Mastering TikTok Marketing
Although more and more brands and businesses are joining the TikTok train, the competition in utilizing the platform for marketing is still fairly sparse for now. Although the content creation process for Tiktok is time-consuming for many businesses, it is still a great time to jump in and find out what Tiktok marketing can do for growth, engagement, and sales.
Due to its revolutionary algorithm, and broad appeal, Tiktok has changed the face of social media and marketing. Almost every other social media platform has rushed to change how they operate to replicate what Tiktok has created. Not only are people consuming content on a greater scale due to TikTok, but it has changed the way people want to be marketed to and entertained. The younger generations are highly cynical about traditional advertising. To a large extent, they have ceased watching mainstream television and listening to the radio and receive more of their news via Tiktok. This creates a perfect environment for brands, especially startups that are more flexible with content creation time, to utilize the platform to cultivate a buzz around their product or service and build relationships with new followers.
Here are a few tips on how to get the most out of your time spent on Tiktok:
Create Content Pillars - before you start recording, plan out what types of “touch points you want to include in your content. These pillars can and should include trend-related content, series-based product-focused content, educational content, and POV/behind-the-scenes content.
Community engagement is one surefire way to gain a following. Unlike simply commenting or liking comments or answering direct messages like other platforms on Tiktok, this is best done by creating reply videos. Also known as the “Like, know, trust” strategy, replying to a video comment with a response video of your own makes you recognizable and relatable. This tactic inspires followers who like your content and want to know more to engage more often and turn to you/your brand for expertise whenever they have questions. This approach also helps your audience feel like they are being listened to, which builds affinity for your brand or business.
When looking for content ideas, search through your comments for questions to answer and search through your competitor's comment sections. Identify pain points, questions asked, and blind spots they may not address, and create videos out of those!
Your videos should: entertain, educate or inform.
Now that you have a jumping-off point, it is important to note that not all pillars are equally important, so be sure to plan your content accordingly. For instance, Trend-based content is often utilized as “filler” content in order to have fun or allow your followers to get a grasp of your personality. In short, they are made for entertaining, remaining relevant, and allowing you to stay consistent when posting regularly, which is key to mastering the TikTok algorithm. They should not be used as the main form of content posted. Focus on product-based videos and show your audience how to utilize your product or service or how your offer makes their life easier!
Using TikTok Ads
One of the best things about Tiktok is its algorithm. TikTok is built on a content graph, whereas Facebook and pretty much every legacy Web 2.0 platform uses a social graph based on connections. This means on Tiktok, anyone, no matter the number of followers, has a chance to be seen by a broad audience. With ads, it is different. Creators are still paying for their ad to be seen by more people; however, the relatability and engagement that the ad receives will ultimately determine the ad's overall effectiveness, unlike on Facebook. Here are a few best practices to help you master ads:
You do not need the mobile version of Tiktok to create ads. You’ll need to head to ads.tiktok.com and create an account. If you are comfortable with Facebook ads, Tiktok ads will be a breeze. You'll find nearly identical campaign objectives to Facebook—reach, video views, community engagement, and conversions.
With TikTok ads, simpler is better.Instead of the clunky ad sets and technical side of things, with Tiktok three primary targeting options:
Broad - which has no specific targeting and therefore leaves it essentially to TikTok's algorithms to find the audience
Layered interests - where you choose things like interest categories, fans of certain types of creators, and hashtags
Source data - such as a list you might upload from an email provider
Make the most of the on-screen real estate. Since your ad will be full-screen, adding text over the video, GIFs, stickers, anything that can make the video engaging can and should be added, but don’t make the video too cluttered to take away from where you intend the viewer’s attention to go.
Most importantly, when creating ads (or videos in general), research what's working best in your niche and add your own spin. Once you've created your videos, test them inside a prospecting campaign with two to three ad groups.
Live Shopping
Experts predict that the live shopping industry in the United States (US) will be worth $35 billion by 2024. Unlike with other platforms, TikTok users are almost twice as likely to have purchased the products that they see on the app—with as much as 67% of users that say TikTok inspired them to shop, so considering the use of Live Shopping for a product business is definitely something to look in to. Here’s how it works and why you should consider using it:
To host a live shopping event, your account must be registered on tiktok as a business account and has to be a product-based business only.
As you showcase each product, a pin related to that product will pop up. Viewers can then tap that pin to add the item to their cart and check out within the app itself or wait until the end of the live stream and browse through all the featured items in the broadcast.
Businesses that use Live shopping gain increased brand exposure/ For example, one small business amassed over 850,000 followers since live streaming on the app.
Connecting with audiences in real time is a great way for brands to engage and build relationships with their followers.
That’s it! Although it may seem complex initially, planning out your strategy and getting started on Tiktok is manageable for business when you take time to zero in on your goals, map out your journey, and utilize the right tools. If you need more help navigating this platform, let us know. We’re happy to lend a hand!
