In 30 seconds:
- 63% of TikTok users are aged between 13 and 30. That’s a HUGE younger demographic your brand should be tapping into.
- Being on TikTok is one thing; creating high-performing TikTok videos and nailing your social media marketing is another. We’ve got you covered with all our TikTok for business tips.
- Influencer marketing and advertising are on the rise through TikTok. We’ve outlined how you can utilise these for your TikTok marketing strategy.
Want to transform your TikTok marketing? You’ve come to the right place. You can’t deny TikTok’s ever-growing popularity and global influence. In October 2021, there were 4.55 billion social media users around the world. That’s 57.6% of the human population. And 1 billion of those were monthly active users are on TikTok.
It will come as no surprise that we at Fanbytes by Brainlabs believe in TikTok and all its exciting benefits for brands, particularly if Generation Z are your go-to audience.
But we know that TikTok marketing often feels confusing for brands. Navigating the path to brand success on TikTok takes know-how. There’s no need to worry though: we’re going through the best TikTok marketing methods to get your brand shining on TikTok below.
Why TikTok Marketing?
From its humble beginnings as Musical.ly, TikTok has grown into one of the fastest-growing social media platforms of all time. It was downloaded 850 million times in 2020 and made $1.9 billion in revenue, a 457% increase year on year. This is only an indication of how popular TikTok will become. Your brand should be getting in on the action.
With Gen Z being its primary user demographic (teens alone accounted for 25% of TikTok’s active user accounts), it’s the best place to start promoting to younger audiences. If you want to understand just why Gen Z loves the TikTok app so much, read our article here.
Even if you are looking to reach slightly older target audiences, TikTok is growing for all ages, and it’s a platform for brand awareness and e-commerce growth you should be embracing.
There are three different types of TikTok marketing we’ll take you through.
- Organic marketing with TikTok content
- Influencer marketing with TikTok creators
- Advertising with TikTok ads
So let’s go over each and get your brand turning heads and stopping thumbs with a TikTok marketing campaign.
Organic marketing on TikTok
TikTok is one of the newest social media stars, and that means it isn’t overcrowded yet. But how do you get people to listen up?
Create high-performing content
With TikTok, entertainment is the way to go. It’s the number one watched category on the social network and has amounted to 535 billion hashtag views globally.
Content that’s entertaining is a sure way to hack TikTok’s algorithm and get people to notice and remember you. Digital marketing has to compete with so many formats these days, so aim to be innovative and exciting. Gen Z will be intrigued to learn more.
Know your audience
You need to look at what appeals to your audience. Thinking about what matters to them can help you create the perfect marketing strategy on TikTok through organic brand content. Luckily, if you want a view into what Gen Z communities care about, this is exactly what TikTok offers.
Take time to act like a TikTok user or content creator yourself. Engage with trending hashtags in your niche, and follow relevant accounts. TikTok’s algorithm will start to adapt to show you what other TikTok users like you are posting about. This is very helpful for any marketing strategy.
58% of Gen-Z will pay more for products that target their individual personalities. Gen Zers want to be seen, so brands should explore what makes them buzz.
Get on trend
Over half of Gen Z agree that they are more creative than previous generations. TikTok is where they show it.
TikTok users search for trends all the time. The more popular a trend is, the more likely it will land on someone’s For You page (their personal TikTok newsfeed). This is your brand’s golden ticket.
The trick is getting on-trend early. If you know what hashtags and themes are about to explode, you can incorporate them into your TikTok marketing campaign.
Fanbytes built something to make that possible. Bytesights is the world’s first TikTok discovery platform. It tracks what’s going to trend, so your brand can surface and go viral. Learn how we can help you get in on the action here.
Alternatively, you can get TikTok trends sent straight to your inbox, weekly. These are curated by the experts at Fanbytes, and we walk you through how your brand can use them. You can sign up to receive the newsletter here.
Create a challenge
Challenges are hugely popular on TikTok, and are a fantastic way of encouraging user-generated content (UGC). These are usually discoverable through hashtags, and are often referred to as hashtag challenges.
79% of people say UGC highly impacts their purchasing decisions, so the more you can encourage TikTokers to create their own TikTok videos about you, the more conversions you are likely to see.
Create a challenge around your product or service that pushes people to make their own short videos. This works even better if you work with an influencer to help explain the challenge template. This will increase views and spread the word fast.
Show off some moves
The second most-viewed content category on TikTok in 2020 (with 181 billion hashtag views) was #dance. TikTok dances are a worldwide phenomenon that has sparked the attention of users from all backgrounds.
As social media trends go, dances are pretty fun. Get involved with the latest TikTok dances, or create one of your own. You don’t need to be a professional: something that’s easy to copy, looks cool or has a comedic side will work well. Try to keep your soundtrack catchy – and you can even follow up with a tutorial.
Collaborate with others
Each social media platform has been making it easier to collaborate with other accounts. Instagram just released Collabs (which you can learn how to use here).
