The second installation in our TikTok series answers the question “How can brands use TikTok?” Read on to learn about the different ways your brand can add this platform to its social media strategy.
Many brands have started to incorporate TikTok into their social strategy and online presence in order to engage younger audiences, as well as show a lighter side of the brand through funny videos, challenges, and current trends. This platform provides brands the opportunity to share low-cost video content on a variety of platforms.
In many cases, users share their TikTok content on other social networks like Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat, Instagram, and more. Integration for sharing content on other platforms is built-in by providing a download feature that displays the TikTok username in the video.
A few brands have already jumped on the bandwagon, such as Chipotle, Gymshark, and Spikeball.
@chipotle
There are three main options for brands interested in using this social media platform:
- Create a channel for your brand and produce engaging content,
- Partner with influencers to promote your product, start a hashtag challenge, or reach a broader audience.
- Pay for advertisements or branded campaigns.
Create a Brand Channel
When creating a TikTok account for a brand, you must decide what type of content you want to create. TikTok prioritizes accounts that stay within the same category, or “vertical.” This allows the platform to understand what type of account you have and recommend your content to the proper audience. TikTok determines your account vertical based on your first five videos. Therefore, if your first five videos are dance videos, the app will consider you a dance account.
Take time to decide what might be the best vertical for your brand. If you are an alcohol brand, you could consider only making cocktail recipe videos, or if your brand makes dog treats, you could create content that shows teaching dogs new tricks while using your treats. Be creative, but stay consistent!
Also, stay updated on trending songs and sounds on TikTok. Many trends and memes associate with specific sounds, and using these audio tracks can help you reach a new audience. Choosing audio should be one of the most important aspects of creating a TikTok.
Step It Up with Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is one of the most effective forms of marketing on TikTok. Utilizing influencers allows a brand to promote their products or services in an authentic way.
However, the key to success is finding influencers who match your target audience. Once you find popular influencers in your brand’s niche, you have access to an engaged audience that takes notice of any video shared by the influencer.
Additionally, influencers can support hashtag challenge launches. For example, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon launched the #tumbleweedchallenge, which now has 38.2 million views.
@fallontonight
Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is: TikTok Advertising
Not many brands have taken advantage of everything this platform has to offer. This app is less saturated with ads than other social platforms, which provides a great opportunity for advertisers.
TikTok offers a variety of different advertising placement options, including brand takeovers that appear right when a user opens the app, in-feed advertisements, and branded campaigns. In order to partake in advertising, you must have a TikTok Ads account.
Additionally, it is important to evaluate your budget before pursuing advertising. In-feed ads require a minimum budget of $50 and branded campaigns require a minimum budget of $500. However, when executed correctly, your investment can help your brand go viral.
@brittany_broski
Elf Cosmetics took their branded campaign #eyeslipsface up a notch by creating a branded sound to accompany the campaign and used the power of multiple TikTok influencers to promote the campaign the day it launched.
