In the blink of an eye, TikTok has become the new go-to destination for online entertainment with Gen Z and millennials. Nine out of ten TikTok users are on the app multiple times per day. This makes TikTok an untapped platform for social media marketers to reach consumers. In this ultimate guide, you are going to learn the top tips and strategies to use for TikTok marketing to grow your brand. If you have a consumer business or an e-commerce brand, this app is the right platform for you.
Learn how to make short videos and choose appropriate music
On TikTok, users make short videos where music can be overlayed. The videos are meant to be consumed quickly which makes it the antithesis of YouTube where longer video content reigns supreme.
Figuring out how to make short videos can be a learning curve: will you shoot and edit them yourself or will you work with influencers instead? Whichever path you use, once the video is ready, it is critical to choose the right song to go with your video.
TikTok is popular with consumers from 18-35 which means choosing popular music for this age-range is important. The right song matched with the right video is the difference between going viral and your video not being seen by as many people.
You can also make videos without popular music and create your own original audio depending on what type of video you are making.
Work with the right influencers
TikTok is an oasis for established influencers and new influencers who are experiencing viral success. You should look for influencers who are experiencing rapid growth on the app based on video views and followers.
Collaborate with one TikTok influencer on a few videos or create a sponsored hashtag where a few influencers create content for your videos.
Beauty and fashion companies are experiencing success working with influencers on TikTok marketing campaigns that are native to TikTok. Even if you are used to doing Instagram campaigns with influencers, you should not copy your influencer work from Instagram to TikTok.
Tap into the growing community of TikTok influencers to create unique and original content that has the chance to go viral. Originality is key when working with influencers on this platform.
Unlock the power of #hashtags
TikTok can sometimes feel like a sea of hashtags. Take some time to get used to the app and search for the most popular organic hashtags in your niche.
By looking at hashtags that are currently successful, you will see how your hashtag for your campaign needs to look. Long-tail hashtags are appropriate but in the beginning stages, you should use organic hashtags that people are currently searching for.
Another popular element of hashtags on TikTok are hashtag challenges. This is when there is a challenge (with music as an accompaniment) that is the subject of the hashtag. Challenges on TikTok can go viral when they happen organically but with plenty of thought, you could work with influencers to create a challenge that could go viral for your brand.
One approach you can do is use the discover tab in TikTok to see which posts are going viral and which hashtags those posts are using. The discover tab will also show you what the top trending hashtags of the day and week are.
Trending hashtags are must-haves to use in your TikTok marketing campaign if you want to reach young consumers. Using this strategy will get more eyeballs on your posts. You have to stay up-to-date though and keep on top of the hashtags that are trending and the ones that are falling out of favour.
Create shareable content
Viral videos happen when the X factor of the video makes people want to share it. This is the same on YouTube as it is on TikTok. You want people to share your videos so they get more organic impressions and shares. Here are some of the things you should do to create TikTok videos that people want to share:
Be funny ?
Use comedy to make users laugh so the video is shared with people in the user’s network.
Make your video entertaining ?
Being entertaining is easier said than done! Creating a video that is watchable, and rewatchable, is key to having it shared widely.
Be educational ?
Tutorial videos on TikTok in the beauty, fashion and lifestyle niches are exploding in popularity. Tutorial or how-to videos will do well in any niche where education or teaching someone how to do something is important. These videos get shared because people are always searching for tips and knowledge.
Create eye-catching content ?
Your videos should be ones that people instantly want to share. Think about the types of videos or posts that you share. Videos that are visually appealing get shared, ones that don’t keep attention won’t be shared. Always keep visuals at the top of your TikTok marketing priority list.
Take a look at this example below from Mercedes-Benz to promote a new car from the popular G-wagen line.
This TikTok post from Mercedes Benz has more than 200,000 views and more than 27,000 likes. It’s not a surprise why it's successful: it's showcasing a new launch, the description highlights the date and the time of the launch and the thumbnail where the iconic Mercedes-Benz logo can be seen is enticing for viewers to click and watch. This post is visually appealing. By adhering to the elements we mentioned above about making shareable content, this post succeeds on TikTok.
Choose a niche and supercharge growth within it
On YouTube, content creators who tend to grow and do well have a niche. They stick to that niche and grow it. On TikTok, the same applies but it is on another level of focus. What do we mean by this? If you create a TikTok account and you focus on one niche, you will experience exponential growth if you are following the other TikTok marketing ideas that we have mentioned so far. An excellent example of this is the TikTok account for Teresa Caruso, a fashion influencer known for her Amazon shopping posts.
This influencer specifically focuses on sharing her favorite products that she believes her followers should buy from Amazon. Most, if not all, of her suggestions are powered by affiliate links through Amazon which means she earns revenue from them. TikTok marketing serves to showcase the best products that she likes and helps to increase traffic to the links that she chooses to promote.
By sticking to the niche of Amazon shopping suggestions, this influencer is building a community of like-minded followers who only want to see this type of content from her. In the world of digital marketing, when something is working online, keep doing it until it stops working. TikTok is a playground for niche content to thrive and grow. Take advantage of this organic niche content approach for your brand or profile in order to find loyal followers and customers for your products and services.
Engage with your TikTok followers
The power of social media lies through engagement and connecting with followers on another level that is not possible with traditional media. The comment section is a gold mine for TikTok marketing if you know what you are doing.
E-commerce brands can answer customer questions on the platform and show customers which links to buy. The number of comments on new campaign video launches can also help you gauge interest in new products that you are launching.
Lack of comments for new videos you are making can also signal that you need to change your current TikTok marketing strategy and try something different.
TikTok acts as a barometer for whether your posts are resonating with your followers and customers. The more likes, the better – ensure you make an effort to increase your TikTok likes with your posts. Organic engagement helps to boost your profile, allowing you to get more followers.
Use TikTok Advertising
The advertising features on TikTok are still new but the rising popularity of the app means that TikTok is featuring heavily on marketers’ minds as something to add to the mix of Facebook, Instagram and Google advertising.
The company has launched TikTok for Business which is the brand’s official platform for brands and small businesses that want to advertise. There are different formats available such as In-Feed Ads. In-Feed Ads are advertisements that come in between TikTok videos that a user is watching when they are scrolling in the feed.
The benefits of these ads are that they can be made on an affordable budget, however they are bite-sized so they should instantly catch the attention of your target audience. TikTok Ads should be used in tandem with an organic campaign. They are not cheap but they are also not as expensive as Snapchat advertisements.
If you are on a tight budget, focus on organic TikTok campaigns and influencer marketing. If you do have a budget to spend on TikTok, use In-Feed Ads as a starting point to see your initial ROI.
Grow your community with TikTok marketing that stands out
With these TikTok marketing strategies and ideas, you can start your journey into understanding how this rapidly growing app will affect consumer culture. Don’t miss the TikTok boat: start your TikTok marketing campaign today and make your social media marketing strategy stand out from the crowd. Reaching younger customers under the age of 35 is not easy but it becomes easier once you know where they are headed. TikTok is the destination and it is time to fly there with your marketing campaigns that will bring results.
