So You Want to Talk About TikTok

As the most downloaded app of 2020, it’s highly likely that you’ve heard of TikTok. Beginning as a purely lip-syncing app, the second iteration of Musical.ly has evolved into one of the most popular video-sharing platforms, nabbing the top spot from Facebook-owned apps.

So, what is it all about? Who is it for, and why should you care about it? We delve into the world of TikTok, and why your business should be using it...

Ease of Use

With all the creative tools available right on the mobile app, it’s super easy for anyone to create their own TikToks. If you hop on and look at the trends, people and businesses are making their own versions of other marketing campaigns. 

Take the iconic Skittles Midas Touch advert. A low budget #TikTokReMake can help you get to grips with the editing process (it won’t take long I promise!) and broaden your understanding of TikTok marketing approaches. 

You’ll see that simplicity is key - you don’t need to be a production company like us to create fab user-generated content (UGC) on TikTok. But of course if you don’t have the time or expertise to produce it yourself, an agency like us can help to take the pressure off.

Equally, now TikTok has partnered with Vimeo, video creation on a desktop is just as easy. Don’t forget to film your footage with 16:9 aspect ratio (standard portrait on your phone) to get the authentic UGC effect!

If you want something a little more professional, with TikTok you have the opportunity to combine paid and organic content in a way that blends non-sponsored content seamlessly into the feed. This means you can release your authentic brand whilst still driving sales and awareness with professionally produced video content. Win-win!

Showcase your Style

TikTok is all about authenticity and realness. All generations, but particularly Gen Z, want to see the people behind the brand, and engage with the company beyond their marketing campaign. 

By encouraging your customers to fall in love with your whole brand through a holistic view, such as junior level employees creating content on TikTok, you’re more likely to retain clientele and have returning customers. After all, when 65% of people will drop a brand when they’ve had a bad customer experience, you need to engage positively with your customers to encourage that healthy continued relationship. 

During the 2021 Olympics, #OlympicTok took off. Typically we have only been able to see these professional athletes in a very professional manner. When they’re displaying incredible feats of speed, strength and skill, it’s hard to consider them as everyday human beings. 

But on TikTok, that’s exactly what we saw, and with the mystique shattered, we were able to see a more realistic version of the ‘real’ people behind the athletes. That’s how you can use TikTok; to highlight a less curated version of your brand with video content.

Inspiring creativity on a platform that thrives on authenticity, you are able, and many content creators want, to focus more on the high-quality content than your follower count, as each individual video can go viral in its own right. 

Content Strategy

As the digital landscape advances and transforms, it’s important as a business to keep up with trends. Better to be prepared, and it’s imperative not to be left behind (we all know the Kodak example). 

As a rapidly growing platform, it’s important not to underestimate the power of TikTok. This is why we include the social platform in our content strategy research, to see if it is a contender for your marketing efforts. 

As a brand, it’s important to continuously engage with your consumer, which is essential to consider when mapping your content calendar. Seeing as TikTok is a simple and effective means of communicating frequently, if you consistently share niche content, your ideal audience will find and engage with it.

As experts in content that works, and seeing as the TikTok mantra is “Don’t Make Ads, Make TikToks”, we incorporate TikTok into our content strategies (where suitable), and efficiently become cutting edge with minimal effort. With our creative ideas behind TikTok strategy, you could even start a new conversation as part of your content strategy.

New Developments

TikTok has been introducing a lot of new features for creators and users, finding their feet with various ventures, dipping their fingers in an assortment of pies. 

They’ve jumped on the “Stories” trend, made popular by Snapchat and adopted by the majority of other social platforms (save Twitter, who binned off Fleets in August). They’ve also expanded their LIVE platform, which is pretty on brand for a video content platform. The ability to go live with others also mirrors the Duet action that TikTok has been famed for from the start. 

Their partnership with Shopify is gaining traction also, with new features being introduced frequently. The ability to purchase within the app could be crucial for your business, especially with the increase in eCommerce and the accelerated adoption of online shopping due to the pandemic.

With new developments in AR in the pipeline, TikTok is competing with Snap and Facebook forcefully. Even if you’re not quite ready to hop on these new developments, it is important to be aware of the constantly advancing digital world, and TikTok is a huge part of this.

Have Fun!

Finally, and perhaps the most important, you have to be having fun with TikTok, otherwise it’s not catering to the social audience of the platform, or doing you any favours. TikTok is the only app that users named “to lift my spirits” as a top reason for using it, and it shows in the engagement on the app - the comments are (mostly) full of jokes and banter. 

With 3 billion downloads, I can guarantee you that the niche community that enjoys your video content is out there, and they might not be on other platforms. Tapping into a younger audience is also a huge pull of TikTok, and so many companies are capitalising on memeable situations and news.

Get On It...

As you can’t opt out of personalised ads on TikTok, the scramble to transform to a cookieless future has barely touched the app, so as marketers it is even more vital to include this platform in our content strategies. The virality of user-generated content is something to capitalise on, and TikTok is the place to do it in a relatable, fun way!

Need help blending your paid and organic media on TikTok? We’re experts in video content that works, whatever the platform. Contact our team today to find out how we can help you (and follow us on TikTok so we can follow you back!).