We live in a digital age, which means everything we do is somehow connected to the internet. With this digital age comes new ways of communication and marketing a brand to the public. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are all common platforms we use for marketing. However, a new forum has grown in popularity in the last few years: TikTok.
In the last two years, TikTok has taken the world by storm. With an estimated 1.1 billion users and 2.3 billion app downloads. TikTok’s success has caught the attention of other platforms, and if you go to these platforms, you can see them replicating TikTok’s style of content creation. But what is TikTok? How do you use it? And how can this be used for your brand?
TikTok is a video creation app that allows you to film, edit, and post short video clips onto the social platform. There are many different sides and aspects to TikTok that can be fun to explore, including foodtok (recipes), cleantok (cleaning hacks), music, cosplay, and so much more. The for you page, or fyp, is designed to pay attention to what videos you like or watch all the way through and creates an algorithm or feed that is tailored to your tastes and interests.
TikTok stands out amongst other platforms for many reasons. Their algorithm system allows for more organic growth. They take a newly uploaded video and only expose it to a small group of users, both followers, and non-followers. When that video gains traction, they slowly increase the group that sees it. If a video reaches a certain threshold, TikTok will launch the tape forward, making it go viral.
TikTok Marketing
So how does one use this new platform? There are many aspects to making a TikTok, more than just recording and uploading. TikTok comes with filters to add to the video. Not just coloring or airbrush, but effects and digital props can tell a story. TikTok also has “sounds.” These sounds are sound bites of music clips that can be put over a video. This allows for lipsyncing and creating live-action memes.
When there is a new sound added to TikTok, a catalog is created that contains all videos using that sound byte. So if a user is particularly fond of a sound, they can go to the record and enjoy all of its content. TikTok also has a feature called “duet.” Dueting is when you can create a video side by side with another creator’s video, allowing for live reactions or tag-team storytelling.
Now that we’ve covered what TikTok is and how you can use it let’s discuss why TikTok can be a great branding tool. A sure way to get your brand noticed would be a Brand Takeover Ad. It is precisely how it sounds; when a user opens their app, the entire screen fills with the ad allowing that brand to get total exposure on the app.
There are also Top-View ads, similar to Brand Takeover Ads. TikTok’s Top-View ads are a full-screen takeover that effectively grabs the user’s attention. However, they are different because they allow for full 60-second ads that pop up in a user’s feed as they are scrolling.
TikTok can be a fantastic tool when you seek to expand your company’s digital marketing and branding campaign. It allows you to reach the masses and your target audience in a fun and unique way.
