TikTok for brands: How you’re missing out.

Published by Kristian Curcio on Apr 22, 2022 3:44:54 PM

Have you ever dreamed of making your brand go viral on social media? Look no further - TikTok is the answer.

Unlike Instagram and Facebook, brands don’t need thousands of followers to amass huge numbers of engagement on TikTok. The app's algorithm can help accounts with little following to make it big.

Are you ready?

As the most downloaded app in 2021, TikTok provides a platform for users to interact with bite-sized video content according to their interests. With one of the smartest algorithms among the social market, TikTok ensures that users are served with content that relates directly to what they are passionate about.

With more than one billion active users per month, TikTok quickly surpassed Instagram and Facebook based on the favourability of Gen Z-ers, making it the ideal platform for targeting the younger generation with creative organic and strategic paid advertisements.

Let’s start with ads.

Facebook and Instagram continue to provide fantastic benefits for brand advertising, however, TikTok offers unprecedented access to a young and engaged demographic. With the highest user engagement and usage rates among the social networks, brands not leveraging the platform are missing out.

Taking a look at the statistics that guide TikTok advertising, in 2021, TikTok advertisements reached more than 15% of the global population over the age of 18. What’s more, the greatest success came from the 18-25-year-old female demographic which shifts to a greater rate of 1 in 4.

Paid advertisements are available in a range of placements across the app alongside similar features to Meta and LinkedIn when it comes to goal-setting and audience targeting. Marketers have the opportunity to reach audiences by gender, age, location, behaviours, and interests, with the goals of awareness, consideration, and conversions available.

When it comes to placements, In-Feed and TopView (immediate pop-up videos after app open) videos are most common, with further options available across the brand's audience network which encompasses the apps of BuzzVideo, TopBuzz, and NewsRepublic.

What’s important to consider when deciding on placements is what creative you are using. TikTok’s best practices around content differ from Facebook and Instagram, meaning that using a set of generic ads across all platforms will harm results. Users favour In-Feed content that appears natural and authentic, while TopView ads should be disruptive and bold. Remember to strategically create all content with placement in mind!

When it comes to success stories, some of the largest global brands have recognised the power of TikTok, with an example being McDonalds. In 2021, a combination of TopView and InFeed ads were utilised to garner a total of 41 million impressions with a view-through rate of 10.28%, significantly increasing ad recall.

To illustrate the success of TikTok for brands closer to home, the team at 500 was able to increase brand awareness for a local swimwear brand through the platform. Using the in-stream placement option, the business reached 50,000 Melbournites across the span of two months, drawing in more than 1,000 visitors to the website - all for less than $750.

What about organic?

Paid advertisements are only half of the equation on TikTok.

Aside from ad reach, TikTok found that 67% percent of users are inspired by the platform to shop. Likewise, 73% feel a deeper connection to brands they interact with on the platform. This makes sharing intelligent organic essential.

The most important consideration when sharing original content on a brand account is to consider how to leverage current trends. Known for its fast-paced trend lifestyle, businesses often find success when participating in trends as they emerge.

Take the language-education app Duolingo for example. In the space of fewer than 12 months, the brand has earned more than 3.5 million followers thanks to the daily participation of the brand's life-size bird mascot in trends from dances to skits.

Similarly, Red Bull entertains an audience of 6.5 million followers with regular content featuring on-brand stunts and humour. With a schedule of two to three videos per day, this ensures that the brand remains at the forefront of the consumer's mind each day.

Keeping up to date with best practices.

For both paid and organic TikTok content, it is important to keep up to date with the latest best practices to make the most out of the time and money spent on developing the content.

Follow our top three tips for producing top quality content:

1. Resolution

TikTok users favour content that is clear and in-focus. Of the best performing videos, 83.2% are shot in quality higher than 720p. Luckily, a modern iPhone is well equipped to produce content above this benchmark.

2. Sound

Using audio is essential on TikTok as the vast majority of users watch content with the sound up. Whether you chose to utilise trending-songs or native sound, know that 93% of top-viewed content features audio.

3. Ratio

TikTok is designed to offer vertical content in a 9:16 aspect ratio. In fact, videos that utilise the full-screen size see an increase in impressions by 60.5%. Keep this in mind when producing content outside of the app, such as animations.

Considering developing a presence on TikTok?

With the number of brands utilising TikTok to nurture loyal and youthful audiences increasing day by day, it’s no secret that those choosing to ignore the platform's benefits are missing out.

The team of social specialists at 500 Digital Media is experienced in developing creative-led paid and organic content that can help you achieve your goals on the platform.

Book a free strategy session today to steal our best ideas and see if we’re a good fit!