TikTok was launched in 2016, and in just a few years, it has become a super popular social media platform. By now, TikTok is over 900 million monthly active users (MAU).
Like Facebook, TikTok has become an incredible marketing tool that businesses can use to promote their products an services. If your company is not on TikTok by now for marketing, what are you waiting for?
TikTok Marketing Trends
User Generated Content (UGC)
User generated content (UGC) is becoming increasingly important and marketers are getting into strategy and development. User generated content is the content that is generated by the company, customers and users and which is used by brands for marketing purposes.
User generated content is free and it’s created by regular people, which customers tend to trust more for obvious reasons so it converts five times more than brand sponsored posts.
As more companies start to notice, there will be a huge growth of user-generated content by marketing professionals. User generated content is a TikTok trend that companies simply cannot afford to ignore.
Hashtag Challenges
A hashtag challenge is when a user or business creates a hashtag and asks followers to submit videos that are related to that hashtag. We've seen this trend on Instagram as well, but TikTok is way more vibrant because of its video centric approach.
Hashtag challenges, when done well and with a good following, can be a game changer. They have the potential to attract a lot of attention and go viral.
In addition to having viral potential, hashtag challenges are an excellent TikTok strategy because they create fun experiences for followers and create a lot of engagement.
Using Hashtags, even without the challenge, is a must to reach new audiences within TikTok, Each platform and season has a top list of hashtags, for now, TikTok has the following. Feel free to use them as an extra to your own when applicable.
#tiktok #foryoupage #fyp #foryou #viral #love #funny #memes #followme #cute #fun #music #happy #fashion #follow #comedy #bestvideo #tiktok4fun #thisis4u #loveyoutiktok #tiktok #love #like #follow #explore #meme #video #followforfollowback
Duets
Another very successful and fun TikTok marketing strategy. Duets involves a brand or user creating a video and then letting TikTok users use that video with a side-by-side effect, with the two videos played simultaneously in a split-screen.
This is another awesome way for brands and businesses to engage with their followers and create a fun collaboration bond within the app. It gives brands an opportunity to feel organic to users because they can use your content to create theirs.
This strategy can help followers to forge much stronger connections with the brand, which can in turn increase customer loyalty and engagement.
Influencers
TikTok, like any other popular social media channels, has a wide range of influencers who have amassed a big or huge following around a topic, cause or personality. Working with influencers can be a extremely effective marketing strategy if done right.
As TikTok’s popularity continues to rise, more brands will start their TikTok influencers marketing operations. Influencers can promote goods and services to their followers. Beware, there is not a direct correlation between the size of the audience and the effectiveness of the campaign.
If you would like to use influencers for your brand or business marketing efforts, Make an effort and find an influencer with enough followers and engagement who is relevant to your niche and who you can afford to work with.
Starting with TikTok Advertising
At first, people like Charli D’Amelio and David Dobrik took the TikTok universe by storm, but they were only the first few westerners to become stars through TikTok. Since then, thousands of huge accounts have been developed by people, brands and businesses.
From the newest release of a video game to your the investment advice from your local 21 year old- TikTok advertising allows users and companies of every type to promote whatever it is they sell. From Luxury brands to new amateur scientific publications, everybody is on TikTok.
How to Use TikTok Ad Manager
Check out these simple steps to get started with your TikTok business account:
Create your TikTok business account: go to TikTok Business Center, sign up in the top right-hand corner and create up to three accounts in their respective time zones.
Add your users and members: by email or send them a link using the feature labeled “Members”. They can have two access points: General Business account and Ad account access.
Manage your assets: You have to set-up a new Ad account and add your business account information.
Create your ads and start connecting with your audience! Make sure to explore TikTok community and see how you can leverage different formats to support your growth!
What are the TikTok ad formats?
How exactly do you start advertising on TikTok?
TikTok offers a variety of ways to start spreading the word about you, your product, your brand or service. Here are some ways:
Brand Takeover: an ad is shown on the app launch screen. Before the famous “For You” page and starting your periodic five hour scroll :). The brand takeover will show a short and sweet ad as soon as you open the app. A 3 second image or a 3 to 5 second video without audio. Awesome for awareness campaigns but advertisers should expect to pay a high price for this spot.
Top View ads: A slightly delayed Brand Takeover. 60 second videos designed to target your audience in the most effective way possible. These placements are guaranteed to be the first thing your user sees and will most likely interact with.
In Feed Ad: They appear as their name might have hinted, as part of your daily “For You” feed. This ad format can run up to 60 seconds of video with sound and blends seamlessly into your scrolling and exploring, like a normal UGC.
Hashtag Challenge: The one that has people trending and using products in more ways than ever. This format, as we saw, encourages the creation of UGC. All this content is then grouped in a hashtag challenge page and can be viewed by others. A great way to create community and TikTok will help get you started if you’re interested in launching one.
Branded Effect: TikTok version of an Instagram filter and Snapchat lense. These visual stickers, filters, and special effects are created for users to engage and use them on their own content.
Get the right partner for TikTok Marketing
On this blog post we tried to go over the basics of TikTok Marketing, the structure and some useful information. But if your planning to use TikTok or Social Media Marketing in a consistent and top level way, consider having a partner that can guide you and work with your team in achieving the goals.
Creating and managing a Social Media Marketing Strategy, payed or organic, should include conversion tracking, constant optimization, correct attribution and a dedicated people that will walks with you all the way.
At BausLabs we proud ourselves in becoming part of your team, by understanding your business, your team, structure and objectives, we can provide the best services that will get you where you want to go from Barcelona, Tel Aviv and Zurich to the world.
Get in touch! We'll audit your social media and advice you for free on a zoom call.
Have a great day,
Cheers!