A New Wave of TikTok Marketing
With stay-at-home orders forcing many to stay inside, everyone has been searching for ways to keep busy and sane. While some bake banana bread and binge Tiger King, over 800 million people have taken to the video-sharing social media platform, TikTok.
In September of 2016, Chinese technology company ByteDance released TikTok under the name Douyin, and within the year, gained around 100 million users. After changing the app’s name to TikTok in 2017, ByteDance expanded the app to international markets.
The Apple App Charts posed to be competition with the platform until ByteDance bought it for $1 billion.
The two apps were kept separate, with Musical.ly being mainly popular in the U.S., while TikTok reigned in Asian markets. However, this separation did not last for long, as Musical.ly merged into TikTok in late 2018.
With over 1.5 billion downloads, TikTok has surpassed YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat, becoming the App Store’s most downloaded app.
How TikTok’s influence is changing the game
Marketing
TikTok has already created a variety of marketing options for companies eager to reach millions of consumers. The platform offers in-feed, brand takeover, and hashtag challenge advertisements at multiple costs with a vast reach.
Tik Tok users can create short videos that generate a crazy amount of video views that you can share in social media.
TikTok users can use this as a marketing strategy to build brand awareness and let users know of one’s products and services while enjoying videos. With videos as short as five seconds, in-feed video ads can blend in without a user having time to realize they are even consuming an advertisement TikTok is a $10 CPC rate.
Late last year, MAC Cosmetics created a hashtag challenge in collaboration with 18 TikTok influencers in hopes users would create their own. In a matter of a week, the #YouOwnIt campaign received over 2 billion views on millions of posts.
Some hashtag challenges have stepped it up by adding a shoppable feature. Users can click a hashtag not only to view linked content, but to see the products available to purchase. For example, Kroger created the hashtag #TransformUrDorm, challenging college users to share videos while updating their dorm rooms and encouraging them to show off Kroger products.
We are all guilty of using the Snapchat dog ears filter; a feature TikTok is also banking on.
Why you need to start advertising on TikTok
Selling the teenage dream
With many options to market through the platform, the best approach is arguably through the influencers themselves. Although many are not even legal adults gaining fame from 15-second dance routines, these teenagers thrive on this platform
Addison Rae, a 19-year-old, is the fourth most followed individual on the platform, with just over 41 million followers. In a recent post sponsored by Olay, Rae and her mom are have an at-home spa day while her brother waits on them, holding a tray of Olay products.
The 15-second video is not overwhelming but instead features product placement. Viewed as a regular post– not as an advertisement– the video garnered over 24 million views and 4.8 million likes.
Working directly with influencers and utilizing their creativity allows access to the Gen Z user fanbase.
Influencers can generate brand awareness, popularity, and double up as a commercial all in a subtle way. Saving companies big bucks.
Changing the music industry
Teenager rapper Lil Nas X released his song “Old Town Road.” Four months later, TikTok found it popular, shooting the song to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
TikTok’s virality and short-form design are now playing a defining role in Gen Z culture and online marketing.
However you want to use TikTok, just know its popularity is just the beginning. Being at home, one has to find ways to make the best use of one’s time. Consider marketing for an extra source of income by starting with TikTok.