your videos. If you are brand new to TikTok think about when your target audience would most likely be online. Try to post twice a day if possible.
Review your content plan and performance regularly to get the best results from TikTok marketing. You should be checking your paid ad performance and influencer campaigns weekly to ensure they are on track. Remember you can adjust ad budgets at any stage of the campaign. Review your analytics at least once a month and adjust your content posting plan as needed. You can also test different hashtags and change your hashtags in your captions as you learn what performs best.
Deciding to market with TikTok videos requires planning and dedication. As the platform demographic is different from Facebook and Instagram, you must change your marketing approach. Have a look at some popular brands to see how they tackle TikTok marketing vs Instagram marketing. Aim to advertise your products in a subtle way to get better results. If you simply try to sell, users are likely to scroll on by. Decide what strategies you want to use and start making content today.
