Should Your Brand Be Utilizing TikTok?

Over the last year, the short-form mobile video app, TikTok, has exploded in popularity with no signs of slowing down anytime soon! A ton of this success can be attributed to the impact that COVID-19 had on the digital space.

With newly acquired free time and a need for social interaction, TikTok provided the perfect space for individuals and brands alike to connect in new ways. However, before hopping on the bandwagon, it is important to take time to decide if this platform is worth investing your time, effort, and resources into.

What's Different About TikTok?

TikTok is a rapidly growing platform with a variety of content spanning from comedy and informational videos to popular trends and dances.

With an abundance of niche communities residing on the app, you can quickly locate your target audience and the platform boasts strong engagement analytics for its many creators and users.

Because of this, TikTok has proven to be a great space for businesses and artists to share their products and work.

Should My Small Business Use TikTok? Here are the Things to Consider:

Target Audience

Before deciding to dedicate time and resources to establishing your brand on TikTok, it’s important to think about if your target audience is on the app. Since the app’s inception, it has been primarily used by younger audiences, specifically Generation Z, which includes those born mid-to-late 1990s into the early 2010s.

As TikTok has grown in popularity, the demographic data has begun to even out; however, if your target audience is over 35 years old, it may be better to focus on reaching them using other more traditional social media channels like Facebook.

Brainstorming Content

TikTok may present a new challenge to your marketing team as this video content is produced much differently than what is traditionally done in the marketing world.

Content on this app has a much more casual feel than what you may be used to producing. All videos on the app range from a few seconds to the longest videos being three minutes.

This means that your content must be quick and to the point! And when it comes to creating TikToks, it is important to stay on top of trends and be ready to hop on them as soon as possible. By participating in trends and using the appropriate hashtags you can help expose your brand to new audiences.

Cracking the Algorithm

TikTok has a very unique algorithm that is unlike any other major social media application. Even if a user only follows a few people, the app can continue to provide endless content for a user to scroll through.

The platform’s algorithm will continue to learn about your likes and dislikes to provide you with content that falls in your interests– this endless stream of content can give its thanks to TikTok’s "For You Page"!

For a brand, landing on someone’s For You Page is key to getting your video seen by many and there are a few different tips and tricks brands can use to get there.

The algorithm will identify popular hashtags, sounds, and captions, so taking advantage of these can push your content closer to the For You Page. It is also important to create content that will have a high completion rate.

This means that users who come across your video will watch the video from start to finish, showing the algorithm that users are enjoying your content and will send it to more users.

It's important to remember that on TikTok some videos require slow, steady growth before being boosted onto the For You Page. Be patient and monitor your video’s success over time.

Brand Account, Advertisements, Influencers, or a Mix?

When deciding if you want to bring your brand to the platform, you have a few different options. The first would be to create an account and start posting!

By creating fun, interactive, or informative content, your audience has a new channel to engage with you. If you aren’t sold on committing to growing your brand’s page yet, you can opt to place advertisements on the app.

One of the most popular ways to do this would be an in-feed advertisement. This gives your ad an organic appearance that will come up right alongside user generated content.

TikTok also provides resources for your brand to get in contact with different creators for partnerships! These resources can help you sort out creators based on their audience demographics to make sure you are reaching your target audience.

Should My Small Business Use TikTok?

The bottom line?

TikTok provides a great space to help grow your business if you use it successfully. But just like any other social media platform, it's important to consider if it is the right fit for your business and to go in with a strong content plan and regularly evaluate performance and results; TikTok makes this easy by providing users with free analytics right in the app!

If your brand’s target audience is on the app, you have a team of social media savvy employees, and a strong content plan, the venture to TikTok may prove to be worth it for your business!

If your brand needs help developing and evaluating your content marketing plan let us help you! Reach out to us today. We can help your brand strategize and evaluate your social media plans.

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