Everyone surely heard about the TikTok app as it is one of the most famous applications used these days. Even if you did not have the application inside your phone, you will eventually come across videos that are made using the TikTok app in your other social medias like Instagram or Facebook. TikTok is a social media platform that is used to create, discover, share short videos and make duet videos with your friends. This application is owned by ByteDance which is a Beijing-based company established in 2012. The founder of this phenomenon app is Zhang Yiming. The users of TikTok are mostly teenagers as they see this as a platform that allows them to express themselves freely through singing, dancing and lip-syncing.
More about TikTok
TikTok is formerly known as musical.ly, but now it came out with a completely different logo and name. This app has variety of content, TikTok life hacks are one of them, riddles and challenges. It does still has the same features with musical.ly as it allows users to make videos recorded in 15 seconds or more. Furthermore, there are more options provided by this app such as, live-streaming and various filters/ tool making your video more creative and interesting, improving the presentation of your video. After editing your videos, publish and share your videos with your friends and across the community. Similar to other social medias, you can choose either to private your account or make it public. Moreover, TikTok also allows you to block andreport users or a video that you think is inappropriate.
How brands and marketers use TikTok as media for marketing?
Truthfully, using TikTok as a media for marketing is so much easier and simpler than to what you are thinking right now. There are three major ways that are important to be known by the companies/brands that is looking forward in utilizing TikTok as a platform for promotion.
The three major ways are:
1. Create an account in TikTok for your brand and upload videos that is linked to your business
2. They can work with famous influencers to promote to deliver and spread content widely
3. They can pay in order to get advertised and promoted by TikTok itself, using the new campaign option (it is advised to take this action after the market is quite established)
Many brands and companies choose to do combinations out of these three major ways. Mostly, they run their own channels while working with the influences for spreading and promoting its content to a broader engagement.
Challenges with Hashtags
In the TikTok community, challenges are a crucial feature. The users of this TikTok app love accepting and do the challenge as they upload videos regularly. It does not stop there as they will tag their friends to also join the challenge with them. A hashtag is usually put before the name of the challenge, the reason of this is to make the challenges easier to be find and document it as something memorable.
Brands can also try to create new and fresh challenges with hashtags on TikTok. When your channel/account is getting famous and known by a lot of people, it is best to work with famous influencers or TikTokers (the users of the TikTok app is called TikTokers) to introduce your #hashtag challenge. Since they have a massive amount of views, this method is going to be perfectly effective for spreading content and promotion. Their viewers/followers will start doing the challenge as they see them as their idols. The moment the #hashtag challenge is set up, people can easily and automatically participate with just few clicks.
The Traditional Influencer Marketing
Nowadays, all the influencing marketing techniques you see on famous platforms, such as YouTube and Facebook are all in the form of videos. This also applies to TikTok. If the product or your company is engaging a lot of audience, this shows that the campaign of the influencers you have chosen to work with is successful. In most cases, brands and companies let the influencers himself/herself to create the content as they know they type of content that will have high engagement. They know what the preference of their followers and views.
All brands usually want the influencers to make videos of them wearing or using the product of the company that is sponsoring them. This method will only work if the influencer is using this type of product on their daily basis. Above all, only little factors that will encourage influencers to promote inappropriate. It will not work if you want to sell hearing aids or retirement homes on TikTok. The key here is to trust the influencers you are working with to make the content/video, even if they may seem unprofessional. The viewers/followers are more interested in the originality and fun of the content rather than the quality of the videos.
The User-Generated Content
The Generation Z loves experimenting and trying new things rather than watching TV inside their house. They love being involved especially when they see something that they have never seen before. Try to discover ways that will encourage your customers to share their videos while they are using your product. Therefore, you business is more likely to be getting more customers.
For example, this one Chinese restaurant Haidilau allows their customers to make their own DIY menu by choosing the items provided by the restaurant. This is a new experience for them since they are making their own personalised menu, making them feel that filming this experience is a must. Haidilau also encouraged its client to share the videos and pictures they took on their social media.
Read also: 15 TikTok Life Hacks That You Can Try at Home