Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, you’ve probably heard of TikTok. This social media platform has taken the world by storm, amassing over 800 million active users worldwide. And with users spending an average of 52 minutes per day on the app, it’s no wonder brands are always prepared to get in on the action.
But what exactly is TikTok, and how can your business use it to reach its target audience? In this article, we’ll break down everything you need to know about TikTok and how to leverage it for your business social media marketing strategy.
What is TikTok?
TikTok is a short-form, video-sharing app that allows users to create and share 15-second videos to up to 3-minutes videos on any topic. These social media posts in the form of videos can be creative, funny, personal, or just about anything else you can think of. TikTok is available in over 150 markets and 75 languages and has numerous integrated editing tools, sound playlists, personalised feed, special effects and much more.
How Can Your Business Use TikTok?
Now that you know a little bit more about TikTok, let’s dive into how your business can use it to reach its target audience.
There is an option to have a business or a personal account on TikTok. There are endless possibilities of usage of a variety of free music clips and commercial sounds that you can use for your video content. While there are endless possibilities for how you can use TikTok for your digital marketing, here are a few of the most popular methods:
Run a Contest or Hashtag Challenge
A great way to increase brand awareness and get people talking about your product or service is to run a contest or hashtag challenge on TikTok. For example, you could ask people to submit videos using your branded hashtag and then select a winner to receive a prize. Or, you could create a challenge that requires people to use your product in a creative way and share their videos with your hashtag. Either way, running a contest or hashtag challenge is a great way to get people engaged with your brand on TikTok. As music clips and challenges tend to go viral on TikTok, you can take advantage of viral original sounds to create your own trends and challenges for the global community on this platform.
Use Influencers
Another great way to reach your target audience on TikTok is by partnering with influencers who already have a large following on the app. When selecting an influencer to partner with, be sure to choose someone who aligns with your brand values and who will be able to speak to your target audience in an authentic way. Once you’ve selected an influencer (or two), work with them to create engaging content that will resonate with your target audience and help achieve your business goals.
Easy product demonstrations
TikTok is now an easier version of YouTube. The editing of videos is not as consuming and there are so many trends to get inspiration from. There is no better way to showcase a product than to do a live demonstration of how it is used and why people need it. For a product-based business, TikTok strategy is a no-brainer. By showing your products and how they can be used you will be encouraging your audience to interact with you quickly from their mobile devices.
Behind the scenes of a company and company culture
People love to see how companies are run and hear from people that genuinely enjoy their work. With short videos on TikTok you can easily show to an audience who makes your company, the team and the culture your business is based on. The content options vary from fun and entertaining videos to educational, inspirational and commercial content.
Reuse TikTok content for other social media platforms
TikTok offers a unique format that allows users to share short videos that are creative, funny, and sometimes even educational. However, TikTok is not the only social media platform out there. In fact, there are many other platforms that can be just as effective for sharing content. One way to get the most out of your TikTok content is to reuse it on other platforms. For example, you can post TikTok videos on other social media accounts such as Instagram or Facebook, or even embed them on your website or blog as your own original videos. By repurposing your TikTok content, you can reach a wider audience and get more mileage out of your videos. So if you're looking for ways to maximise your social media presence, consider reusing TikTok content on other platforms.
Does your team feel unsure about creating TikTok content?
It is very common for a business and a team to not feel comfortable with delivering content for something new or maybe not very aligned with the way you work.
A great example is financial companies or any business within a traditionally known ‘boring corporate industry’, very commonly because of the nature of the work these teams struggle to come up with creative content. This is where you can work with social media agencies and they will deliver you a strategy to work by, but also as a starting point your team can just research what everyone else is doing on TikTok and how they can see your business and its values can be part of something similar.
A great business to mention absolutely winning social media is Monzo. They have approached another fun online appearance making them stand out and appeal to people compared to the rest of the banking industry.
Why not introduce TikTok to your social media remix?
TikTok offers businesses a new and exciting way to reach and engage with their target audiences. The platform has a lot of potential for marketers – from hosting live streams and announcing new products to working with influencers and hosting branded hashtag challenges – so there’s no reason not to get started today! No matter the business size or boring services, TikTok might be just the right platform where all your customers are. Do your target audience analysis and audience research properly.
