Larry Barnes Do you recall how many times you heard that “TikTok is only for teenagers?” Since the release of the video app in 2017, a lot has happened. TikTok has more than 2.6 billion downloads and over 1 billion monthly active users. But how can social media marketers compete with TikTok’s teen users in terms of coolness?
TikTok is a platform that welcomes businesses of all sizes, and the app’s marketing potential is vast.
Before we dive in, though, it’s worth checking out what’s new at TikTok and what resources are available to users.
Where Does TikTok Stand Now?
In exciting news for content creators, each TikTok caption can now be up to 2,200 characters long. The original character count for captions was quite low, at only 300. Caution: do not attempt to compose an essay. TikTok is all about letting your video do the talking. If you’re having trouble writing for social media, check out our guidelines.
Other social media companies have been sluggish to invest in Creators to the extent that TikTok has. If you’re looking to work with other creators, go no further than the TikTok Creator Marketplace, which provides a streamlined method of finding creators based on criteria such as industry, budget, and business KPIs. More than 100K creators in 24 markets can be accessed by businesses through the Marketplace. That is significant for brands seeking for the proper micro or macro influencers.
TikTok is committed to eradicating harassment and protecting its younger users. This comes after numerous young TikTokers were killed as a result of bullying or disturbing “challenges.” Any account created by a user under the age of 16 will be set to private. Teens and young adults using TikTok will have their commenting choices restricted to Friends only as a safety measure.
Plan Ahead Holiday Ads
Sixty-eight percent of those who use TikTok begin holiday shopping early. They are also more receptive to the idea of direct social shopping and are more likely to shop online. With an advertising resource hub tailored towards priming small businesses for peak buying seasons, TikTok is obviously going for the small company market.
TikTok’s original ad model involved the company’s own sales agents and a network of partners. However, times have changed and individual advertising accounts are now available. Create an account, finish setting up your account, and get approved by TikTok Ads Manager’s review team to get started. There is a procedure that you can follow.
Marks & Spencer is surprisingly popular on the video-sharing platform TikTok. TikTok was used by the company to boost holiday sales in 2021. In addition to the main advertisement, they also provided sneak peeks at some of the cosmetic and culinary items that can be found in their establishment. Sharry Cramond, director of marketing for M&S food, told The Drum that the company’s TikTok campaign is part of its “overall plan to be more relevant, grow with families, and attract a younger audience.”
Get in on the latest hits, or create your own!
Sound plays a crucial role in the TikTok experience and is arguably the app’s most recognisable feature. TikTok’s most popular tracks were recorded by both well-known and up-and-coming musicians. Some seemed highly improbable. In 2021, did you imagine that everyone would be singing a sea shanty from the 19th century? By resurrecting the song and making it a staple in commercial soundtracks, Nathan Evans made it happen.
In fact, eighty-eight percent of users on TikTok agree that the app’s audio features are crucial to their enjoyment. People have downloaded the app because they heard a music they liked while using it. Those earworms truly do stick!
Get in on the trend of hashtag challenges
The TikTok community has always included challenges. In fact, they are essential to the functioning of the hashtag-driven indexing system.
The Discover button at the screen’s footer has been removed. However, a “Friends” option was added in a recent update to the TikTok app, making it more difficult to look for hashtags that are currently popular. Under the Discover menu, users of the TikTok app could find a compilation of the most popular hashtags and audio clips. For content makers, who previously had to rely on superficial metrics like popularity, this was a huge assistance. During the summer of 2022, this modification went into effect. (I believe that once TikTok realises the damage and the loss of advertising opportunities, they will reinstate it.)
Dance Challenges, Glow Ups, What I Ordered, What I Got, Tell Me Without Telling Me, That’s Not My Name, and many others are also available.
Netflix has the best sponsored hashtag challenge (and account) ever. In keeping with their penchant for being on the cutting edge of fashion, the company has issued a challenge to its fans in the form of a Halloween pumpkin carving: carve a Squid Game. When it comes to the number of hours spent watching content on Netflix, Squid Game was far and away the winner with 1.65 billion. Featuring the chilling Squid Game soundtrack, this is likely to be a success both online and off.
Create a team with popular TikTok makers
TikTok is rightfully putting a spotlight on its Creator community. Without creators, your social media feed would be filled with nothing but advertisements and sponsored content. (I’m looking at you, Facebook). Ads are unavoidable and necessary because they provide the means by which many services are maintained. However, this does not preclude originality on their part. Artists, dancers, singers, writers, and businesspeople alike may all be found on the video sharing app TikTok. Teenage businesspeople are where I see the most potential for innovative collaborations.
Look at the Step Bank and TikTok videos made in collaboration with young people who are financially smart. To begin, the brand’s TikTok channel doesn’t need help from influencers because it’s already great. This book is geared towards the millennial generation and provides them with easily digestible and helpful facts, discount hacks, life skills, and financial advice. Do you want to discover the secret of getting McDonald’s nuggets for free? You bet I do.
Second, the channel’s coverage of pumpkin spice latte is perfectly timed, coming as it does during the height of the beverage’s popularity this fall.