If you’re not on the TikTok trend yet, you’re already late.
The music-based social media app, previously ‘Musical.ly,’ is seriously on the rise. It had over one billion downloads in its first year, and it has more than 500 million monthly active users. Yet some marketers aren’t giving the app the attention it deserves. What makes TikTok so special anyway?
Personality over polished product.
The app has many entertaining filters and editing tools that allow creators to make almost professional quality videos all within the app. In fact, 83% of the app’s users have posted their own video. What does this mean for brands? There’s much less of a need for expensive production teams. Users respond to a specific type of video quality and they want it to look like it was created within the app— not edited to look polished and professional. According to Hootsuite’s yearly trends survey, 45% of companies will use influencer marketing in 2020. That means TikTok is no longer optional for your digital marketing strategy.
The clock is ticking fast!
Traditional media is taking notice. In 2019, Jimmy Fallon started the #TumbleWeedChallenge and garnered over 10 million engagements. Lis Nas X, creator of the song ‘Old Town Road,’ says his song would never have reached #1 if not for TikTok.
Entertainment is the name of the game, and videos are the way to do it. It’s predicted that by 2022, online videos will make up more than 80% of online content. Videos are more engaging than just text on a screen, and that makes them one of the best ways to grab and keep attention.
TikTok isn’t just for millenials.
You might think TikTok is only geared towards young people, but that isn’t exactly true. Most social media platforms (Instagram and Facebook, for example) start out with a younger crowd. But that never lasts for long. In 1.5 years, the number of American adults who use the app grew by over 500%. With social distancing restrictions currently in place, families and adults are catching the TikTok bug. It’s only going to get bigger from here. So it’s important for brands to get ahead of the trend and leverage potential impact.
How can you take advantage of TikTok and benefit from early growth?
1. Create a channel just for your brand where you post original content.
2. Pay for TikTok’s ad campaign options.
3. Get in touch with influencers, who already have a well-targeted audience.
No matter what you decide to do, just make sure you’re doing it. TikTok is free. As long as you keep up with trends, there’s no ceiling to the amount of views your videos can garner. Attention is the most valuable asset in advertising, and TikTok is the place to attract it.
