Ready to jump on the TikTok marketing bandwagon? There’s no secret that advertising inserted itself into our everyday lives. From scrolling through “outfit of the day” posts on Instagram to watching endless cat videos on YouTube, it seems impossible to spend more than five minutes on a social media app without encountering some form of an advertisement. Furthermore, social media influencers continue to become increasingly common. Some even earn a livable wage by promoting brands in exchange for free products or cash.
A new wave of social media influencers gained a massive following on TikTok. Business Insider reported that TikTok has more than 2 billion all-time downloads since it launched several years ago. The popular video-sharing app focuses on immersive content such as lip-syncs, dances, and funny skits. While many users gravitate towards the app for entertainment, TikTok recently solidified itself as a proven platform for successful online marketing campaigns.
For business owners looking to make a bold statement on the web, understanding the key components of TikTok marketing can help achieve marketing and sales goals. Let’s examine TikTok’s advertising capabilities a bit further.
TikTok’s Customizable Feed & User-Centric Algorithm
According to Vice, TikTok relies on a specific algorithm to generate a tailored ‘For You’ page, which delivers a unique experience to each individual. This secret algorithm uses hashtags and related content aligning with a user’s search behavior. While the idea of a ‘For You’ page is not exactly a new idea, brands can still use the content specification as a powerful marketing tool to reach various niche audiences. For example, suppose a target audience prefers an active lifestyle. In that case, business owners should integrate their messaging with fitness pages or fitness-related hashtags to sneak onto a user’s ‘For You’ page.
TikTok’s Accessible Functionality
TikTok’s user-friendly interface is easy to navigate for new users wishing to test out the waters. The ‘For You’ page uses a scrolling format with buttons positioned on the video’s side, thereby allowing users to seamlessly interact with a wide assortment of entertaining video content. These easy-to-access buttons make for an interactive experience between the user and the creator.
Based on statistics presented by Omnicore Agency, setting up a ‘For You’ page on TikTok leads to – on average – a 29% engagement rate. When a user clicks on the profile picture, he or she will arrive at the video creator’s profile. A profile is where a brand’s marketing initiatives can connect the consumer to a website’s landing page or other social media profiles. Clicking on the camera icon next to a profile picture will link viewers to a company’s Instagram or YouTube pages.
Social media influencers will often provide a link in their bio to a website belonging to a partnering company. The presence of a company’s handles and links on an influencer’s profile can increase the engagement rate with paid partnerships between an influencer.
Using TikTok to Market to Younger Audiences
Members of Generation Z are the predominant users on TikTok, as well as the generation holding tremendous buying power. Although the app contains multiple age groups, 41% of TikTok’s users range between 16-24. SheerID provided some statistics that show Generation Z currently makes up 40% of all consumers. Generation Z is technologically advanced; thus, leveraging online platforms will ultimately prove effective at reaching this demographic. So if a marketing team wants to reach a younger cohort of followers, then TikTok is the right platform for promotion.
The Four Types of TikTok Marketing Strategies
As an emerging advertising platform, TikTok utilizes four types of advertisements – In-feed native content, brand takeovers, hashtag challenges, and branded lenses.
- In-feed Native Content: These are the more traditional ads you would see on YouTube before a video plays. They are skippable after 9-15 seconds, but they can also contain a strong call-to-action (CTR) for users to click.
- Brand Takeovers: These are ads that appear immediately on a user’s screen when they first enter the app. Brand Takeovers frequently contain links to landing pages used for hashtag challenges. This landing page is paid for by the same company as the takeover and populated with videos relating to the challenge hashtag.
- Hashtag Challenges: Hashtag challenges spreads an easy-to-remember hashtag across the platform, thereby promoting a challenge sponsored by a company. This challenge can feature dances, skits, or any other creative performance that will place the promoted hashtag onto ‘For You’ pages.
- Branded Lenses: These ads are video filters that promote a business via their logo or some symbol representing the brand.
Which TikTok Marketing Strategy is Best?
Based on 99 Firms’ research, hashtags challenges are the most popular types of ads on TikTok. These challenges lead users to interact with the given hashtag, giving it widespread attention. Nonetheless, properly using these ads can become challenging for newer users.
Successful hashtags require ample research and time to craft innovative ways to improve a campaign’s effectiveness. This research includes identifying a hashtag that will catch on or resonate with a target audience. A company’s social media team can conduct research by investigating competing brands with similar services to see how they performed with hashtag challenges.
Like in-feed native content and brand takeovers, other advertisement strategies are more traditional advertising forms on the modern app. In-feed native content ads are basically modernized versions of advertisements on the side of a newspaper. The goal of these ads is to entice and command a user’s attention while making your brand’s page easily accessible with links to your social media handles.
Final Thoughts on TikTok Marketing
TikTok is just one of many social media sites for companies of all sizes to spread awareness and influence across the web. While other digital platforms proved to help expand brands, TikTok’s emerging impact can become a fitting and fresh marketing strategy when used correctly. If you believe your company can benefit from a new digital marketing campaign, then TikTok is the perfect place for your business to start. Dial (973) 346-8100 to connect with the Premiere Creative social media team to discuss launching your first TikTok campaign.
