IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A VIRAL IMPACT IN TODAY’S DIGITAL SOCIETY, IT’S NOT IF YOU ARE GOING TO USE TIKTOK FOR YOUR BRAND, BUT WHEN AND HOW.

IN SEPTEMBER 2019, TIKTOK ANNOUNCED ITS FEAT OF HITTING 1 BILLION USERS ON ITS VIDEO SHARING PLATFORM, MAKING IT THE FASTEST GROWING SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM OF THE DECADE.

Its success comes from the mastery of compelling, short form videos that are addictive in a way that Facebook, Instagram and YouTube have not yet figured out how to achieve. Backed by an intriguing algorithm, enticing musical navigation, and easy to use editing tools, the attraction TikTok has lured to the masses comes as no surprise.

After all, the global pandemic’s impact on society has led to an overall average increased screen time, ensuring this new era social media platform would thrive in popularity.

From a brand marketing perspective, this means reaching new audiences regardless of the actual target market of your brand. Plus, the potential for going viral is highly appealing given the nature of the content. Around 35% of TikTok users have engaged with a hashtag challenge, and as an eye opener to how viral things can get, the #RainbowChallenge has more than 978 million views on TikTok and the #InMyFeelings challenge has received 5 millions video submissions on TikTok compared to Instagram’s 1.7 million.

The fascinating facts behind TikTok demographics in Australia is an eye opener for brands looking to make an impact on the social platform. Given the nature of the content, you would naturally assume that most of its users are female. However, a 2020 Digital Report revealed that 51% of TikTok users are male and 49% are female, with 66% worldwide users under 30 and 41% being between ages 16 to 24 years old. The market is clearly for the young and vibrant, so if you have an exciting product perfect for this demographic, a marketing effort on TikTok should not be overlooked.

When it comes to cost comparisons with other social platforms, TikTok isn’t necessarily known for being a cheap alternative with minimum entry prices at $10 per CPM and a minimum budget of $500 at the campaign level. However, some reports revealed that testing out decent marketing budgets of $50,000 against TikTok, Facebook and Instagram resulted in TikTok ads generating 155% more clicks while costing 36% less. Cost per click on TikTok was less at an average $0.19 while Facebook and Instagram averaged at $0.46. Note should be made that past performance does not indicate future performance and that your ad target may not necessarily replicate these results, however it doesn’t mean that it isn’t impossible.

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On top of its growth success, September also saw the launch of “TikTok World” — a first time global experience designed to encourage and guide brands and marketers to embrace TikTok and connect with their communities. The key message from this event emphasises on thinking like marketers and acting like creators. The point being, the best form of advertising on TikTok, in terms of engagement and interaction, tends to be the kind that doesn’t look like an ad at all.

So how can you get your brand to perform well on TikTok?

The very first step to TikTok success is to understand the trends happening in your category. Pinpoint the facts and stories being told, and why people are engaging with them. With TikTok, a heavy emphasis is placed on how you tell your story while staying relevant to your topic, while keeping things short and catchy.

In-house TikTok created for our client Growth Bomb achieved an organic reach of 58.4K and 254hrs of play time, which continues to rise even months later. Growth Bomb is a hair care brand, the video shown below is quickfire tips on washing hair.

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Second is to use "creators" or "TikTok Influencers" as you would for Instagram Influencers. We see campaigns performing the best when the TikTok Influencer is empowered by the brand to tell an authentic story. When this narrative is not enforced — we don't see anywhere as good results for our TikTok marketing clients.

TikTok by creator @larissalambert for our client Sydney Songwriters at The Rocks Festival achieved an outstanding 110K organic views, 177 comments and 422 shares. Larissa’s messaging was clear, candid and true to herself, bringing forth the authenticity that is well-received by the TikTok audience.

Sydney based creator Jade Wilson @jade.here made a grand entrance posting for Growth Bomb resulting in 1.1 million views on her video in the first month. Fast forward to 4 months after, and this video sits at an incredible 3.3 million views.

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This reveals an interesting fact that unlike Instagram where posts seem to be only relevant for the first 24hrs, TikTok has the ability to have one piece of content go viral again and again. On top of this, Jade's content reached another 30.3K when reposted on the Growth Bomb brand account.

Brand entertainment via TikTok is a must-have and whether it is fact-based or comedy, there are clear advantages that can help brands navigate through this powerful platform.

The changes that are happening on TikTok bring forth high potentials to reach the right audiences in a more viral way than other social media platforms. The challenge is in delivering the right message to the right audience to see the success. However, when done right, the rewards are immense.

We are filled with excitement and determination in helping our client brands maximise their potential on TikTok and look forward to implementing the best practices for the best results.

If your brand needs some help with getting noticed, get in touch with us and we’ll help you brainstorm a strategy that will work for you. We can also help you implement the strategy and manage the performance and outcome of your brand’s TikTok efforts.

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Email us at hello@thelikesofyou.com.au or click HERE.

The Likes Of You is a comprehensive social media, digital marketing agency with a focal point of delivering positive results that are real and engaging to the right audience for your brand.

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