Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve likely seen (or maybe even taken part in) the TikTok dances or the viral trends that have kept many of us glued to our phones for the last few years. TikTok rose in popularity over the pandemic with people stuck at home making videos and has continued to grow its following among a variety of demographics since. But is there space for marketers on the platform?
The answer is, absolutely! One of the marketing industry’s biggest trends is short-form videos, which TikTok is most known for. If you’re still hesitant about making the jump over or not sure how to break through the noise of the platform, we have the inside scoop on how to use TikTok for marketing.
Why marketers should use TikTok
For marketers, TikTok encourages them to be funny and entertaining with their products and potential customers. Whether it’s participating in one of the many TikTok challenges or the latest trends, it gives your brand the opportunity to really show off its personality. In fact, 61% of users said they like companies better when they create or participate in a TikTok trend. These short-form videos are perfect for product demos, behind-the-scenes looks, and giving tips.
Many people are turning away from search engines and finding the answers to their inquiries on TikTok as well. In fact, 40% of Gen-Z use TikTok as their search engine. Because of this, it’s important to create captions for SEO. Keywords should be utilized in captions and in the video text. Like any other social media platform, using at least five relevant hashtags can put you in front of your target audience.
Best of all, this content can be reused on other platforms to maximize engagement and build up your brand awareness. TikTok videos are formatted to work well with Instagram and will be posted as reels. This can be helpful if part of your target audience prefers that latter platform. Just keep in mind that trends tend to pick up slower on the platform (but that doesn’t mean you can’t be the first to post it there).
TikTok best practices
Like most social media platforms, TikTok uses an algorithm to show videos on your For You page based on your interests. User interactions are one of the biggest determiners of who will see your post and how far it will reach. The algorithm also takes into account the video content details, like captions, sounds, and hashtags that users are searching for.
Your videos can be anything from a 15-second clip with high-level information or a minute-long deep dive into a specific topic. When setting up your post, you’ll want to have some key elements:
- Engaging captions (which can now have up to 2,200 characters)
- Three to five hashtags
You can help boost the engagement and reach of your video as well by using trending sounds or music, like Taylor Swift’s chorus to “Anti-Hero”, though you can also use your own song or audio.
TikTok tools
Data drives all that we do, so knowing exactly how your efforts are going is vital. TikTok has a number of great in-app tools that are perfect for marketers to promote their brands and measure their success.
Ads
TikTok has five different types of ads that you need to know:
- In-feed ads, which look like a regular video but give you the ability to add in CTAs.
- Brand takeovers, which look like full-screen videos shown upon opening the app. These aren’t as common due to costs, and only one brand takeover a day is shown to users.
- TopViews, which are shown within the first three seconds on For You pages. Unlike the brand takeovers, TopView enables users to comment and like the ad.
- Branded hashtag challenges, which use a particular hashtag to direct users to a branded landing page. These aren’t common either due to the price.
- Branded effects, which allow users to add filters specific to your business to their videos.
Marketers can use any variation of the above ad types, but some may prove to be steep in price. To spread awareness of your product, it’s wise to begin with one type of ad and adjust as necessary.
Analytics
In the app, businesses have the ability to view applicable metrics to see how their posts are performing. Some of the most important metrics included are video views, profile views, followers, growth rate, and follower activity, which will give you insight into the hours and days that your followers are most engaged. Using these metrics, you can determine what content is most relevant to your audience, when the optimal posting time is, and follower engagement.
Still weary about strategizing your marketing efforts on TikTok? We’re here to help with your strategy, entertain you with our sweet dance moves, and so much more (pertaining to marketing practices)! Connect with us today!
