Why TikTok is right for most brands

No longer just a Gen Z platform for dance routines and viral challenges. TikTok has a widening demographic and pretty much every type of content going. So, here our marketing agency takes a look at how brands can use TikTok to corner new markets.

TikTok’s top facts

24% of marketers now say TikTok is an effective platform to reach their business objectives. That’s a 700% increase year on year! For context, Facebook and Instagram have seen a decrease in perceived effectiveness. It’s clear that the advertising landscape is changing.

• The app has been downloaded 3 billion times. It has 8 million active users via iOS and 14.43 million on Android (September 2021)
• Entertainment is the most popular content with 535 billion hashtag views
• Consumer spending on TikTok in Q4 2021 $824.4 million
• Statista predicts that by 2025 there will be 15 million users in the UK

Is a business TikTok right for your brand?

It is clearly an effective platform, but how do marketeers decide whether a business TikTok account is right for their brand? Well, the same principles apply as with any other marketing channel:

1. Do your research – are your target audience using it?

Statista finds that 25% of current TikTok users are women aged between 18-24. 18% are men in the same age group. Despite it having a reputation for being a Gen Z platform, users aged 16-24 rank Instagram as their top choice. So, it’s vital you stay close to your target market. You need to understand which channels they prefer to use. Remember this may change!2. What does your brand want to achieve on the platform – is it brand awareness? Is it sales? If its brand awareness, then TikTok is the most engaging social media platform. It has an average user sessions of 10.85 minutes which is significantly higher than other platforms. As algorithms favour accounts with high consumer engagement, TikTok helps to ensure content resonates with your target market with the launch of in-app shopping. In short, TikTok is now a sales tool, encompassing click to buy. More than that, the platform doesn’t see the retail process as a marketing funnel. They see it as an infinite loop. Users continue to spread brand awareness after they’ve bought. 1 in 4 users make a post about their new product, and 1 in 5 make a tutorial video.

3. Will your brand story translate well into content that can viewed on TikTok?

It’s not a yes or no answer. The questions which lead to the answer are… Does your brand have a strong social purpose and a requirement for serious content? Or would an amusing piece of video content fit with your brand values? Do your brand guidelines require you to feature people or can you use animations, which will be much more cost effective?To be engaging, the content needs to get a reaction from the audience. TikTok has found that adverts with an emotional message outperform other ads, but this is more suited to some brands than others.

Content is still king

Once you decide whether a business TikTok account should be part of your marketing strategy, what are the different approaches that brands can take when creating TikTok content?Whatever channel you use, consumers have short attention spans. You risk them losing interest and scrolling away. So, as marketeers we know that content must be engaging. TikTok adverts create immediate impact with 63% of all successful ads getting their point across straight away.

• TikTok offer a variety of options for advert creation such as in-feed adverts, brand takeover adverts, and branded hashtag adverts! This gives brands the ability to choose the type of ads that will suit their product and their audience.
• Brands can partner with over 100,000 creators through the TikTok Creator Marketplace to create content, in fact 35% of users discover products and brands from Creators.
• Adding captions can increase impressions by 55.7% and including text in video content ensures you can display captions, call to actions, and ensure that content meets accessibility requirements.
• TikTok’s text-to-speech feature meets a growing consumer trend and videos captioned with #VoiceEffects had 160 billion views.
• Ensure your content is joined up with other social channels, users are typically using 8 platforms every month

So, what things should brands consider before they invest?

Unlike other social platforms, to be effective with TikTok you need great quality video content that represents your brand values correctly. So one big question is, do you have the in-house skills and creative team who can take those brand values and seek out engaging angles to turn into good TikTok content?Your next consideration is budget. Starting a TikTok presence is not as cheap as platforms that don’t demand high quality video, but get it right and the returns will be worth it. As with all marketing campaigns, look at the return on investment required to ensure you get a sufficient return.TikTok is the right choice for many brands. As with taking on any new marketing channel, assess if its merits are right for your brand. To talk about TikTok content ideas, talk to the ThinkOTB team.