In 30 seconds:
- We’re here to talk about TikTok Gaming and its rapid expansion.
- How do gamers use TikTok? It’s all about authentic, real content (and a buzzing community)
- We’re dishing out 5 tactics for gaming brands to use in their campaigns.
The world of TikTok gaming is expanding. With 1 billion monthly active TikTok users, the video-first app is a popular destination for all things entertainment. That includes the gaming community.
TikTok is becoming a new playground for gamers, and it’s clear that their activity is accelerating. Global viewership hours for TikTok’s top 100 most popular gaming topics grew +533% from 2020 to 2021. What’s more? It’s not due to stop.
With the rising popularity of short-form video social content, TikTok couldn’t be more relevant. The social media platform also happens to be a community-driven channel where groups of like-minded people bond through video content. As the gaming industry focuses more on social experiences (heard of Roblox, anyone?), gaming communities and conversations are playing a huge part in what it means to game.
And that makes TikTok an ideal platform for gaming brands to leverage.
Is gaming popular on TikTok?
Just how gamer-approved is TikTok? After all, it’s not Discord or Twitch. The answer? TikTok is more popular than ever among gamers, and it’s because of its captivating interface and authentic communities.
Here’s what Blake Chandlee, President of Global Business Solutions at TikTok, had to say:
“TikTok is where gaming and culture collide. People come to TikTok to discover moments and movements that shape gaming culture today…. it’s inspiring to see how our community supports each other and makes genuine connections through shared interests.”
The word to remember here? Connections. TikTok provides the environment for gamers to connect with each other and brands, making it a perfect place to both expand reach and nurture leads. 75% of TikTok gamers discovered new gaming content on TikTok. The mix of content consumption and creation results in the ultimate place of discovery.
With 41% of TikTok gamers co-creating on the channel, it’s no wonder that the TikTok made me play it phenomenon is on the rise. Much like the #tiktokmademebuyit sensation, this hashtag has accumulated over 15.6M views and represents not just a community, but a way of consuming gaming.
TikTok gaming: levelling up
The Bytedance-owned app is now sharpening its focus on the future of gaming.
Last year, TikTok hosted its first-ever global gaming event. Attendees heard from top brands including Electronic Arts, 2K, Homa, Playtika and VNGGames. Assaf Sagy, TikTok’s Head of Global Gaming also gave a keynote address. He’s a heavy hitter in the social gaming world, having led Snapchat’s commercial team in Israel and holding a leadership role at Playbuzz before that. Here’s his thoughts:
“TikTok and gaming were made for each other. TikTok has far shown its value in helping consumers discover what’s fun, valuable, and popular. I look forward to working closely with all gaming companies globally to help make TikTok a central foundation in your marketing strategies.”
It’s clear that TikTok has taken notice of gaming advancement on the app, and now they’re taking further steps to help brands.
The TikTok gaming tab
As reported by the Financial Times, TikTok is getting ready to launch a gaming tab that will feature playable mobile games.
When TikTok releases this update, users should see it on the homepage of the TikTok app. This is a big step for game developers and brands as it will offer unprecedented reach to targeted gaming audiences.
TikTok apparently first started testing games in Vietnam in May. These games will feature ads, meaning brands will have yet another opportunity to monetise content.
It appears that TikTok is looking to fill the void that Snapchat and Facebook are leaving (they are both winding down their gaming platforms). It’s also following the trend that Netflix sparked in their launch of mobile games in 2021. So what does this mean for gaming brands?
Now is the time to jump on board and harness the power of this channel before your competitors. So how can you tap into the TikTok gaming circle, maximise your marketing ROI and rise above other companies? These are the tactics to know.
5 Tactics to get ahead of the competition
We’re spilling some insider knowledge so your brand can act less like a Noob and more like a pro. These tips will help you boost your conversions, skyrocket your brand awareness and really nail those KPIs. Ready? Game on.
