TikTok marketing is booming and now’s the best time to use TikTok for Business to make headway with your digital marketing efforts. While many people think that TikTok is simply the new Vine, there’s so much more to this application than just that.
In the past, many people got hooked with Vine because it allowed users to record and share 6-second looping video clips straight from their camera rolls. Many businesses also took advantage of this mobile application to promote their products with minimal efforts. With almost the same format, many people wonder if TikTok is the same as Vine.
So what makes TikTok different? For one, Vine is dead and TikTok isn’t.
TikTok allows users to express themselves creatively through various video content. And with the introduction of TikTok for Business, brands now have the opportunity to tap into TikTok marketing to promote their products and services and gain more online traction.
TikTok may look similar to social media platforms created in the past, but it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen. Should your business be on TikTok?
In this post, we look into the advantages of TikTok for Business and how your brand can leverage it to increase your online exposure and attract more customers. We discuss:
– A breakdown of TikTok
– How TikTok for Business differs from other social media marketing platforms
– Why businesses should invest in TikTok marketing
– How to build a business on TikTok
Explore how TikTok social media fits into your business marketing and how it can showcase a different side of your brand.
What is TikTok?
Today, almost everyone is on TikTok. With more than 800 million active users worldwide and more than 1 million videos viewed daily, TikTok has quickly turned into one of the most promising social media channels the world has ever seen.
Despite the rapid rise in the total number of TikTok users, some people — often the older ones — are still not quite sure of TikTok. If you’re late to the party and wondering what is TikTok, this section’s for you.
TikTok is the new kid on the block and has made a huge impact on social media,” said Thrive social media manager Alyssa Tear.
Launched in 2018, this video-sharing app was built for creating, sharing and discovering user-generated videos. TikTok social media is an endless entertainment source, known for its lip-sync videos, act-out memes backed by music and other sound clips that are endlessly reproduced among its users. It caters to a growing expressive community, mostly between 16-24 years old.
The app’s mass popularity is drawn by various songs, filters and pre-built templates that users can apply to videos. Additionally, its added collaborative split-screen video feature attracts more users to participate in trends by simply replying to another user’s post.
Aside from creating and sharing 15-60 second entertaining videos, TikTok social media also serves as a platform for groups and individuals to voice their opinions and raise awareness about their advocacies, such as mental health, environmental protection and gender equality. Some users also utilize the platform to share life hacks, tips and trivia.
Recently, the TikTok for Business was launched to allow brands to connect with a vast audience through feelings, actions and sounds. TikTok for Business is a fast-emerging social media marketing platform for brand promotion and client engagement.
How Different is TikTok for Business Compared to Other Social Media Marketing Platforms?
TikTok is really new, especially in the business world,” Tear said. “Currently, it is cheaper to advertise on this platform since there are not so many brands competing for sponsorship and ad placements.”
Unlike other social media platforms, TikTok for Business offers digital marketers an innovative approach to expand their online reach. It provides a hub of TikTok marketing solutions, including case studies, TikTok advertising tips and access to various TikTok ads, which aim to guide marketers in navigating this new platform.
TikTok for Business also offers additional resources to improve the experience of both users and participating brands, including:
• Branded Scan
This new tool allows TikTok users to experience augmented reality (AR) with various participating businesses. It includes brand visuals and products within a TikTok video.
• eLearning Hub
This platform was built to provide marketers with TikTok advertising guides, such as product resources and creative best practices for launching TikTok ads campaigns.
• Creator Marketplace
This platform debuted in 2019 in limited release and is still undergoing tests and enhancements. It aims to facilitate collaboration between brands and influencers to drive awareness and acquire more customers.
As TikTok continues to invest in more resources to help brands amplify their online presence, more and more companies are also seeing the advantages of capitalizing on TikTok marketing campaigns.
Should Your Business be on TikTok?
