Information in this blog was obtained from the Social Media Examiner, Content Marketing Institute, and Social Media Today.
Are you trying to figure out what social media platforms you should choose to place ads for your business? What social media platforms will give you the most views, engagement, and revenue? Your business needs to take a look at TikTok and why it has become so successful in the business-to-consumer (B2C) market.
What is TikTok?
TikTok is a social media platform, formerly known as Musical.ly, that shows short video clips (15 seconds-3 minutes), often trendy dancing and lip-syncing videos. You can see content from friends, businesses, sports teams, and strangers from all around the world. The platform has over a billion users with its main consumers ranging from 16 to 24. As specified by Social Media Examiner, consumers spend a decent amount of time on the social media platform opening the app about 8 times a day and on average spend 52 minutes a day on the app.
Why Your Brand Should Advertise on TikTok
According to Social Media Today, a study by Statista showed that TikTok consumers are more open to ads in the app and that 15% of users have a hard time distinguishing advertising and other content on the platform. TikTok is known for having very loyal and engaging users, unlike other social media networks.
As reported by the Content Marketing Institute, one B2C marketer e.l.f. Cosmetics was extremely successful in its #eyeslipsface campaign on TikTok. The campaign wanted consumers to show off their makeup techniques with a 15-second trendy video and catchy tune made by the cosmetic company. Its initial video had a very strong presence with 2.5 billion views and 3 million TikTok users joining the trend. The cosmetic company even had celebrities take part in the trend, which acted as free promotion as they did not compensate these people. Celebrities like Reese Witherspoon, James Charles, and Ellen DeGeneres. Even the 15-second music clip e.l.f. Cosmetics created blew up. They were able to make a single out of the track that a major record label picked up and it can now be found on Spotify and Apple Music.
Steps on How to Succeed in TikTok Advertising
To succeed, you must first understand TikTok’s platform. TikTok is cost-efficient for marketers and can deliver results faster than other social media platforms. Ads are full-screen and have audio. There are several call-to-action (CTA) buttons that a marketer can choose from including download, shop now, contact us, subscribe, order now, and learn more. You want to disguise your TikTok ad to look like an organic post that is just a normal part of the consumer's “for you page”. Fooling consumers by doing this allows your business to capture their attention for a few seconds longer.
As a business, you cannot recycle content from other social media platforms and upload it to TikTok expecting amazing results. Consumers like the reality of TikTok’s platform. A post on Instagram will not have the same results as a video on TikTok. Instagram posts try to show off a flawless fake life, while TikTok is transparent and raw. So, before your business spends marketing efforts and time-consuming content creation here are 5 steps you should follow to be successful on TikTok.
1) Do the Research
You need to know the platforms’ ins and outs. Learn what works on the platform and what doesn’t. Keeping up with the trends and creating relative content will create the most successful outcomes. When picking a target audience for your social media content, TikTok offers 15 interests and 102 categories according to the Social Media Examiner. Interests are broad things like music or sports. Categories include things more specific such as lip-syncing, daily life, and shopping hauls. Once you narrow down the kind of content you want to make an algorithm on TikTok will get your videos to the target audience. You will also have to make a self-service ad account on TikTok for the videos to be uploaded as ads and not organic videos on a regular account.
2) Follow Your Analytics
If a business signs up for a free Pro Account on TikTok they can take their content creation to another level with the ability to see detailed analytics. This account gives you access to tools that can see the performance of your TikTok videos over some time. These tools include if you gained or lost followers, if your videos are trending, and the monthly views your account and videos are getting. These tools will help determine what content needs to be tweaked and what content is resonating with your audience.
3) TikTok Video Design
You must find a way to connect to your audience using subliminal messaging and comparing your product or service to competitors. But not from a “sales perspective” but as if you were talking to a friend about the product or service. You want the ad to blend in with the rest of the videos, not disrupt the user’s experience. Although TikTok videos can go up to 3 minutes, videos should stay around 30 seconds or less to keep the attention of the audience. Before you decide what video to invest in, you should try publishing a decent number of videos as organic posts, not ads to see how well they perform.
When designing your TikTok video and caption be sure to thoroughly examine it as cancel culture is real on TikTok. When people criticize or "cancel" others or organizations due to inappropriate or insensitive behavior, this is known as the cancel culture. They would "cancel" posts, or interactions that don't align with Gen Z idealisms or trending topics. The world is ever-changing so be sure to stay on top of what people are getting canceled for. Don't forget to use hashtags in your captions on your videos as hashtags can increase visibility, boost engagement, and build communities. Check out my colleague's blog, Hashtags: The Trick Behind TikTok Advertising, for more information on TikTok, the benefits of using hashtags, building a brand, and some tricks for small businesses.
4) Reach Out to Influencers
As stated in Social Media Today, 28% of TikTok users have bought products because a celebrity or influencer has advertised them. Finding influencers that are authentic and trustworthy to a mass audience is another way to launch advertising. It allows your business to connect with a niche audience who has already established a relationship with the influencers you choose to represent your product or service. Many brands and businesses use this form of advertising such as American Eagle with Alix Earle who has 5 million followers. She makes an advertisement trying on clothes American Eagle sent her and talks about what she likes about each clothing item. Alix Earle is known for her get ready with me videos, a day in the life, and has become extremely famous and popular. Some other brands that work with Earle are White Fox Boutique, Rare Beauty, Revolve, Pretty Little Thing, Frankies Bikinis, Fashion Nova, Tarte, Amino Lean Energy, and Too Faced. Earle attends many influencer events, product promotions, and shares her favorite clothing and makeup products with the world. Many other popular influencers of all different kinds of brands include Charli D'Amelio, Darcy McQueeny, Josh Richards, Madison Lewis, Ahnesti Monet McMichael, and so many more. You can find influencers for many different types of industries. Make sure the influencer is likable, trustworthy, and has a niche following. Then reach out to them to collaborate!
5) Build a Bond with TikTok Consumers (Especially Gen Z)
As this blog previously stated that TikTok has over a billion users with its main consumers ranging from age 16 to 24, businesses must focus on building relationships with the youthful or Gen Z demographic as their target audience. However, a business shouldn't focus too narrowly on Gen Z if their product or service does not fit them, there are plenty of TikTok consumers older than 24 years old on the app as well. TikTok is a community app and has content for every age group whether it's kids or teens doing dance challenges, parents sharing funny moments, college girls sharing their favorite things, or famous Youtubers carrying out pranks. There is something on the app for people of every age, gender, ethnicity, interest, and more.
Resources
Hutchinson, A. (2023, April 5). TikTok Users are More Open to In-App Promotions, According to New Report. Social Media Today. Retrieved April 16, 2023, from https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/TikTok-Users-More-Open-To-In-App-Promotions-Study/646982/
Ramplet, C. (2020, February 11). The What, Why, and How of TikTok for B2C Brands [Examples]. Content Marketing Institute. Retrieved April 16, 2023, from https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/articles/tiktok-brand-example/
Stelzner, M. (2021, May 6). TikTok Ads: How They Differ From Facebook Ads. Social Media Examiner. Retrieved April 16, 2023, from https://www.socialmediaexaminer/tiktok-ads-how-they-differ-from-facebook-ads/
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