When it comes to TikTok as a business owner, you may look at the platform and sigh to yourself ‘not another one’! And from the outside this new social phenomenon does appear to be a young person’s game, which makes sense as the target market is largely Gen Z.

However, as TikTok’s popularity grows we have seen a more diverse user base including millennials and Gen X. Not only that, brands are getting involved now too. They are utilising some of the key strategies we will mention below to maximise exposure to a whole new generation of consumers. Here are some marketing lessons you can take from TikTok and why you should consider implementing it into your strategy.

1.     Engaging New Markets

As mentioned, TikTok is aimed at the youngest generation of today’s society and Gen Z are a powerful market of people to have backing your brand. They are doers and love getting involved, but more importantly they are loyal - we talk more about how to market to Gen Z here.  Favouring apps like TikTok over traditional media, Gen Z use social platforms for news, brand discovery and skill sharing.

With the average user spending up to 45 minutes per session, it is clear that the engagement levels for the app are quite high. It is also very easy to share content from the app to other social platforms as well as via email or text message (both WhatsApp and Viber). So, if you are producing interesting content, your brand could benefit from a more genuine personal link and word of mouth that stems from mass sharing. But the next question is, how do you get seen?

2.     Vamp Up Your Editing

To be visible on TikTok, you need to crank up your creativity levels and get re-skilled in the art of video editing. Thankfully, the app does a lot of the hard work for you with the many filters, video effects, transitions and animations you can add to the finished piece. It is fairly user friendly once you spend a little time getting to know what’s on offer. This is a great way to start making professional looking videos on an app that is free, so it will be worth the time you put in. In learning how to navigate the app, this is something you can also apply to other areas of your marketing strategy, using the technology to create engaging advertisements or informative videos.

Some of you may be thinking to yourself ‘I just don’t have that creative vision’ but there is another way around this. Other ways to help you increase your visibility on TikTok is to essentially jump on the bandwagon. TikTok challenges or trends are extremely popular and quite varied, so you should find one or more that you can apply to your brand in some way. Head over to the ‘Discover’ icon on the app and root through the trending hashtags, this should inspire your own version of popular content!  

3.     Revolutionise User Generated Content

User Generated Content (UGC) has long been a key engagement driver for brands on social media. When your customers get excited enough about your brand that they share it on their personal platforms, that is great for business. What’s better is then re-sharing their content to your own platform, it shows that you care what your customers think and also gives them a little time in the spotlight. Tik Tok takes that concept and supersizes it! For example, cosmetics company ELF created and original song called Eyes, Lips, Face to be rolled out with their hashtag challenge of the same name. It was a viral success with over 2 million videos created and a whole host of celebrities also getting involved (completely free).

The beauty of the above campaign was it began as a test to see how their customers were engaging with them. It followed the typical structure of a TikTok challenge in that it is what you make it, with no real rules or guidelines to follow. While you may not see the same levels of success right off the bat with your own channel, joining in on other challenges will help you better understand what TikTok users are looking for. When the time comes for you to attempt your own UGC, that understanding will come in handy.

4.     Utilising Influencers and Advertising

Similar to YouTube, TikTok has a lot of passive users that are more than happy to have the platform as a place to solely consume content, especially from more influential profiles. The early adopters of the app have built a strong following and in some cases are the trend setters that other users try to emulate. And in the same way you would look to influencers to promote your products on YouTube or maybe Instagram, this platform is no different. You can even push it one step further by creating something so specific to your brand that the only way others can join in is to buy directly from you.

When it comes to advertising on the platform, it is a far cry from any other social media app we currently use, with ads being few and far between. However, it is still early days and the developers continue to test how interim advertisements are being received. It doesn’t mean that you can’t utilise the many features of the app to create your own video advertisements and dole them out sporadically on your profile. They appear in the feed just as regular posts do, just try not to overdo them.