TikTok’s popularity has grown consistently since its debut. Companies that invest in TikTok for Business have the opportunity to position their brand offerings in front of today’s generation, tap into a growing social media trend and increase brand interaction.
TikTok advertising, however, is not for everyone. To determine if it is the right platform for your business, you must perform audience analysis and consult with a TikTok marketing agency. Doing so will streamline your decision-making process and ensure you are making the right choice.
If you’re confident your target market is using TikTok and your brand has the resources and capabilities to launch engaging TikTok ads, it is time to start planning how to build a business on TikTok.
UPDATE (Sept. 18, 2020):
The U.S banned the use of the Chinese app WeChat on Sept. 20 — citing national security concerns — and also banned Americans from downloading the app TikTok (owned by the same company). The use of TikTok will also be banned in the U.S. by Nov. 12.
These Chinese owned apps are from Tencent and ByteDance and were banned from both Google’s Play Store and the iOS App Store. This move is at President Donald Trump’s command and is an effort to protect Americans from possible security breaches of their data by the Chinese government.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said that this ban is a showcase of President Trump’s ongoing commitment to national security and to protect the American people from the alleged threats from the Chinese Communist Party.
President Trump has attempted to weaken China’s influence in the U.S. since the beginning of his administration. Any business mergers or dealings have been halted at the president’s command and China-backed hackers are held accountable for major data breaches of U.S. federal databases and the Equifax breach. The Chinese government similarly restricts the activities of U.S. tech companies in China.
President Trump’s administration has not provided any evidence to corroborate its claims of a national security risk or data breach by the Chinese government. Nor is there any evidence to support allegations that TikTok has availed American user data to the Chinese. However, it has been stated that the Chinese government can force the handover of such information from Tencent and ByteDance. This is an ongoing story.
The Significance of TikTok Advertising in Brand Promotion
TikTok is quickly getting ahead of Facebook, Instagram and other social media advertising methods. According to Thrive Demand Generation social media specialist Rey Bercero, TikTok for Business is a great platform to raise local and global brand awareness, especially if your target audience is the younger generation.
Globally, TikTok is the sixth-largest social network, surpassing Pinterest, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Twitter and Reddit. A report released by mobile data and analytics company AppAnnie also showed that TikTok is the most downloaded application of 2020.
Evidently, TikTok social media’s rise has been meteoric, proving itself worthy as an online advertising channel. Still not convinced TikTok for Business is the next big thing for marketers?
Here are more reasons you should invest in TikTok ads ASAP:
• TikTok is available in more than 150 countries, including the United States, Philippines, India and China.
• It allows you to position your brand in front of participative customer segments.
• It has more than 400 million daily active users in China alone.
• It provides four TikTok advertising options, depending on your purpose and brand image.
• TikTok users are committed to an immersive experience.
• It makes it easier to capture audience attention.
TikTok advertising opens a lot of opportunities to increase your brand awareness and promote better brand interaction. Foster deeper brand engagements today with TikTok for Business.
How to Build a Business on TikTok: Your Ultimate Guide to TikTok Advertising
TikTok’s nature is fun, playful and casual,” Tear said. “But it takes a lot of thought and creativity to produce content that captures and engages users. TikTok’s culture is very interesting. Although they are very inclusive and have many subcultures, if your content does not come off as authentic, you will get called out.”
Learn how to build a business on TikTok and dominate the competition with these easy steps:
1. Study the Platform
The last thing you want to do is get into TikTok marketing without fully understanding how the system works. Study the platform, determine what type of content works for your target audience, find out how to interact with your followers and identify the best ways your business can fit into the culture naturally.
Remember, people between 16-24 years old primarily use TikTok, so you need to ensure your TikTok ads strategy is tailored to this audience segment.
2. Create a Well-Thought Out TikTok Marketing Strategy
According to Tear, brands need to invest in their TikTok marketing plan to achieve success. You need to ask yourself:
• What theme or niche will I go for?
