TikTok is an app that has taken over the world in a relatively short time.
It was released in September of 2018 and by January 2019 it had been downloaded more than 10 million times.
The app features music, videos, and short clips from all around the world, but you can also use TikTok to start your own channel and share your content with users who want nothing more than to watch other people’s lives unfold on their screens.
Depending on your target audience, TikTok is a great marketing channel. Since it’s relatively new, many people don’t know how to promote their businesses on the platform.
This guide will teach you everything you need to know about the most effective TikTok marketing strategies.
Table of Contents
What is TikTok?
TikTok is an app that was released more than three years ago. Since then, it has been downloaded by millions. The app features music, videos, and short clips from all around the world but you can also use TikTok to start your own channel and share your user generated content with users who want nothing more than to watch other people’s lives unfold on their screens.
How Does TikTok Work?
There are two ways to use TikTok. You can either upload your own user generated content or watch other people’s TikTok videos and music clips. The app is used primarily for posting short, looping video snippets of life on the go – whether it be a selfie in front of the Taj Mahal or all five minutes (or more!) that went into creating your latest masterpiece baking project.
This includes listening to other people’s favorite songs from around the globe.
For this reason, it has been called “Snapchat meets YouTube” because you don’t need a lot of time to create something fun and shareable; just tap a record.
Who is the Target Audience of TikTok?
If you are targeting a younger audience, TikTok is the perfect marketing channel. Since it’s relatively new and many people don’t know how to promote their businesses on the platform, this guide will teach you everything about TikTok for business use.
- You can reach your target customer through your own account or third-party accounts with followers in common that they follow back when they see your post.
- Reaching international audiences without spending money on translations or subtitles.
- Tik Tok has more daily average users than Twitter (600 million DAU).
Why Did TikTok Become So Popular?
The popularity of TikTok may be because it’s relatively new and many people don’t know how to promote their businesses on this platform yet so there are opportunities for marketing success.
With this type of popularity, there is an opportunity to promote your products and services on the platform.
How Can Companies Utilize a TikTok Marketing Strategy to Boost Their Brand Awareness?
The best way to use TikTok as a marketing tool is by setting up a business account and connecting your other social media accounts (such as Facebook, Instagram) so you can share posts across platforms. This will increase the reach of all of your social media profiles.
It’s also worth mentioning that there are many third-party apps that have been developed specifically for TikTok usage in regards to advertising such as Bambuser – an app with tools that help users create their own branded content on the platform.
Benefits of Using TikTok for Marketing
It’s important to remember that TikTok is a visual social media platform. This means it has the potential to be more persuasive for audiences than other platforms and there are many reasons why marketers should implement a TikTok marketing strategy in their overall digital marketing campaigns:
Ease of Use:
TikTok makes it easy for anyone to create, upload, edit and share content with just a few taps on your smartphone. It offers flexibility not found on all other social networks like Facebook or Instagram where you need either high-quality images or video footage before being able to post.
If you’re looking for an easy way to promote your brand then TikTok is perfect because you don’t have anything fancy needed until after the fact when editing so uploading will take no time at all.
Youth Movement:
Tik Tok has a massive following with the majority of users being under 25 years old. This is perfect for brands that are looking to target a younger audience and sales can increase exponentially when marketing on TikTok due to this demographic’s increased spending power.
No Competition:
With less competition, it’s easier for you to be seen by your target market which means more exposure too! Fewer people than ever have found their way onto TikTok yet so this gives an opportunity for marketers who want to show off what they offer without having any competitors in sight.
Drawbacks of Using TikTok for Marketing
TikTok isn’t for everyone. Depending on your target audience and goals, you may be better off using Facebook or Instagram. Here are some more drawbacks to consider before making a decision to create a TikTok account.
Very Young Target Audience:
If you want to target the older crowd, TikTok may not be for you. If your goal is to reach more mature demographics who are on Facebook or Instagram then this platform will leave them untouched.
Limited Functionality:
This user-friendly interface also makes it easy for people to create quick videos which can lead to less interesting content being shared as opposed to other social media platforms where there’s more creativity in regards to video length and types of posts allowed.
Not Proven as a Major Advertising Platform:
TikTok is still new, so it’s not a tried and true way to advertise yet. You may have better luck on Facebook or Instagram if you’re looking to engage with your brand loyalists but this app has the potential for advertising success as well due to its young user-base.
Effective TikTok Marketing Strategies
Have you decided to start using TikTok to promote your business? If so, we’ve compiled a complete list of effective strategies, which include:
Define Your Marketing Goals on TikTok:
Before you start marketing on TikTok, it’s important to have a clear idea of what your goals are. It can be easy to get caught up in the excitement and forget about this step so make sure that if you’re making use of this platform for advertising purposes then you know exactly which audience you want to reach out to.