1. Maximise on ads with influencer marketing
Paid ads on TikTok can be extremely powerful. But only if you get them right. How can you make sure you’re maximising on ROI for all paid ad campaigns? Influencer marketing. Collaborating with the relevant (and right) influencers can have a dramatic effect on your campaign results.
- Ads created for TikTok with a creator partnership achieved 65% higher 2-second view rates). Essentially, social media influencers can capture your audience’s attention more efficiently.
- Ads created for TikTok with a creator partnership achieved 91% higher 6-second view rates on the app – meaning influencers also encourage longer watch times .
- Another stat? Ads created for TikTok with a creator partnership achieved 83% higher engagement rates – meaning they have far deeper impact on the audiences they reach.
The key tactic for gaming brands here is to combine influencer marketing with paid ads. This is especially important for mobile gaming brands, where responding to an ad’s CTA means direct conversions, such as app downloads.
In fact, TikTok has become a centre of activity for mobile gamers. 49% of them use the channel. What’s more, TikTok mobile gamers install 50% more games and are over 40% more likely to pay for both games and add-ons. So if you’re a mobile game developer, influencer ads should be your top priority.
To learn more about how to get your performance campaigns winning on TikTok, check out our article: TikTok Performance Marketing: Best Practices for Brands.
2. Create a buzz
Being a part of the gamer community is more than just “gaming”. People want to talk about the latest news, connect with like-minded individuals and generally participate in conversations that get them hyped. Game developers should tap into this.
If you create a buzz around your product, your target audience will listen. The higher your engagement rate, the more UGC you can expect and the better your ROI on these campaigns will be. So how can you create said “buzz”?
You may want to think outside of the box. Gamers exist in many different places, not just in specific “gaming circles”. You may find someone is interested in a game purely because they are fans of the cast or the film on which it’s based. To create hype you don’t have to just be among diehard gamers, so think about your wider potential audience and what might get them excited.
Even among avid gamers, gaming brands can into their circles through careful collaboration with a mixture of gaming influencers (who give credibility to the technical aspects) and more unusual influencer partnerships (who’ll create memorable content).
We worked with Ubisoft to drum up buzz around their new launch of Riders Republic to a UK audience. Our main goal was to drive user interaction with the game leading to positive brand awareness from the activations amongst casual and hardcore gamers, as well as extreme sports fans.
We used our award-winning Creator Identification technology, part of Bytesights (our in-house trend spotting and social listening tool), to carefully select the most relevant TikTok creators, including extreme sport creators based in the UK. Amongst the mix, we leveraged global athletes, including Olympian Kye Whyte who was a silver medallist in the 2020 Summer Olympics. The extreme sports creators created hyper-visual content, attempting the tricks shown in the game in real life.
With over 1.5M views and over 68K hearts, users were hyped for the launch. The best part? The creators loved Riders Republic so much that they proactively delivered even more content to their own audiences. This additional content amassed 277K views and 21K hearts.
3. Combine organic and paid content
Paid ads alone may get some of the results you’re looking for, but simply putting an advert out there will not get the long-term acquisition and audience engagement that brands need to stay relevant on the channel.
So what should you do? Answer: use both organic contents and paid ads in your strategy.
TikTok is a place for communities to get to know brands authentically and without the usual marketing spiel. 79% of TikTok users prefer brands that show they understand how to create for the platform, so it’s important to have a brand presence before putting tons of ads out there. Keep your posts entertaining and engage with your audience in the comments section (an average of 77% of TikTok users say they read the comments on TikTok videos).
When adding paid advertising into the mix, make sure this aligns with your organic content and that your TikTokers have gotten acquainted with. Utilising influencers within this can, of course, extend your reach to hyper-targeted audiences, help your content start trending and grow your community for the better.
When building consideration of Overwatch 2 for the brand Activision, we implemented a combined strategy utilising paid ads and an engaging organic content mix. We showcased the new game over multiple niches to engage TikTok audiences across their entire set of interests, and highlight the elements of Overwatch 2 that will resonate most strongly with different groups.