• Do I have someone to be the face of my business?
• Do I want to create a profile to build a highly-engaged following or only partner with influencers and focus on TikTok ads?
These questions will guide you in laying out your TikTok advertising roadmap.
3. Level Up Your Video Marketing Campaigns
If you decide to create a TikTok profile, your goal must be to gain more followers by creating engaging content. You need to ensure your posting schedule is in sync with your target market’s peak hours and focus on creating viral content.
Here are some tips to keep in mind:
• Identify your target audience
• Create original content
• Hop on TikTok trends
• Create a unique trend or challenge
• Use the right hashtags
• Repost user-generated content (UGC) from your followers
• Create a smart call-to-action (CTA)
The key is to commit to a TikTok marketing strategy and explore new forms of video to promote audience engagement.
4. Leverage Cross-Promotion of TikTok Content
Promote your TikTok videos across social media platforms and increase your brand popularity. TikTok makes it easy to download videos from your profile and repost it on other online channels. Take advantage of this opportunity to create a solid brand following across your social media profiles.
5. Partner with Influencers
This is one of the most effective ways to draw attention to your brand and encourage audience engagement. Individual personalities are the most popular on TikTok. In addition, many influencers from other platforms, such as Instagram and YouTube, have successfully migrated their vast following to TikTok.
By collaborating with influencers, you position your brand in front of an active audience already tuned into their content.
6. Run Paid Promotions
The cost of the paid promotion on this platform is cheaper compared to big social media channels due to less marketers using it,” Bercero said.
TikTok ads are still in their early stages. This means there’s a big opportunity to be seen by your ideal customers since the competition is relatively low. With TikTok ads, you can target specific locations and demographics, allowing you to convert more impressions into new followers.
Choose from these TikTok ads options:
• Brand Takeover — full-screen image, video or GIF displayed when a user opens the TikTok app
• Hashtag Challenge — sponsored hashtags that aim to elicit audience participation
• In-Feed Video — vertical 9-15 second ads that show up on the “For You” page
• Branded Lenses — 2D or 3D lenses that users can try for themselves
7. Create Fun, Engaging Content
The key to creating successful TikTok ads is to know what your audiences like. Browse the “Discover” page to see the trending videos and review TikTok inspiration studies to determine which content best appeals to your followers.
Here are more tips in launching TikTok ads:
• Hold contests or run giveaway promos
• Launch a hashtag challenge
• Showcase the creative, fun side of your brand
• Use interesting music
• Shoot a vertical video
• Respond to other brand challenges
• Don’t make a hard-sell ad
8. Engage with Other Users
User participation is the most critical aspect of TikTok marketing. Leverage the app’s comment section to respond to your followers and let them know you value their interaction. Additionally, create TikTok content that aims to promote audience engagement.
9. Monitor Your Ad Placements and Budget
Choose your ad placements and targeting carefully. TikTok ads dashboard allows you to customize your ad details, including your preferred placements, display name, relevant URL, images and categories.
You may also define your target audience based on location, age, interests, gender and devices, among others. Finally, set your ad budget and duration to avoid overspending.
10. Hire an Innovative TikTok Marketing Agency
Running TikTok advertising alone can be daunting, especially if you’re having difficulty navigating the platform. With help from a trusted TikTok marketing agency, you can rest assured all your social media marketing campaigns will generate positive results.
A reliable social media company has the expertise and resources to launch a successful TikTok marketing campaign. More importantly, the right TikTok marketing agency understands the intricacy of TikTok for Business, making it easier for you to track your campaign progress.
Ready to Step Up Your TikTok Advertising Campaign?
Thrive Internet Marketing Agency is here to help you create a robust TikTok marketing strategy. We offer online consultations to guide you in making your marketing decisions. We can also help place your TikTok ads, but creating content is something we recommend you take in-house.
Call us now to find out more about how we can help you with your TikTok for Business account management.
