The Rise of TikTok for Businesses

For those of you who don’t already know, TikTok is a short-form video app that allows users to create and publicly share content. Although it first emerged in 2016, it wasn’t until 2020 that the app became a global phenomenon when, during the pandemic, people suddenly found themselves with lots of free time on their hands – time they spent creating videos and engaging with other TikTok users around the world!

With over 1 billion daily users and a recent increase in the number of users over the age of 30, it might be time for you to consider adding TikTok into your marketing campaigns for 2022. In this blog we highlight why you should be using TikTok to grow your business and how to get the best results.

Increasing lead generation

TikTok goes beyond posting a fun video for your audience to enjoy. It fosters authentic interactions between you and your audience which can eventually lead to them to becoming a customer. The current trend of authenticity and a more human-centric approach to marketing is what is setting brands apart from their competitors as more and more consumers want to see the face behind the brand.

TikTok gives you the platform to deliver the desired authentic content which makes consumers feel less like they’re constantly being pushed towards making a purchase. This authentic relationship develops into a continuous marketing loop of product or service discovery, education about the product or service, making a purchase and then customers engaging with your brand by sharing their review of their purchase. 

The continuous marketing loop is something new which no other social platform is able to provide. The traditional marketing funnel, which other social platforms offer, may have the similar levels of product discovery (44% said they discovered products from videos posted by brands on TikTok vs 50% of people who said they have used Instagram to discover new brands) but often lead to customers making one-time purchases. The continuous marketing loop increases sales as well as naturally encouraging customer loyalty by giving them the opportunity to constantly engage with you and your content.

Raising brand awareness

There are a number of ways businesses can use TikTok to raise brand awareness. One way is through user-generated content in the form of a hashtag challenge (a hashtag challenge is a trending activity that users do on TikTok). Businesses can either choose to create one of their own or take part in a trending challenge and link it back to their branding. By choosing to engage with users through hashtag challenges, the brand is seen to be fun and light-hearted, something which will attract customers!

Furthermore, you need to ensure that every video you post shows off your brands personality. This is key to creating a strong, more personal, relationship with your customers. Brand personality can be harder to convey with written posts, like those on Instagram and Facebook, but TikTok provides the ideal platform for you to showcase your brand personality through fun, engaging videos.

Another way to raise brand awareness is through the use of influencers. As with other social media platforms, TikTok has a long list of influencers which are on hand to help raise brand awareness. The benefits of working alongside an influencer are that they already have your target audience engaging with their content, they have already established a trusting relationship with their audience, and they can offer extra support and guidance as you enter the world of TikTok for the first time.

How to get results on TikTok

TikTok have an extensive range of tools specifically for you to use to help with business growth. One of the best features to use to reach your audience is through the use of in-feed ads.

In-feed ads allow you to select your target audience, set a budget and run an advertising campaign that will show up within the personalised ‘for you’ feed on users TikTok accounts. Although they can help increase brand awareness, in-feed ads offer a clickable call to action (CTA) feature that can drive users to your businesses TikTok account, website or an Instant Page which makes them ideal for lead generation campaigns. 

An Instant Page is a landing page that is created and lives within TikTok. It allows content to load much quicker than a traditional landing page that would take the user out of the TikTok app and onto the businesses website. The Instant Page can have all the same information as the website but users cannot complete a purchase, to do this they would need to go onto your website.

Another way to get results on TikTok is through the use of TopView ads. Whilst they’re similar to in-feed ads, TopView ads put your brand front and centre by appearing at the top of the ‘for you’ feed when all users first open the TikTok app as opposed to appearing within your target audiences feed.

The biggest advantages of TopView ads are that they get shown to every user who opens the app throughout your ad duration. This makes them perfect for brand awareness campaigns as they have an extremely wide reach and a high number of impressions. The key to a successful TopView ad campaign is to ensure your video is highly engaging so that it leaves a lasting impression on your audience.

The future for businesses on TikTok looks bright, with the platform constantly reviewing its processes and how it can improve them to support business growth. Are you still not sure if TikTok is right for your business? As digital marketing experts, we have many years of experience successfully delivering marketing campaigns for clients across a broad range of sectors and we’d love to help you bring your 2022 marketing campaigns to life! Contact us today to discuss your marketing strategy and to see if TikTok marketing is right for you. Really, there’s no time to waste.. TikTok!