How to Use TikTok to Successfully Market Your Brand

TikTok has taken the world by storm, especially as more people are sheltering at home. Basically, for those who aren’t familiar with it, TikTok is a social media platform that lets you edit and share short video clips.

As such, TikTok predominantly caters to the younger generation, and it’s important for marketers to understand that digital and offline sales are quite lucrative for Gen Z and Millennial consumers.

Interesting Statistics About TikTok: Why It’s Good for Your Brand

So why should brands join in on the TikTok bandwagon? Here are a few statistics to consider:

• Explosive growth – TikTok is only 4 years old, but by the first quarter of 2020, it now has over 800 million active users worldwide and over 1 billion app downloads—these figures surpass even huge platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat!

• Appeals to both younger and older generations – While the app is geared towards teenagers (around 41% of users), it seems to have a growing userbase among adults as well. Statistics show that the number of US adults using TikTok grew 5.5 times in less than 18 months.

• Longer app usage – Users spend an average of 52 minutes per day on TikTok—a figure on par with other social media giants such as Snapchat (49.5 minutes) and Instagram (53 minutes). Furthermore, 90% of users use the app multiple times a day, which is quite a promising statistic for marketers!

• Viewer’s preferences – Quite interesting to note is that 68% of users prefer to watch someone else’s video rather than creating their own. This presents a huge opportunity for brands to create content that resonates with these audiences.

4 Ways in Using TikTok to Successfully Market Your Brand

1. Make fun and creative videos

What makes TikTok stand out among the rest is that the content is predominantly casual and fun—you don’t necessarily need a highly polished video to start marketing (though quality is, of course, equally important).

For brands, what this means is that you need to have an equally light and fun approach in TikTok marketing. If it makes sense to your brand, loosen up and add in a dash of humor—doing so makes your brand more authentic and relatable. 

Here are some ideas to get you started and how some brands nailed it:

• Showcase your products in a creative way while using a catchy song that makes sense to your brand. Check how Chipotle cheekily used a user-generated parody song to showcase their quesadillas:

https://www.tiktok.com/@chipotle/video/6728061965442338053

• Show funny clips and memes relating to your brand and/or industry. See how the NBA made use of existing sports-related content to showcase memes:

@nba

@sixersfranklin and @lukadoncic go back-to-back from halcourt! 🤯😂 #NBAAllStar #franklinsixers #LukaDoncic #Luka #halfcourtshot #trickshot

♬ original sound – NBA

• Use fun music with your video clips. TikTok is all about the background music, and they have an extensive library you can use! Take cues on how San Diego Zoo was able to put an oomph to this simple animal video: 

https://www.tiktok.com/@sandiegozoo/video/6698726678375435526

2. Launch your own branded hashtag challenge

Hashtag challenges are all the rage on TikTok! As the term suggests, a hashtag challenge encourages users to create or recreate content relating to the challenge. These usually involve dancing, such as Chipotle’s #GuacDance challenge:

@chipotle

TFW guac is free. Online/in-app only 7/31 #GuacDance Terms: chip.tl/avoday

♬ The Guacamole Song – Dr. Jean

3. Collaborate with TikTok influencers

Influencer marketing is one of the most cost-effective and highly relevant ways to market to the younger generation. TikTok even makes it quite easy for brands to get in touch with popular creators on their platform with their Creator Marketplace. 

One way to collaborate with TikTok influencers is to do get them involved in your hashtag challenges. See how Fortnite worked with TikTok and Twitch influencer Pokimane in their #EmoteRoyaleContest:

https://www.tiktok.com/@poki/video/6783159410093985029

4. Experiment and make waves

Since TikTok is fairly new unlike established platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, it’s a ripe time to experiment and see what works and what doesn’t. 

Get creative and make waves. If you think something might be interesting and it makes sense to your brand, try it out! 

Newspaper Washington Post, for example, did a great job in making it unique and different on TikTok. Users might expect them to create serious content, but they experimented and used the platform to create funny newsroom skits instead.

@washingtonpost

It’s our one-year TikTok anniversary! Thanks so much to all of our amazing followers. None of this would’ve happened without you. #90sMovieTrailer

♬ original sound – We are a newspaper.

Need help with your social media marketing?

Social media is continually evolving, and with new platforms like TikTok, it can get quite overwhelming on how to make an effective social media marketing strategy for your brand.

Ilfusion can help you get results with not just your social media marketing but also with your digital marketing strategy as a whole. Give us a call at 888-420-5115, or send us an email at [email protected].

Categorized in: Marketing, Social Media