How well do you know TikTok? Before 2016, you might have figured – quite rightly – that Tik Tok is a catchy song by Kesha. Or it’s Wiress’ famous ‘Tick Tock Lady’ line from The Hunger Games. But in 2018, you might have reckoned: “Oh, yeah, it’s some social media app the kids love.” Fast-forward three years and a global pandemic and TikTok is huge: an incredibly popular video sharing platform where anyone can post anything, from a dancing cat to a Nike ad campaign. And that’s the point. With an unlimited scope of content and over 1.7 billion users, TikTok is the best place to market your business!
Who uses TikTok?
TikTok is a platform for anyone, anywhere. Users come from all backgrounds and age groups, but 60% are Gen Z. So it’s mainly tech-savvy users looking to set trends, and just as happy to follow them. But with worldwide lockdowns, more people are turning to TikTok to share their stories, like this 81-year old TikTok fitness influencer. And no, she’s not the only Grandma on TikTok lifting weights before bingo!
Videos like this inspire people, but they also create trends. And trends are a big part of why some products and services sell better than others. When something cool, hip, or outrageous is caught on video, it’s shared by millions. This creates a viral trend of users eager to ‘be part of something bigger.’ So if you’re looking to market a product/service, you first need to ‘trend.’ That’s where TikTok comes in.
What do users post on TikTok?
Videos.
Short entertaining videos no more than 3 minutes. Topics include everything from teaching pets to dance, playing pranks, exercise workouts, high school promposals, advertising, lip-sync battles, dance challenges, and the list goes on.
TikTok also has an awesome challenge feature where users can create their own video challenges and set a matching hashtag. Then other users can try that challenge and tag it, just like The Renegade or The Breakfast Challenge Song.
So if you hear someone say, “Wait! Lemme grab my phone.” the odds are that the moment is about to turn into a TikTok video.
Why should you use TikTok to market your business?
Ever wondered why the share button was created?
It’s because people love to be the first to ‘break the news on a cool story.’ You’ve probably lost track of all the messages that were sent to you at the start of the pandemic with the subject: ‘have you seen this?’ or ‘you have to check this out!’
This is what drives TikTok; people want to know what’s happening, what’s new, and what they can be a part of.
But a viable branding strategy includes advertising where the target market will see it. Sure, there are customers on every platform, but are they the right kind of customers? Ice cream trucks don’t drive around skyscrapers, hoping to attract the attention of corporate employees. They drive around parks and neighborhoods. Just like fishermen don’t float around lakes and ponds because they look pretty; they fish where the fish are.
So, if you’re looking to market your business to users who are tech-savvy, interested in trends, eager to share stories, or just trying to make their mark on the world; you need to use TikTok.
Now, it’s easy to think, ‘My brand is not really TikTok material.’ That is until you see your competitor’s latest marketing campaign trending … on TikTok!
TikTok Success Stories show businesses from all industries and countries using the platform as a marketing tool, because just a single video if created well has the potential to be seen by millions of users who are quick to hit the share button. And once your video gains traction, it can even reach a global audience and spike virality, like the viral video of a man’s children interrupting his BBC News interview. It was amusing, a little outrageous, and completely relatable to parents working from home.
If you want to achieve similar virality, TikTok can help. You don’t have to record your children gatecrashing your next Zoom meeting, but you do need to think of a creative marketing strategy to tell your brand’s story.
5 ways to market your business on TikTok
- Decide on the end goal. This will help you to create specific content with metrics that can help you to track your success. For example, do you want 200 views per video, 200 sign-ups, or 200 purchases?
- Create videos that tell stories. A video showing your range of delicious ice cream may look good, but is it relatable? Will it move a user to follow any subsequent CTA (Call To Action)? Whereas if your video starts with a little child dropping their ice cream with a sad look in their eyes, the viewer will automatically want to know, will the child get another ice cream?
- Don’t use advertising cliches. Viral videos usually happen ‘in the moment.’ Now, you can’t walk around with a camera waiting for something interesting to happen, but you can set your own challenge that users can interact with like the TikTok Pepsi Challenge. You don’t need to hire football stars like Messi, but you can partner with TikTok influencers who’ve already built up a mass following.
- Create a TikTok Business Account. This allows you to market your business as a definite brand and have access to paid ads and features like shopping carts where users can purchase products directly.
- Add powerful voiceovers. Adding voiceovers is an option, but it shouldn’t be optional. Voiceovers coupled with powerful visuals can tell magical stories that transport users. Think about why children still like to hear bedtime stories. It’s because nothing can replace the soothing and inspiring power of a voice. The pros on Voice123 can create stirring voiceovers for your next video, so be sure to check out our guide on How to do the best ever voiceover on TikTok.
Final thoughts
Imagine a user scrolling through their TikTok feed when a video catches their eye. The young designer in the video is dreaming about receiving a famous design award; his parents are in the audience, clapping wildly and crying buckets. The voiceover narrates the story of his success and it tugs at the viewers’ heartstrings. It reminds them of their own childhood dreams and they can’t help but click on the website link in the description. And just like that, you’ve got a potential customer browsing your website!
So, is TikTok a great platform to market your business? Absolutely!
If you create video content with powerful voiceovers that are creative, inspirational, and relatable, you can reach millions. Your videos can be shared, linked to your website, showcased by influencers, used to advertise products and services, and can even go viral!
Then, the next time someone asks if you’ve heard of TikTok, you can say, “Sure! That’s the app we used for our last marketing campaign and our videos got over one million views!”
Now that you know how to market your business on TikTok, your global audience awaits.
And we wish you every success!
