Six Tips for Your TikTok Marketing Strategy

Prior to 2020, most US-based influencers and businesses didn’t pay much attention to TikTok. While the app hit a whopping 1 billion downloads by February 2019, many of these global users existed outside the US.

With the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, however, more and more users in the United States began signing up for TikTok accounts to keep themselves entertained. In July 2020, TikTok launched the creator fund—which gave influencers and brands the opportunity to create deals and make money from their content.¹

Fast forward to today, and TikTok is now the number one social media platform on the app store. 

With such a meteoric rise, it would be a missed opportunity for businesses to leave TikTok marketing out of their marketing strategy. Getting the hang of this novel app isn’t always easy for beginners, however. Tack on the fact that going viral on TikTok can often seem utterly random, and you’re left with quite a few questions for your marketing team.

Fortunately, you’ve come to the right place if you’re looking for answers. Read on for a crash course on how to develop a TikTok marketing strategy.

#1 Use Hashtags

Hashtags contribute largely to the content that lands on the TikTok for you page (FYP). Trending hashtags will also be clumped together and displayed on the discover page, so it’s crucial to pay attention to these keywords when using TikTok for a marketing campaign.

While many users tend to throw any trending hashtag into the caption of their TikTok video, this isn’t necessarily the best tactic for gaining views or brand awareness—especially for marketing purposes. Instead, you’ll want to be selective about which hashtags you choose to include. The best way to do this is by studying other videos under the same hashtag, taking note of trends, and trying to recreate them in a way that shows off your unique brand. 

#2 Know Your Audience

The TikTok audience is much younger than many other social media platforms. With 60% of users between the ages of 16-24, it’s important to understand the unique challenges of marketing to gen Z.² 

It’s also crucial to note that by 2022, 74 million people in the United States will be members of gen Z, making it the largest generation in history. So, how do we gear our digital marketing efforts towards this age group?

While many people consider generation Z to be strictly children, this notion actually isn’t accurate. Gen Z consists of people who were born between 1997 and 2012. This means that our oldest gen Z members are currently in their early 20s, which is an ideal demographic for a number of different industries. 

Gen Z’ers are considered trendsetters. They understand the internet better than anyone because they were raised with it. If you’re looking to market toward this group of individuals, you’ll want to keep a few things in mind:³

• Keep it casual – Gen Z’ers have grown up in a world where everything is at their fingertips. This means it can be hard to sell younger individuals on certain topics, especially when they’re capable of doing the research themselves. In order to appeal to this age group, you’ll want to keep things casual. Don’t try too hard to sell your brand. Instead, make it seem as though your brand is already trendy. Keep marketing tactics effortless, cool, and authentic. This will help you build an ethos that resonates with the younger generation.
• Keep it quick – The whole point of TikTok is that it’s quick and to the point. Don’t use the TikTok app to try and create a lengthy, in-depth advertisement. Keep it simple, keep it short, and keep your viewers from scrolling onto the next video. 
• Keep it up to date – If your marketing campaign consists of outdated trends, memes, and pop culture references, you’ll be written off as out-of-touch by gen Z viewers. It’s vital to have a team member who can dedicate their time to staying on the pulse when it comes to trends. 
• Keep it sustainable – Many members of gen Z are more eco-conscious than their older counterparts. If you’re looking to reach a younger audience, it never hurts to focus on sustainability and products with a smaller carbon footprint.

#3 Reach Out to Influencers

It’s no surprise that influencers are everything when it comes to social media, especially TikTok. Popular creators like Charli D’Amelio, Addison Rae, and Khabane Lame are just a few names that come to mind, and these influencers have follower counts upwards of 100 million. So, if you’re really looking to maximize your visibility, you’ll want to reach out to a content creator who has already built up a large following. 

Reaching the younger audience on TikTok can be tricky, especially since many of these users are accustomed to scrolling through ads on a daily basis. Rather than putting out a marketing campaign on its own, it’s advised that brands create deeper relationships with bigger content creators. One of the best ways to do this is by sending out PR packages.

