If you consider adding TikTok to your digital marketing tools, chances are that your business wants to target teenagers. This innovative app was designed by the Chinese company in 2016 and united the best features of Twitter, Instagram, and Vine. It allows one to create short videos and then edit them using filters and AR. Therefore, it definitely makes sense, adding it as your primary digital marketing channel. You must have seen short videos shared by teenagers where they dance or change outfits when their favorite music playing in the background. No surprise that this app’s key audience is aged 10 to 19, making it ideal for businesses seeking the attention of Gen Z reps. Moreover, since TikTok is a relatively new app that is only gaining popularity, it only starts exploring the opportunities for paid advertising. It means that your business has an excellent chance of reaching a large audience for relatively small costs. Let’s get into the matter of TikTok and explore its benefits for your brand.
Obviously, the main advantage of TikTok, for now, is that it does not use advertising for monetization. It means that this is the right time to build your user base. This way, you will be able to launch advertising campaigns that are natural and authentic for this particular purpose. Moreover, TikTok allows your brand to reach one of the youngest audiences that is also one of the most difficult to get to. Gen Z opposes everything about traditional advertising, so if your product or service really serves people aged 10 to 19, TikTok is indeed your savior.
When the word ‘content’ is mentioned in the context of TikTok, it's not about blog posts that can be created using EssayPro service or with the help of other professionals. Since teenagers do not like to spend their time reading long texts, TikTok content is mostly visual. Short videos that are natively in-built into the feed have higher chances of catching Gen Z’s attention. Most importantly, TikTok allows your business to analyze your ad and measure its success. It includes clicks, impressions, click-through rates, video views, and engagements.
If you had been around teens or simply have an account on any social media platform, you definitely know what a hashtag is. TikTok allows you to advertise your brand through this as well. For example, you can embed your website links to hashtag challenges in the app, reaching for a broader audience. The main idea is to create a challenge that would be interesting to many people. This challenge can be shared using a hashtag. Also, you need to motivate youth by creating an end goal and promise a nice prize for participants. This prize and the end goal should be directly related to your business and serve as a motivational factor for teenagers.
Brand takeovers are a less active but still effective type of TikTok advertising. The main idea is that a brand takes over the app for a day and creates images, GIFs, and videos. Young people find out about what the brand offers without any effort. Also, TikTok allows for creating branded lenses similar to filters in Instagram or Snapchat that can later be applied by users in their video edits.
A great thing about TikTok is that the simpler and funnier your content is, the better. No one will judge you if you decide to advertise your product using a video of a funny dog. Instead, the more creative and joyous the content is, the bigger your chances are to gain new clientele. TikTok represents a challenge to traditional ads common for digital marketing because it actually advocates for fun. If you want your ad to go viral, you’d better create a meme or some catchy light-hearted video.
Like any other social media platform, there are people on TikTok who are especially popular among followers. Their accounts usually have no similarities with traditional advertising. However, they communicate with the audience in their native and authentic way, compelling Generation Z to try some products and services. If you manage to make a deal with one of the TikTok influencers, it can really improve awareness of your brand on this platform.
TikTok is a platform for young people who are different from millennials and all previous generations. To make your digital strategy comprehensive, you need to include TikTok in your list of digital tools and platforms for advertising. Find out what teenagers look for in ads right now. Create pieces that look like a game. Get rid of traditionalism and try accepting new rules in the advertising industry. Overall, TikTok is for the youth, so if you want to fit in, play by their rules.