TikTok has had “Duets” as a staple feature from the get-go. It allows you to create a new video alongside someone else’s content. 43% of engaged TikTok users have uploaded one. You can read our article on how to use TikTok duets here.
Create duets for your brand with other businesses, or allow your followers to create duets with you. It helps more people discover you – and it makes you part of the conversation. You can get more organic engagement and build oodles of trust with your fans.
Start analysing
Once you start creating content, it’s essential that you track it. This way, you can look at the data and determine what’s working. To do this, you need to convert your TikTok account to a TikTok for business account.
This is entirely free, and here’s how you do it:
- Go onto your “Privacy and Settings” tab.
- Tap “Manage my account”.
- Tap “switch to business account.”
Through your analytics dashboard, you can see info on your followers. This is gold dust for your brand. It will help you find out what your audience is looking for, and it can even tell you the best times to post for them.
Influencer Marketing on TikTok
Breaking news! Influencers are great for brands. Okay, so maybe this isn’t quite “breaking”, but this form of marketing is gaining momentum faster than you might realise, especially for winning over Gen Z.
52% of Generation Z trusts social media influencers for product or brand advice. TikTok influencer marketing is the way forward.
Gen Z don’t just engage with influencers; many are influencers. 83% of TikTokers have created a video themselves. We work with some of the top, handpicked stars to help us transform brands’ marketing strategies. So we know a thing or two about it.
Finding the right TikTok influencer for your brand
So you want to partner with a TikTok influencer. Good move. But how on earth do you find the right one for you? Getting any old TikTok content creator is not the best way forward, so we’ve listed a few quick ways you can narrow it down:
Think about your audience
We keep saying it, but it really is key. Knowing the TikTok accounts your target market follows will make content partnerships more natural.
Follow the “Social Media Awareness Funnel”
This is the step-by-step journey you take users on to do a particular action:
- Brand Awareness – This is getting people aware of your brand.
- Interest and engagement – This is building on that awareness and gaining trust.
- Consideration – This is where you get your target audience to consider the action you want them to take eventually.
- Action – This is where they take action.
Depending on what stage your audience is at will depend on what kind of influencer you might want to collaborate with, so think about this when deciding.
Where to search for TikTok influencers
- Search the TikTok app itself. Look at brands within your niche and the influencers working with them. Search relevant hashtags to keep an eye on the profiles that surface.
- Search Google. With some useful keywords, you’ll likely find some great TikTok creators, especially if you’re on the lookout for macro influencers.
- Get in contact! We’ve created the world’s first TikTok influencer discovery platform, which we use to find and track influencers to understand which TikTok creators are ideal for your brand.
Advertising on TikTok
TikTok advertising has some savvy ways of understanding your marketing goals to create the perfect ad campaign for your business.
There are five main types of ads on TikTok:
- In-feed ads – what it says on the tin. Your brand pops up in someone’s feed.
- Brand takeover ads – These appear as soon as you open the app and take over the screen for a few seconds.
- Topview ads – These are similar to brand takeover ads, but they take over the first in-feed post after 3 seconds.
- Branded hashtags – This is where the video includes a branded hashtag that users can click to generate their own content.
- Branded effects ads – This allows brands to create a custom filter for TikTokers to use.
The good news is that TikTok has simplified their advertising hub for all users. First, you’ll have to sign up for their ad management hub here.
Once you’ve filled in your details, you’re ready to start your very first TikTok ad. Exciting stuff. So how does that work? the social media platform makes it easy with a series of questions:
- Advertising Objective – What action do you want people to take after seeing the ad?
- Campaign name – What do you want to call it?
- Placement – Where do you want the ad to be?
- Target audience – Who do you want to reach?
- Budget – How much do you want to spend?
After this, you’ll be able to create an ad using TikTok’s innovative in-app video tools.
Then it’s time to analyse it. Keep an eye on how it’s doing so you can learn the best practices for the future. You’ll be an expert with a high conversion rate in no time.
Phew… that was a lot
But trust us when we say it’s well worth it. Understanding TikTok marketing will put you a cut above the competition and allow you to access the TikTok app‘s many benefits. Gen Z are the top demographic to market to on the app, so start here if you’re looking to catch their eye.
The time is now for small businesses and global brands to get the most out of TikTok, as it’s easier to make a bigger splash before everyone else joins in. Get in early and start bringing your marketing strategy into the future.
And if you’re thinking, “where do I even begin?”, get in touch. As a Gen Z marketing agency, we know TikTok inside out. We’ll get down to the bottom line of how we can help your amazing brand win the hearts of Gen Z. You can take a look at our core services to see exactly what we can offer.
We’ve been transforming Gen Z marketing for some of the biggest and most exciting brands out there. Yes, that’s a humblebrag… but we do have the evidence to show for it. Check out the links below and see for yourself.
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