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TikTok is one of the newest members of the social media family and boasts of explosive growth. With more than 2 billion downloads, TikTok has sealed its position. If you refer to the latest TikTok marketing report, you will find that brands who incorporate TikTok-based video marketing have better connections with their target group. This is especially true in the case of brands that cater to younger demographics.
Although brands like Samsung and Chevrolet are counting on TikTok to drive their marketing efforts, 50% of the top brands are yet to build a TikTok presence. If you are still skeptical about jumping into the TikTok bandwagon, here are some statistical facts that will help you make a decision.
TikTok as a user favourite
As of June 2020, 91.9 million people in the US use TikTok every month. The daily active users stand at 50 million in the US alone. Such is the popularity of TikTok that 89% of Americans recognize TikTok as a brand.
In the period from January 2020 to June 2020, TikTok ramped up its brand awareness efforts by a whopping 12%. The popularity of TikTok is not restricted to the US alone. By the end of 2020, 50 new countries were added to the TikTok directory. Today, TikTok is available in over 200 countries.
TikTok as an advertising platform
TikTok is a versatile platform that allows multiple types of video posting. Surveys have established that 72% of TikTok viewers prefer seeing TopView ads. The fact that these videos take up the entire screen and come with sound gives the user a better viewing experience.
The study also found that the natural placement of TopView ads was the most successful in capturing the viewer’s attention. Further, the low annoyance level resulted in lesser skips and gave brands a higher ROI.
As a social media platform, TikTok rewards authentic posts and the same holds for its advertisements as well. A look at the best performing TikTok ads will reveal that almost 50% of them strike an emotional chord with the audience. While lighthearted content is well-received by the TikTok audience, your focus should be on initiating an emotional response in the viewer.
Music in TikTok videos
The role of music in TikTok videos cannot be undermined. Some of the most popular songs in TikTok get higher plays than that of dedicated music platforms. For example, the Tootsie Slide music video got a billion views in three days since it was posted on TikTok. The most popular song on Spotify boasts of only 1.6 billion views in three years.
The presence of music in TikTok videos improves the overall aesthetic appeal of the video. Over 80% of the popular TikTok videos have music and upbeat music is the most preferred genre. If you can use a piece of trending music in your video, it will improve the reach of your video on the platform. Considering that 176 songs surpassed the 1 billion views mark in 2020 alone, there will not be any dearth of popular song options while creating your video.
Understand that the choice of music is an integral part of the video preparation. The use of dramatic music will help you to retain the audience’s attention throughout the video and have them concentrate throughout the video.
Using TikTok for business promotion
TikTok is the second-highest consumer spending application today. According to the cumulative data from Android and iOS users, the money spent by consumers on TikTok is higher than the spending on YouTube, Netflix, Disney+, and other popular video channels. This makes it an ideal place for brands to promote their products.
While promoting your products on TikTok, you cannot undermine the role of the first few seconds. Considering the decreasing attention span of the average viewer, most people decide within the first few seconds whether they intend to watch the video. With no shortage of video content, the viewers will jump to more engaging content. A look at the most clicked ads of TikTok will reveal that they showcase the product in the first three seconds. If you are a service-based brand or do not intend to display your product in the video, we suggest that you arrive at the central message of your video in the first few seconds.
Identify patterns and understand TikTok trends
The majority of TikTok users belong to a younger demographics. Tracing their behavior on the platform reveals that most of them look for hilarious and entertaining content. Sharing content is the second most popular reason for visiting TikTok while keeping up with current affairs ranks third. Thus, in terms of video consumption, the entertaining value of videos is their selling point in TikTok.
However, you need to realize that TikTok is not all about fun and folly. In the recent past, it has emerged as an outlet for political and social activism. The app’s social utility can be understood from the fact that posts with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter have 26.1 billion views.
The above statistics are a clear indication that TikTok is the next big thing in the world of social media marketing. Unlike YouTube and other video-sharing platforms, TikTok celebrates raw content. The platform does not expect you to create long-form studio-quality content. That way, smaller organizations that do not have high-end filming equipment, editing expertise, or advanced tools also get a chance to compete with larger organizations.
While TikTok is different from most other video-sharing platforms, you can trim snippets from your promotional videos and post them on TikTok. Although the platform restricts the video length to 60 seconds, videos that are shorter than 15 seconds garner a better response.
The journey of getting famous on TikTok requires you to plan every move and put in due hard work. Sadly, there is no sure-shot path to getting viral on the platform and brands need to consistently post their content. Frequent posting of engaging content helps build brand familiarity among the target group. Come up with innovative ways to get your followers to spread the word about your business offering.
Resharing user-generated content, organizing hashtag competitions and duet videos are some of the other ways in which you can encourage engagement on your videos. While all of these are acceptable ways of building your digital identity, you need to be practical and understand that things which work for others may not be feasible for your brand. Every journey is unique, and you need to take baby steps in paving the TikTok journey of your brand. As you venture out of your comfort zone and make the most of TikTok, we wish you a successful marketing journey ahead.
