How Businesses Can Leverage TikTok Digital Marketing – UVM Professional and Continuing Education

By Tyler King

TikTok has quickly become one of the most popular social media platforms, especially among younger audiences. For businesses, this presents an opportunity to reach a large and engaged audience. In this article, I’ll outline a few ways that brands can use TikTok (and vertical video in general) to their advantage.

Key TikTok Stats You Need to Know 

TikTok has seen significant growth in recent years. Here are a few key stats about the platform:

Advantages and Disadvantages of TikTok for Brands

One of the main advantages of TikTok is its large and engaged user base. With over 500 million active users worldwide, TikTok offers businesses a huge opportunity to reach a wide audience. Additionally, TikTok users are known for their creativity and enthusiasm, which can make it an ideal platform for businesses looking to connect with a younger, more engaged audience.

Another advantage of TikTok is its wide range of features and tools. The platform offers a variety of filters, effects, and music tracks that can be used to make videos more engaging and entertaining. Additionally, TikTok has features such as the “duet” function, which allows users to create videos that are paired with another user’s video, which can be a great way to create interactive and engaging content.

However, there are also some potential drawbacks to using TikTok. One of the main concerns is the platform’s privacy policies and the potential for user data to be shared or misused. There have been reports of TikTok sharing user data with Chinese-based parent company, ByteDance, which has raised concerns about privacy and security. Additionally, TikTok has been banned in some countries due to security and privacy concerns, which could limit its potential reach for businesses.

Another potential drawback of TikTok is the constantly changing nature of the platform. TikTok is known for its fast-paced, ever-evolving content, which can make it difficult for businesses to keep up with the latest trends and features. This can make it challenging for businesses to create effective content that resonates with TikTok users. Overall, while TikTok offers many advantages for businesses looking to reach a large and engaged audience, there are also some potential drawbacks to consider, such as privacy concerns and the constantly changing nature of the platform.

Why Vertical Video is a Must-Have for Brands

Vertical video is a video format that is shot in a portrait orientation, rather than the traditional landscape orientation. This format has become increasingly popular on social media platforms, as it allows users to easily view content on their mobile devices without having to rotate their screens.

For businesses and marketers, using vertical video in social media campaigns on all platforms, in addition to TikTok, can be a powerful tool. Here are a few reasons why vertical video is important for social media campaigns:

Another point to consider is that shooting videos vertically is more convenient for users. It’s easier for creators to hold their phones vertically, as it allows them to record and share videos without having to turn their phones. Additionally, vertical video takes up more space on the user’s screen, making it more likely to catch attention in sometimes very crowded feeds on social media channels.

Learn How to Use Vertical Video in UVM’s Digital Marketing Fundamentals Certificate

UVM’s Digital Marketing Fundamentals Professional Certificate program is an eight-week, online learning opportunity that dives into all of the facets of digital marketing, including my area of expertise, social media marketing. In the Social Media Marketing module, students learn about the importance of using vertical video, which social platforms they should use to optimize their videos, and explore examples of real-world digital marketing situations featuring brands using vertical video. All of the social channels are covered in addition to a focus on how businesses can leverage vertical videos on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube Shorts, and Snapchat. Join us in exploring how brands can create vertical videos to up their digital marketing game!

Tyler King is a Senior Social Media and Community Manager at PandaDoc in addition to an instructor in UVM’s Digital Marketing Fundamentals Professional Certificate Program.