Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, Twitter, LinkedIn: if you don't keep your finger on the pulse, it's difficult to keep track of all the social networks. But that's exactly what social media and marketing management, self-employment and entrepreneurship are all about these days.
One platform that has particularly stood out in recent years is TikTok. The short video platform has shot through the roof and is currently experiencing a worldwide boom.
While TikTok is still seen by many people (and marketers) as a platform for children, anyone with an open mind is increasingly recognizing the opportunities that the Chinese video portal offers. In fact, there is much more to TikTok than meets the eye.
In this article, I will look at TikTok in comparison to other platforms and examine the reasons for the video portal's hype. I'll also explain the top three reasons to consider marketing on TikTok for your brand and business.
Spoilt for choice
Why social media?
If you are planning a marketing strategy for a company or brand these days, there is no getting around social networks. The reason for this is quite simple: that's where people's attention is.
And that's what marketing is all about. You have to find out where people's attention is, why it is there and how you can position your brand there.
A quick look at the monthly active user figures shows that people all over the world are particularly active on social media at the moment:
This means that around half the world's population can be found on Facebook and Instagram alone. If you compare these figures with TV ratings, it quickly becomes clear why more and more advertisers are opting for online campaigns.
It definitely makes sense to have Facebook and Instagram in your company's marketing concept. But is it enough?
Neglecting TikTok? A mistake!
The US platforms from Silicon Valley are a must-have for every company. However, as in every industry, there are also disruptive processes in the social media world that have serious consequences for all those who do not diversify sufficiently.
Think of platforms such as Tumblr or MySpace, which collapsed after the emergence of Facebook and Instagram. If entrepreneurs rely too much on their profiles in the established networks, they risk a major loss if the platforms lose relevance.
It is unlikely (but not impossible) that Facebook and Instagram will collapse like this. Nevertheless, it is advisable to always keep an open eye on what is happening in the digital world in order to take advantage of all opportunities.
One of these options is TikTok. The video portal, which originally emerged from the musical.ly platform known for lip-syncing, currently has 689 million users worldwide. This figure is particularly striking in view of the year in which TikTok was launched, as the app has only been available in its current form since August 2018. Facebook and Instagram, on the other hand, have been on the market since 2004 and 2010 respectively.
The TikTok hype
TikTok is one of the fastest growing networks. But why? There are many reasons for the hype surrounding the app:
> Access to the most creative content
At the heart of TikTok are the creators, i.e. the users who produce and publish videos. The essence of TikTok, namely the creation and sharing of short videos, is exactly what drives creators to give free rein to their creativity again and again and to create videos that captivate people in just a few seconds.
> The place where trends start
Everyone wants to belong, understand inside jokes and feel part of something bigger. This is exactly the case with TikTok. The platform is known for constantly initiating new trends that spread like wildfire. It is not for nothing that TikTok advertises with the slogan "Trends start here".
> Convenient user experience
Of course, the other group of users is also part of the TikTok hype, i.e. those who only consume. With the "For you" page, which shows users exactly the content that is of interest to them, TikTok has managed to create an enormously convenient user experience.
Although this also exists in the Facebook and Instagram feeds, it is even more effective on TikTok, as videos usually leave a stronger impression than image posts. The result is that users swipe through the app for hours on end. Incidentally, this is also the reason why Instagram is currently pushing the reel format so strongly.
All of these factors make TikTok and the people who are active there a large, strong community and explain the hype behind the platform. It is therefore worthwhile for entrepreneurs to take a closer look at TikTok.
3 reasons why you should be active on TikTok
1. organic reach and brand awareness
Probably the most important factor is the enormous reach that your company can benefit from. As I described earlier in the article, TikTok has a considerable number of users and is growing rapidly.
In combination with the strong community factor, it is the ideal place to gain fans and followers and get them excited about your brand. But what about the target group? Isn't TikTok just for dancing teenagers? These clichés actually still had their raison d'être at the beginning of the TikTok journey. Today, however, the demographics and content focus of users has changed dramatically.
In the USA, an important market for the video portal, the TikTok age distribution is currently as follows:
- 10 - 19 years: 32.5
- 20 - 29 years: 29.5 %
- 30 - 39 years: 16.4 %
- 40 - 49 years: 13.9 %
- 50+ years: 7.1 %
So while the app still tends to appeal to a younger audience, it is also clear to see that more and more adults are finding their way to TikTok.
TikTok is also much more than just dancing when it comes to content. To prove this, TikTok is even running a cross-network campaign called "More Than You Think". Topics that are very popular on TikTok include music, fashion, sport, gaming, comedy, cooking and social movements.
Neither the age of the users nor the content that is celebrated on the video portal are arguments against TikTok marketing for your company.
What's also great is that - unlike Facebook, Instagram and the like - you can actually grow organically on TikTok. This means you don't have to spend thousands of euros on advertising campaigns to somehow get traffic to your profile. Nowhere is it easier to achieve reach, clicks and interactions with organic content than on TikTok.
If you're lucky and catch a good moment, you can theoretically even go viral with your first video. That's unthinkable with Instagram and Facebook.
So by being present on TikTok and uploading videos again and again, you can generate reach for your brand relatively easily.
2. one platform for all
TikTok is the place to be creative. Of course, there have also been creative creators with a large following on YouTube, Instagram and the like for years. But on hardly any other platform are creators of the most diverse types as celebrated as on TikTok.