PR packages are an easy way for influencers to try new products and promote them to their audience. Many content creators will negotiate with brands in order to receive these packages. In return, creators will do ads and unboxing videos to show off the products.

Choose the Right Influencer

It’s also vital that brands take their time to research influencers before deciding on a spokesperson for their company. You’ll want to make sure the audience you’re reaching through an influencer is the right TikTok demographic for your brand. For example:⁴

• Beauty brands – Beauty brands will often reach out to either professional makeup gurus or young female influencers. PR packages may consist of makeup, skincare products, or hair extensions that can be featured in tutorial videos.
• Meal kits – Meal kit brands, like Freshly or Daily Harvest, typically reach out to millennial influencers and family channels in order to reach a slightly older audience of individuals who live on their own.
• Fitness brands – Fitness brands, like Gymshark, often reach out to athletic influencers who wear the clothes for sponsored videos. An easy way to show off these products is through workout tutorials on the fitness side of TikTok (sometimes referred to as GymTok).
• Amazon – Looking to reach a larger audience, Amazon has chosen to partner with members of David Dobrik’s vlog squad. Most notably, they have sponsored skits created by influencer Jason Nash who has followers of all genders in the gen Z and millennial demographics

While the possibilities don’t stop here, these are just a few examples of how influencer marketing can be used to reach a specific target audience. 

#4 Use Effects

One of the more unique aspects of TikTok is their library of different visual effects. While these may seem unrelated to marketing, they can actually be used as a powerful tool for gaining views.

Here’s the thing: when you see a video with an interesting effect on it, you can click on the effect. From there, you’ll be taken to a new page full of other videos that have used the same effect. Many users will see interesting thumbnails and find themselves clicking on other videos in the collection, purely out of curiosity.

If a brand can get their video on one of these discover pages, they can increase their views through this method alone. Not to mention, some of these visual effects can be pretty eye-catching—so it never hurts to try them out!

#5 Use Humor

Humor is one of the most influential strategies you can use in your TikTok marketing campaign. Even if a video is clearly sponsored by a brand, many users will continue watching if the narrative is interesting enough—and especially if it makes them laugh.

Brands can gain a larger viewing if they incorporate relatable, down-to-earth humor into the marketing videos. Try creating a short, well-crafted skit that doubles as an advertisement. This way, you’ll be selling your brand while also providing an enjoyable experience for the viewer.

#6 Engage with Other Users

While going viral on TikTok can sometimes happen out of pure coincidence, the social platform is no different from any other form of social media. If you make an effort to connect with other users, you’ll have an easier time building a substantial following. 

If you’re struggling to gain traction on the app, try some of the following techniques:

• Follow more users, especially celebrities and content creators
• Leave unique, interesting, or funny comments on other users’ videos
• Like other users’ videos
• Stitch other users’ videos, or encourage followers to stitch your videos
• Create a trend, or recreate a trend started by other users
• Tag other users in videos and comments (when appropriate)

Hone Your TikTok Marketing Skills with Power Digital

When it comes to an app as viral and unpredictable as TikTok, creating a marketing campaign on your own isn’t always easy. Don’t worry, though—when it comes to how to advertise on TikTok and create a TikTok presence, that’s what our digital marketing team is for.

Our digital marketing agency has the experience, expertise, and strategy to help you create a unique and effective TikTok marketing campaign. From our powerful Nova marketing platform to our personalized consulting, we’re here to help you every step of the way.

Make the most of your marketing campaign, and reach a larger TikTok audience today.

Sources:

1.  Dexerto. The History of TikTok From Musical.ly to the number 1 app in the world. https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/the-history-of-tiktok-1569106/ 
2. Wallaroo Media. TikTok Statistics.  https://wallaroomedia.com/blog/social-media/tiktok-statistics/ 
3.  MNI. How to Market to Generation Z. https://www.mni.com/blog/research/marketing-to-generation-z-it-s-time-to-forget-about/article_e1ec8b94-053f-11e9-9bbb-638dddb33ff3.html 
4.  Social Bakers. Brands That Rule TikTok.  https://www.socialbakers.com/blog/brands-that-rule-tiktok