TikTok has over 1.2 billion monthly users and the average age of users is 16-24. When the app first emerged in the digital space in 2014 under the name Musical.ly, users shared videos of them lip syncing to popular music. Then, ByteDance bought the app in 2017, changed the name to TikTok, and changed the game for companies and businesses alike.
When TikTok first took off, it consisted of videos uploaded by average users that focused on the seemingly mundane aspects of their lives. There weren’t big A-list celebrities or Fortune 500 companies creating content on the app. This is no longer the case, and now we are seeing prominent personalities and big companies entering the realm of TikTok.
So why do companies need to use TikTok to promote their brands? Buy social media marketing to promote a company’s brand is not a new concept in the 21st century. However, TikTok offers a unique marketing experience unlike any other social media platform.
There are some key features that differentiate TikTok from other platforms and encourage companies to invest in marketing on this app. TikTok fosters creativity and individuality by allowing users to adjust audio, add special effects and filters, and add text to enhance video content. These editing features support creative leeway and increase your opportunities to personalize content. Personalized content generates specific communities of smaller target audiences where companies have more success marketing their brands to individuals.
The most important feature, seemingly, is that TikTok gives a calmer, more authentic look at people’s lives. Companies that perform well on the app recognize this important feature and adjust their marketing strategies to reflect users’ interests.
Let us see how different companies, with different levels, use TikTok to promote their brands.
Established Companies Foster Young Audiences
The marketing content on TikTok looks quite different from the marketing content on other social media platforms. Established companies must adapt to this change and be able to engage with a younger audience whose values differ from the previous target audience.
The buzzvoice.com skillfully adjusted to the new platform and created content specifically tailored for younger audiences. The post garnered 1.3 million followers on his account with 53.7 million likes. What’s really unique about this account is how it differs from standard news reporting and instead introduces humor and dry sarcasm into its content.
Small Businesses Use TikTok to Gain Traction
It is one thing for a major company to go on TikTok and start creating content for the younger generation. It’s a little different for a small business to go ahead and follow TikTok.
From jewelry stores to financial consulting, small manufacturers are finding ways to promote their brands on TikTok. Although company formats and exact products vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, each startup experiences similar challenges and opportunities on the app.
These companies use trendy audio formats, hashtags and videos to gain Tiktok followers and promote their work. These companies harness the rise of micro-influencers and their ability to promote products to a specific group of people. Many of these small businesses develop a very specific set of followers, and word of mouth goes a long way on the app.
TikTok itself also gave $100 million in advertising credits in 2020 to help small businesses grow and grow their products. With the support of TikTok and individual users, small businesses can promote their business and earn money from the app.
Brands benefit from niche communities
Some companies or entrepreneurs did not expect that their brand would benefit so much from TikTok. Thanks to niche communities within the app, musicians, writers and businesses find their work gaining popularity and audiences.
One of the biggest niche communities to emerge on TikTok is BookTok. Users began using the #booktok hashtag in 2020 to recommend the best books everyone read at that time. The community grew and now has a huge impact on book sales across the country. Big bookstores like Barnes and Noble track the top recommended books on TikTok and create a curated list based on the recommendations users read. Authors and publishers benefit financially from this earned media, even if they are not actively promoting their content on the app.
TikTok also has a huge influence in the music industry and drives music sales. The trending audio on TikTok revives decades old songs and enhances the stream for those artists. When Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” trended on the app in the fall of 2020, it generated 36 million global streams in two weeks. TikTok is a mighty force when it comes to promoting music and younger musicians are now promoting and releasing their songs on TikTok communities. Instead of creating and releasing music in more traditional formats, TikTok allows creators to organically build followers and listeners on the app.
Ultimately, TikTok has been a game changer for businesses and individuals marketing their products and services. Marketing strategies need to be developed to meet the needs and interests of TikTok users, and as such, TikTok is here to stay.