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TikTok is one of the most successful social networks among young people at this time, so you’ve probably already seen something related to TikTok on Facebook or Instagram, but you don’t really know what it is about…
If you’re curious, want to know how this new social network works and how you can implement it to boost your business’ marketing strategy campaigns, read on!
What is TikTok?
As detailed by The Marketing Helpline in their article on TikTok statistics, the TikTok app has been downloaded more than 1.65 billion times and has over 1 billion video views on the platform per day, making it one of the most downloaded mobile applications of the moment by Gen Z. This puts TikTok ahead of other popular social networks such as Twitter and Instagram.
It has its origins in Musical.ly, a music application aimed exclusively at teenagers. Its success lies in the possibility of creating and sharing videos of very short duration, between 15 and 60 seconds. These videos can be customized with different effects and animations. Music, fashion, humor, video games, food and technology are some examples of popular themes in TikTok.
User-created content has great viral potential. For example, a brand can provide a kind of template and users will complete it with their own creations, in some cases viralizing them.
Another aspect that makes TikTok interesting for companies is the different types of advertising it has, since until recently, influencer marketing was the only way for brands to gain visibility on this platform. Now TikTok’s advertising offer includes native content, brand acquisitions or sponsored hashtags, as we will see later.
In the following video you can learn more about TikTok for your business:
Target Audience
TikTok is successful among the youngest, as 60% of users are between 16 and 24 years old. Therefore, unlike Instagram or Facebook, TikTok users are under 30 years old. However, more and more people over 30 are using it.
Other important facts to keep in mind is that TikTok has slightly more women, 55% compared to 45% of men. On average, a user spends 52 minutes a day on the app.
Advertising on TikTok
At the moment TikTok is not as saturated with advertising as Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, so it is a good opportunity if you want your brand to generate notoriety (no conversions). These are the different types of advertising available on TikTok:
Brand Takeover
These ads can be still images, GIFs or videos. You can link them to a landing page on your website or to a Hashtag Challenge, which you already have running within TikTok,
Brand takeovers are limited to one brand per category per day.
In-Feed Video
The in-feed ads in TikTok are similar to Instagram’s Stories, with different creativities and options to add links and call to action buttons (website clicks, etc.), in full screen, although the user can omit them. These videos should be between 9 and 15 seconds long.
Hashtag Challenge
Challenges with #hashtags are a fundamental part of TikTok. It consists of encouraging users to perform a certain action and tagging their video with the corresponding branded hashtag.
It is not necessary to launch an ad campaign in TikTok to create your own branded Hashtag Challenge, but they are a very useful tool to increase the reach and multiply the chances of your challenge going viral.
With the Hashtag Challenge ads, your challenge will have a unique banner within the TikTok Discover page that will direct users to a page with challenge instructions and existing content with that hashtag.
Branded Lenses (Lens 2D, 3D & AR)
These lenses are similar to the Snapchat or Instagram lenses. They allow TikTok users to add custom augmented reality filters to their own content for a limited time of up to 10 days.
Influencers
Tiktokers are users with thousands of followers, so collaborating with these influencers will help you multiply the reach of your Hashtag Challenges and other campaigns.
User Generated Content
The best way to promote your brand in TikTok is through user-generated content. By encouraging them to use your hashtag and label your brand in their creations, you can increase the notoriety and viral effect.
Successful TikTok Marketing Strategies
NBA
The U.S. Basketball League is the third-largest fan in TikTok, with over 10.5 million fans. The most interesting thing is that their strategy does not focus on the aforementioned challenges, but rather they offer summaries of the games and the best plays or meetings with the protagonists and players.
@nbaYEAHHHHHH! Rocky with another mascot trick shot on ##talenttuesday! :basketball: Show us your best trick shot using ##hoopsathome♬ Dune 5x – Zandyr
Nickelodeon
The children’s TV channel Nickelodeon has 6.9 million followers at TikTok, where it has found an important way to stay in touch with its potential audience.
@nickelodeonLearn to draw our favorite fashionista, Leni Loud! ✍️ ##artistsoftiktok ##drawing ##tutorial ##theloudhouse ##loudhouse ##howtodraw ##fashion♬ Shelter – Porter Robinson and Madeon
KitKat
According to AdNews, this was the first brand of chocolate to enter the social network, although for the moment only one video can be watched from his official US account, an advertisement it made with the musician Chance The Rapper.
@kitkatGive all of us a break by showing off your own Kit Kat jingle! Tag us for a chance to be featured ##KitKatChallenge♬ original sound – kitkat
Starbucks, Sephora or Walmart participate in TikTok Rewards, a rewards program where users refer friends to the app to earn points to redeem for offers or discounts.