It’s also important to consider who or what demographic will benefit from using your product/service because there is a wide range when it comes to age groups on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram but not as much variety as those on TikTok. The only way for brands to target their desired market segment is through hashtags (#).
Determine What Type of Content to Create on TikTok:
It’s important to keep in mind that TikTok is a very visual platform. If you have video content, then this will be the most effective type of media for marketing. However, if not and text-based posts are your only option then it’ll take more time as opposed to simply uploading videos.
See What Your Competitors Are Doing:
It’s always important to see what your competitors are doing and TikTok is no exception. This will allow you to learn where they’re advertising, their hashtags (#), the length of their posts, the type of content that they use for marketing, etc.
Perform Hashtag Research for Your Niche:
If hashtags (#) are important to your marketing strategy, then you’ll need to invest the time and research into finding out which ones will be best for getting in front of a specific target audience. This is relatively straightforward on Facebook or Instagram but not as much on TikTok so it’s essential that you take some time to figure this part out if you want success with advertising your brand.
Identify the Best Time to Post on TikTok:
You may be tempted to post at all times of the day but research has shown that there are certain hours when posts get more engagement.
For example, Facebook and Instagram have been found to receive better results in terms of interaction from posting during breakfast time/early morning while TikTok is most active on a Friday evening or Saturday afternoon.
Follow Current TikTok Trends:
What’s trending in your niche? Keeping up with what others are doing is going to help you stay relevant and keep the interest of each target audience.
No matter how popular a social media marketing trend becomes, there will be an eventual decline when it comes to engagement rates over time.
Partner with TikTok Influencers:
This is one of the best ways to increase visibility and engagement on TikTok. A post from an influencer has a much higher chance of going viral than if it’s just coming from your brand account, which will open up new opportunities for marketing campaigns in the future.
If you’re looking to grow your following in record time then using TikTok influencer marketing is the most effective strategy that we recommend trying.
Always Interact With Your Audience:
It’s important to not only create content but also stay active and engage with your current followers.
Just like any other social media platform, constant interaction builds relationships that will result in more opportunities for marketing success down the line.
This is a great way to start building an audience on TikTok as well because you’ll be able to interact one-on-one rather than just from behind a computer screen when using this strategy.
Post Often:
This is the best way to get your content in front of a larger audience. The more often you post, the higher chance that people will notice and follow through with following your account as well.
It’s important not to overpost though! When there are too many posts coming from an account it can start looking spammy which reduces engagement rates overall.
Use TikTok Effects in Your Posts:
Effects are a fun way to jazz up posts and make them more interesting which will lead to increased interaction rates.
There are three different categories that you can choose from: classic, exclusive, or freestyle. In total there are 64 effects in each category for your account so it’s important not to post an effect twice (or else the same one as before) when using this strategy.
Take Advantage of TikTok Stories:
This is another great opportunity for marketing success because stories last 24 hours rather than just being temporary like regular posts! This also means that videos can be used, unlike other social media platforms where text-based content is needed due to how quickly things disappear off the feed.
Make Compelling Videos with Vivid Descriptions:
Videos are a great way to get your content in front of others and using vivid descriptions will make them more interesting.
Don’t be afraid to use hashtags, captions under videos, or additional text-based posts for maximum exposure.
Keep Content Engaging:
This is the most important thing you need to remember. You want people coming back because they’re interested in what’s being said rather than just scrolling past it like other social media platforms where there isn’t any interaction going on at all.
Add some personality into every post – whether that means jokes or fun facts about the topic at hand – as well as adding an informative aspect so that viewers leave with something new without feeling bored after reading anything too long.
Use TikTok Ads:
TikTok ads are a great way to quickly grow your following on the platform.
You will be able to target specific groups of people and have access to analytics data when using this method which is especially helpful for marketers who need more information about their audience in order to create detailed campaigns that resonate with them.
Blend in Branded Content:
Don’t be afraid to try out your own branding on TikTok. It’s important not to overdo it though and make sure that most of what you’re posting is in line with the rest so as not to confuse people or have them think you’re a spammer.
Contact Us Today!
TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world.
If you want to promote your business in front of a young target audience, TikTok is the way to go. If you’d like to learn more about how we can help with your successful TikTok marketing strategy, contact us today to speak to a member of our team.
Over the years he's written for publications like Forbes, Entrepreneur, Marketing Land, Search Engine Journal, ReadWrite and other highly respected online publications. Connect with Tim on Linkedin & Twitter.
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