So far our hybrid strategy has resulted in 11m active players (forecasted 8M) and 49.6% of them are new to the franchise. That’s a definitive win.
4. Use real gameplay in videos
TikTokers want reality. Gone are the days of photoshopped insta-ready images and fake personalities. 77% of TikTok users say TikTok is a place where people can express themselves openly, and they expect the same from brands. That means advertising your product truthfully.
Over the last few years, social media platforms have seen a rise in misleading mobile game videos. These channels used to be littered with strange promises of story-based games that were nothing like the actual gameplay. Now, you’ll be hard-pushed to see these disappointing ads on your ForYouPage. Instead, people want the real deal.
The most popular type of content for TikTok Gamers is “gameplay and walk-throughs”. TikTokers want to see the game in action and get a sense of how it works. Better yet, adding tips into the gameplay can up CTR by +0.18%.
The most powerful way of showing gameplay? Influencers.
61% of consumers trust influencer recommendations, compared to 38% who trust brand-produced content. This trust is the key factor to consider. You want audiences to trust that the gameplay you’re showing them is real, authentic and brilliant. Who better to do that than creators?
You can see this in action here. Mio partnered with gaming influencer and live-streamer Redvines (@redvines) to show off their new Water Park theme minigame island on Fortnite. You can see the real gameplay on a split screen with the TikTok influencer talking to his followers about it. Split screens are a brilliant way to build that trust, showing the gameplay and reaction alongside one another for genuine engagement.
@redvines Waterpark Themed Mini Game Island by @MiO #ad #FortuneFlavorsTheBold #MiOLevelUp ♬ original sound - Redvines
5. Make purpose-driven content
Your content should always have a purpose and that purpose needs to relate to your target audience. Of course, as a brilliant marketer, you probably already know that. But TikTok makes this easier. Why? Because of the TikTok algorithm.
TikTok’s recommendation system works intuitively to find the kind of content each user wants to see on their For You Page (FYP). 84% of TikTok users say they come across content to which they can relate.
Let’s say you open your iPhone, head to TikTok and search for electric cars. Later you may find that TikTok boosts content from brands like Tesla using data it collects from your activity. That’s because it focuses on interests.
So when you’re creating content as a brand, no matter whether paid or organic, think about your target audience and exactly what they would like to see. The more you can focus on this, the more you will reach the right people and create a growing community.
Take time to truly understand your audience and the kind of TikTok content they create, share and engage with. We mentioned further up that adding tips into the gameplay can up CTR by +0.18%. If you see a demand for gameplay tips, perhaps a content pillar for your TikTok profile could be a collection of these? Or maybe your fans like acting out the game’s dialogues? Challenge them with TikTok duets.
Experiment with content, and once you’ve found an avenue that works, follow it up with more. This will help your TikTok fans understand what the purpose of your page is – and they’ll return to you again and again. This will keep you front of mind, even when they’re far away from their gaming console.
Don’t ragequit if a strategy isn’t working
TikTok encourages brands to create content that’s engaging, exciting and out of the ordinary. So don’t be afraid to try new methods. If something isn’t working, take note and try something else. As long as you analyse the results, you’ll be able to make better decisions.
Of course, keeping up with those numbers can feel like you’re playing your campaign on “hard mode”. So we found an easy solution.
Bytesights, our in-house social listening and campaign management tool, provides real-time data on every campaign we oversee, which we extrapolate to make informed decisions and optimise swiftly. It also serves as a data insights tool to help us discover what’s going to be trending before it hits the mainstream, and find the perfect influencers for any campaign.
Curious? Get in touch to have a chat about how we can help you unlock the door to TikTok gaming and connect with young fans where they’re hanging out online.
Fancy another round of TikTok and gaming insights? Check out our articles below to get your gaming marketing on point.
