Zarnaz Arlia is the CMO of Emplifi, a leading customer experience platform.
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TikTok is booming with more than 1 billion users! The video-focused social networking app overtook Google as the most popular site in 2021. In light of the app’s massive growth over the last couple of years, there’s still room for even further expansion in 2022. TikTok is changing the course of marketing and commerce, and with new commerce features and releases, brands of all sizes can buy ads, track performance and scale revenue.
Marketing On A Level Playing Field
TikTok provides marketers with a level playing field when it comes to reach and engagement. Unlike other platforms, TikTok’s unique discovery algorithm gives every video an equal chance to go viral, regardless of how popular the content creator is.
According to TikTok, the For You feed algorithms are based on the preferences and activity history of individual users. That means no two For You feeds are going to be exactly the same as these recommendations have been carefully curated for each user. Users’ For You feeds are shaped not only by their engagement through the feed itself, but also by new accounts they follow, as well as hashtags, sounds, effects and trending topics they explore.
Why does this matter for brands? Unlike Facebook and Instagram homepages, which largely consist of people you already know and channels you already follow, TikTok prioritizes videos from creators you’ve never seen before. The TikTok user interface is designed to keep people in the app for as long as possible.
TikTok is also helping brands with ad creation on its platform. It recently launched a Creative Center, which is designed to help advertisers understand what’s working on the platform, in real time. With the Creative Center, brands can explore a showcase of the top-performing ads, view details on the latest platform trends and search through TikTok’s audio library to help inspire their creative process.
Meanwhile, other social media apps are adapting to keep up with the TikTok trends. Recently, Instagram announced that their app would be taking a more video-focused approach to their platform moving forward. It’s clear that short video content is here to stay.
Engaging With Influencers
More brands are entering into exclusive partnerships with creators on TikTok, which provide more meaningful and longer-lasting customer touchpoints. In 2021, 42% of U.S. marketers used TikTok for influencer marketing. The app’s engagement features make it easier for influencers and brands to get user-generated content on their sponsored posts, which can generate brand awareness and create meaningful connections with target customers.
For example, Dunkin’, one of the first brands to use influencer marketing on the platform, collaborated with TikToker Charli D’Amelio to create videos and launch new menu items. As a result of the partnership, Dunkin’ saw a 57% spike in app downloads and a 20% sales boost for all cold brew coffees. This is just one example out of many!
Cashing In On Social Commerce
According to a new report from Accenture, social commerce is estimated to become a $1.2 trillion global market by 2025, accounting for 16.7% of total e-commerce spend. So, it shouldn’t be a surprise to learn that TikTok is expanding its investment in social commerce. The company’s goal is to triple its advertising revenue from about $4 billion last year to roughly $12 billion this year.
Although the social media app’s goals may seem implausible, it’s important to recognize TikTok’s influence on commerce. For example, the hashtag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt has over 8 billion views. Additionally, a survey by Adweek-Morning Consult found that 49% of TikTok users have reported making a purchase after learning about the product or service on the platform.
Accenture conducted a survey of more than 10,000 global social media users, and 59% said they were more likely to buy from smaller brands when shopping on social media versus standard online browsing. Almost half of the respondents (44%) said they are more likely to buy a brand that they’d never heard of via social shopping channels.
By implementing a social commerce plan in their business strategy, brands can create content that’s more likely to be interacted with, which helps them increase their brand’s awareness and visibility.
Tips For Taking On TikTok
If you’re convinced that your brand needs a TikTok strategy, here are tips to consider when getting started:
• Create authentic connections. A study found that 56% of users feel more positive about a brand after seeing it on TikTok and that ads on the platform are more “creative” and “original” than other digital platforms on average. By embracing a more personal tone or a behind-the-scenes approach, your brand could appear more relatable or trustworthy, allowing for more meaningful connections with customers.
• Engage with your audience. Between challenges, duets and shares, there are plenty of ways to engage with other users on TikTok. For example, when stay-home orders were in place in 2020, the mattress manufacturer Simmons saw the opportunity to challenge TikTok users to stage dive into their bed. More than 1 million users were inspired by #Snoozzzapalooza to take on the challenge. Finding new ways to creatively engage with your audience is likely to spark more engagement from them in return.
• Get involved with influencers. The right influencers can help you grow genuine relationships with your audiences on TikTok. However, it’s important to identify the right influencer who embodies your brand’s voice and personality or who shares a similar audience.
Acting Like A Creator
TikTok users spend nearly 14 hours per month on the app, so there’s no time to waste when it comes to investing in TikTok. By joining the TikTok community, businesses can reach new audiences and increase brand awareness. But it’s key for brands to act like creators, not a business, in order to create entertaining content that captures the TikTok community’s attention. By taking the time to understand and embrace the creator mindset, you can grow a loyal fan base and build an active community.
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