Are you a TikTok fanatic? Our digital marketers have a confession, we downloaded the app as a joke and now we are addicted! However, this could work for our profession! With TikTok on the rise in countries all over the globe, and being the top downloaded app this year, companies who are trying to reach a younger audience should add this into their strategy. 

What is TikTok? 

TikTok launched in 2016 formerly known as a different app, but the app has over 500 million active users! From year to year, TikTok has grown in popularity due to its short burst of videos that go viral! It is estimated that the app’s sign-ups increased over 200 percent from 2018 to 2019. 

TikTok is similar to Vine and is all about creating short bursts of videos that get shared on TikTok and other social media platforms. TikTok was previously known as Musical.ly where users uploaded videos of themselves signing songs, dancing and lip-singing; however, once Musical.ly transformed into TikTok this changed everything. 

TechCrunch calls TikTok the “Instagram for the mobile video age.” There are two different types of videos that can be created on TikTok. There are short 15 seconds to one minute long videos that allow for edits, music, filters, hashtags and so many other features. 

Why should a company care about adding TikTok marketing to their strategy? 

TikTok Marketing 

If a company’s target audience is anyone under the age of 30, this company needs to start implementing TikTok now before the app grows in popularity by other companies. 

Sources  

What big brands are utilizing TikTok in their marketing efforts? 

• Chipotle

• NBA 

• Red Bull

• NBC

• Jimmy Fallon

• The Washington Post 

• American Eagle 

• Wendy’s 

These are just the top ones that one can find by searching on TikTok itself, but the ones who are really crushing it, (surprisingly not Wendy’s) is the NBA. 

The NBA has their own hashtag that people can recreate their own videos,which is what TikTok marketing is all about! Their challenge is the #NBAStyle! How can small and medium sized brands and companies utilize TikTok? 

Start creating 

The first thing to do is create relevant videos. A company can create their own customized videos or participate in one of the trending challenges! TikTok is kind of like the Wild West right now in the social media marketing world. One of the most popular brands on Twitter are barely using this platform. This speaks for itself. 

The best part is that the videos can be shared on social media to show a humanized side of the company to its followers. Videos on social media platforms continue to rise in popularity, and once these 15 second videos are created, why not use this as evergreen video content? 

Hashtags!

How do you find one of the trending challenges or video ideas? You guessed right, hashtags. This is how a company or person can get their videos in front of million of other TikTok users! The most famous TikTok challenge to date? Jimmy Fallon’s #tumbleweedchallenge. This is how a company can gain followers and relate with their target audience. 

It was brilliant and fun!

Monetizing TikTok marketing 

Marketers, board teams and companies, yes you can monetize off TikTok but it is still in the beginning stages of this process. This is done by shooting a live stream, and once the account has reached over 1,000 followers, consumers can purchase virtual gifts! There are gifts that reward a company for having great content, enjoying the content and this virtual money can be turned into real cash!