This is mainly due to the viral character and the strong community, which loves diversity, variety and creativity. For example, a creator like "Mr. Lawyer" comes to mind. A popular lawyer is atypical for a platform that - if critics are to be believed - only consists of dancing teenagers.
However, this example shows that the TikTok community is much more than that. As a TikToker, Mr. Anwalt started making interesting videos about everyday legal topics. For example: "Are teachers allowed to give homework over the vacations?" He then answered such questions in his videos under the format "1 Minute Law". This spread extremely quickly and today, with 4.1 million followers (!), he is one of the most popular German TikTok creators.
3. benefit from the pulse of the times
It's not going too far out on a limb to describe TikTok as a hotbed of social media trends. About viral challenges, songs that shoot through the roof and inside jokes that make millions of people laugh. TikTok has it all and thrives when these trends are in motion (which is almost daily).
If you can position your business in the middle of these trends and even play with them, you can look forward to lots of traffic and growth for your brand on TikTok.
This way, you and your brand benefit from the latest trends and the unique dynamic that TikTok offers. In addition, you will always know what is happening on the platform, what moves people and which topics are currently of interest. This also helps you to develop your content strategy across platforms and create relevant content.
Want some concrete examples of typical TikTok trends? Here are a few loose examples that will make die-hard TikTok connoisseurs smile and give newcomers a good insight into the platform:
There are many more cool trends on TikTok. Just type them into Google and get inspired!
4 tips for your quick start in TikTok marketing
You've now realized that TikTok is a platform you definitely want to be on and are wondering what the best approach is? Let me give you four important tips to help you get started.
Tip 1: Content, content, content
Probably the most important rule of success for TikTok is to have a high output. Although many say that they prefer to follow the principle of "quality over quantity", the fact is that quantity is also a certain quality factor on TikTok.
On the one hand, this has to do with the fact that you can only find out which of your content the community likes with a large output. If you only have one format and upload one video per week, you're taking a big risk. Because if this video doesn't work, you won't get any attention at all.
You may be successful with the first format and the first video you produce, but this is not very likely.
In English there is the saying "Don't put all your eggs in one basket". This is a piece of advice that means you shouldn't concentrate all your efforts and resources in one area, otherwise you could lose everything.
For your TikTok marketing strategy, this means developing 4 or 5 different formats at the beginning and testing them over a few weeks. Ideally, you should upload several videos of one format per day. At the end of the test phase, you will then know which formats work and which don't.
A high output is also important because the videos have a rather short half-life. Unlike an SEO article, which matures with age like a fine wine and improves its ranking, a viral TikTok video can have a sudden slump and come to a standstill. Therefore, you should regularly upload new content to the platform to mitigate this.
Tip 2: "Don't create ads. Create TikToks!"
If you want to make yourself popular with the community, you need to present organic content that actually feels organic. Avoid exaggerated branding, cheesy advertising slogans and dominant product placements.
Typical advertising is completely out of place in TikTok. And not only that - it is also not successful. This is not surprising, given the spirit that prevails on TikTok. The community wants to see creative, unusual videos and not perfectly produced marketing clips.
If you brand your videos too much, you give people the feeling that they have already seen the video the next time they see you on the For You page. Instead, each video should stand on its own and captivate users. Make sure it fits seamlessly into the feed and doesn't come across as an advertisement.
Tip 3: Listen to signals from the community
TikTok is the ideal place to pick up on trends and turn them into content yourself. This is one of the easiest ways to benefit from TikTok's virality. Even for entrepreneurs, consuming content from other creators is therefore an important part of working with TikTok.
Only if you regularly watch the videos that people publish on the platform will you know which trends are currently active and which topics are popular.
Then it is important to react in time and create content that is related to these trends. This could be taking part in a TikTok challenge, using a popular song for one of your videos and much, much more.
Tip 4: Think about the first 3 seconds
You've probably heard this tip before. Not only with TikTok, but also with content for other channels, it is essential to win over users in the first few seconds. This is because they are "bombarded" with so much content that their attention span has been reduced to a minimum over the years as social networks have become increasingly popular.
That's why you need to try to attract attention in the first few seconds of your videos and establish a storyline so that users stick around until the end. For example, this could be an intro like "WITH THESE 5 TIPS YOU CAN EARN €2000 A MONTH!". This attracts attention and foreshadows what appealing goal the user can achieve with the video. You give them a reason to watch the video to the end. Of course, the tone doesn't have to be quite so bold, but should first and foremost match your brand and message.
Conclusion: TikTok is a must-have for companies
We have already reached the end of this article. So what is the conclusion? Social networks are still the focal point of digital marketing that no company can ignore. Alongside established platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, TikTok has recently emerged as a real opportunity that you should consider for your marketing strategy due to its high user numbers.
Although many still see TikTok as dubious and for children, the platform is now also relevant for older people. The figures prove this development. The app is currently the digital center of viral movements and trends. Your entire marketing approach can be optimized by picking up on the signals from the TikTok community and turning them into relevant content.
With high output and platform-appropriate content that speaks the TikTok language and inspires people, you too can gain a foothold on TikTok. TikTok is a portal for creativity and zeitgeist. Taking the plunge into one of today's hottest social media channels can give your business a huge boost.
