TikTok is one of the most promising social media platforms and has millions of active monthly users. TikTok’s Marketing report suggests that the platform is ideal for brands that cater to younger demographics. Chevrolet, Samsung, So Satisfying, and Flighthouse are some of the most popular brands on this platform.
Studies show that running paid campaigns and creating engaging content on TikTok results in a significant increase in the number of followers. For every 1% increase in the number of followers, there is an average 0.65% increase in the views per video. Such promising ROI is encouraging more and more brands to explore TikTok brand marketing.
In this article, we will explore five TikTok marketing strategies that brands are leveraging to grow their businesses.
Be Consistent with Your Engagement
Unlike other video-sharing platforms, TikTok is a highly dynamic world, and you need to walk the extra mile if you want your content to get noticed. Understand that TikTok rewards frequent posting and come up with a posting schedule for your business. Consider your resources, the time that you can afford to spare, and other relevant factors while planning the schedule.
The more regular you are in your video posting, the higher are the chances of getting noticed and gaining followers. As your number of posts increases, it will be simpler for TikTok users to find your account and decide on whether to follow you. A look at the top brands on TikTok will reveal that all of them post at least three times a week.
Another effective way of getting more people to follow you is by encouraging the viewers to comment on your post. You can ask them questions in the video and direct them to post their views in the form of comments. That way, you will understand viewer expectations and build conversions with your potential customers.
Social media branding works on the give-and-take policy, and we recommend that you take time to look at the videos that your followers post and comment on them. TikTok ranks comments by the number of likes, and if you can post meaningful comments on the posts of others, you will get better visibility on the platform.
Come Up with Innovative Hashtag Challenge
The beauty of TikTok is that you can leverage the content created by your followers. To channel the video creation efforts of your followers, try to have a hashtag challenge where you ask your viewers to create a video on a theme and post it with a particular hashtag. We recommend that you talk about the Hashtag challenge in your brand’s Facebook, Instagram, and other social media handles as well.
The #MakeMomSmile campaign that Colgate launched on Mothers’ Day was a successful example of hashtag challenges. TikTok saw thousands of dance, breakfast-in-bed, and other videos that made one’s mother smile being uploaded in the platform with the said hashtag. In less than 20 hours, this was one of the most trending topics on TikTok, thus giving Colgate much-needed online visibility. Colgate’s monetary investment in this campaign was negligible.
Invest in TikTok Ads
If your marketing budget permits, you can invest in TikTok ads. Several top brands invest in paid marketing campaigns to do away with the wait-time in reaching the target audience. Branded hashtags, top view ads, branded effects, brand takeover, and in-feed ads are the five different kinds of ads offered by TikTok. Depending on your marketing budget and expectations, set your targets and invest in your paid campaigns.
In interest targeting, you identify an area of interest that is relevant to your audience. People who admit to that interest will see your advertisement. With behavioral targeting, you select a particular audience behavior. TikTok audiences who have behaved in that manner in the past week will see your ad.
Custom targeting is another approach taken by established brands to show their ads to people who have already interacted with the brand. Lookalike targeting allows brands to reach out to people who are like their existing audience. A look at the top TikTok brands will reveal that all of them are clear on their targeting goals before they venture into paid advertisements.
Blend in Branded Content
While fun and humor must be an element of your TikTok videos, ensure that you do not miss out on incorporating your brand presence. We recommend that you build your credibility on the platform before posting promotional material. While building credibility, try to place your product as props that will catch the eye.
Alternatively, you can create educational videos on how to get maximum value from your product, tips to take care of your products, a guide to buying accessories for your product, etc.
Some of the top cosmetics brands are known to create TikTok content on topics like how to apply makeup. Such videos add value to the end-user and are hugely popular. Also, realize that about 50% of the top brands are yet to have a presence on TikTok. In such a situation, if you can blend your brand name, logo, or identity in the videos that you create, you will have a competitive edge in your marketing.
Incorporate Special Effects in Your Videos
Millions of videos are shared in TikTok every day, and you need to create exemplary content if you want to get noticed. TikTok offers a wide range of special effects to experiment with and come up with innovative videos. Under the Effects tab, you will find Trending, Interactive, Beauty, World, Funny, New Editing, and Animal categories.
Explore these to identify the one that works the best for your video. TikTok also allows you to use the green screen effect to replace a portion of the video background with stock footage. You can also use an external video editing tool such as InVideo to apply special effects and create professional-quality videos. You can save the edited video on your device and then upload it directly to TikTok.
Final Thoughts
TikTok is a highly visual medium, and the first impression helps in deciding whether the viewer will watch any further. As a content creator, you can look for ways to front-load the content and make the video visually appealing. Further, do not undermine the role of music in TikTok videos. Upbeat music increases the appeal of TikTok videos and helps them to become viral. The choice of music, special effects, and other features will depend on the product that you are trying to sell. As you identify what will work for your branded TikTok videos, here’s wishing you a fulfilling journey ahead.
