TikTok Marketing: The Basics
It’s no secret that TikTok is the newest and greatest way to promote your brand online. That being said, it’s not as straightforward as one might think to be successful on the platform, and it’s important to be knowledgeable about what audiences on TikTok are looking for when following and engaging with brands.
If you haven’t already created your account or are feeling stuck in terms of online growth, keep reading. In this blog, Hollywood Branded shares 5 tips for how to make your brand stand out on TikTok.
Why Is It Important To Be On TikTok Anyway?
One of the basic components of marketing, coined by Dr. Jeffery Lant, is the Rule of 7, or The Seven Times Factor (there are a few names for it). Essentially this theory predicts that a customer or audience must see a product an average of seven times before engaging with or buying it. People could take more or less time to do so, but it’s fair to assume that more exposure is better. With the digital age and advancement of platforms such as TikTok, brands can get creative with how they’re exposing their audience to their messages. This goes far beyond a basic newspaper advertisement, billboard, or even ad on a web browser, but it allows brands to expose their product to customers in a more natural and subtle tone. There are so many beneficial aspects to TikTok, not limited to content creation, advertisements, and trends, that brands are able to customize to their company and get creative with how they promote their products and start on those seven exposures.
Participate In Trends!
A key factor that plays toward TikTok and the success of videos corresponds to participating in trends. On TikTok, there’s an abundance of trends happening at any moment, each trend typically associated with a specific sound, usually a clip from a song, movie, or other funny or relatable audio. An example of a trend can be a dance, hashtag, or challenge, and allows for influencers, brands, and individuals to partake in the movement and add their own twist to (hopefully) stand out and go viral. One company that recently stood out as taking advantage of trendy sounds to accompany their videos is @nbcolympics, who very effectively made their content relatable enough to show up on my ‘For You Page’ throughout the Olympics multiple times.
Here’s just one example of how NBC Olympics used a trending sound to make it fit with their brand…
Another company that has mastered making its brand relevant through participating in trends is Delta Airlines, which has had countless videos go viral after using a trending sound and applying it to their company. Here’s another example…
Engage, Engage, Engage
Another way to make yourself known in the TikTok community is through engagement with other people or brands' content. The most common and easy way of doing so is simply through commenting. One brand that has absolutely nailed the engagement factor on TikTok is Duolingo, an online language learning company. On just about every viral video, you can find a comment from Duolingo. Now, this isn’t just a basic “hey I like this video” type comment, it’s witty, bold, might have some slang, and is usually just straight-up hilarious. I have absolutely no idea who runs the account, but whoever they are must be one of the smartest people on the internet.
See below for one of their most recent videos with an abundance of comments and get a taste of how they engage…
Duolingo isn’t the only brand making itself known as the “commenter”, many others have taken on the strategy and heavily engage with content as well. Specifically, there have been a few videos where it seems like just about every brand comments. Through these interactions, it allows for your brand to be seen not only by other brands but by consumers as well. Emily Zugay, an influencer whose videos gained popularity in September 2021, specialized in “rebranding” popular companies' logos with her so-called “degree in graphic design”. The series was obviously a joke, but just about every relevant company on TikTok began commenting on her videos asking for a redesign of their logo. As the series continued, many brands were featured with new logos, made the new logo their profile picture for a couple of days, and were able to gain some exposure from it.
Below is just one of the many videos that were posted throughout the series.
Make Advertisements Blend In
If using TikTok to advertise a product, one of the best strategies to use is to make your ad blend in. Don’t get me wrong, it still needs to highlight the product, but if you utilize your target audience to make a relevant video, your advertisement will be much more successful than if you marketed the product like a television ad or something on a different platform. Similar to what I mentioned earlier, taking advantage of a trending sound to show off your product will go far. Maybe this is just me, but often when I see an ad on Instagram or Snapchat, I almost instinctively swipe past it. Utilizing trends on TikTok to make relevant advertising content is the key to avoiding this behavior among consumers. If an advertisement is really well done and looks natural on my feed, I’m much more likely to not only make it through the video without noticing it’s an ad, but that draws me to maybe even click on it since the brand has marketing credibility and is obviously in the know.
This might just be a personal preference, but this ad popped up on my feed recently and I think it provides a realistic example of how to highlight the product without it feeling overwhelming or too ad-like.
Utilize Influencer Collaborations
In this day and age, utilizing influencers to promote your brand and/or product might just be one of the best methods to get your brand seen and talked about. According to this blog in HubSpot, 89% of marketers argue that influencer marketing works as effectively as other marketing channels, and 71% of marketers also say that the quality of consumer traffic stemming from influencer collaborations is better than from other sources. By understanding your target audience, what consumers might be attracted to in videos, and who they might be interested in seeing, brands can narrow down their prospective influencers accordingly. The abundance of influencers and the credibility many of them have can lead to extremely successful opportunities.
There are a few ways to go about influencer campaigns on TikTok, the most popular including product placement in an influencers video (think clothing, self-care products, work supplies, etc.), having influencers post a personalized ad on their account, or having an influencer posted on your brand's account as an advertisement. Each of these methods not only helps create a positive relationship with consumers, but they seek to attract the target audience to your brand's account or website, and from there lead to sales, engagement, or whatever the goal of the campaign is.
Below is an example of influencer Layal Assi promoting Neutrogena's vitamin C serum in an authentic way. Although it came across as an advertisement on my feed, again, it blended in and I made it through a substantial part of the video before realizing it was promoting a product.
Be Real
Arguably the most important factor to keep in mind while creating content on TikTok, or any platform for that matter, is to be real. As humans, we consume a ridiculous amount of content and have learned how to pick up on whether or not a brand is being authentic in what they’re creating. In terms of TikTok marketing, it’s harder to justify a “fake it till you make it” mindset, and more important to focus on understanding what works and what doesn’t, and why your content might not be resulting in what you had hoped for or originally intended. TikTok is all about showing your personality and creating relevant content that consumers can be excited about or interested in.
Let's Review
I get it, with the ever-changing digital world it can be so frustrating to keep up with trends and figure out what works and what doesn’t on different platforms. There’s no straightforward answer to how to market your brand on TikTok, and I’ve only scratched the surface of some tips I find most useful. With that in mind, one strategy might be going so well, until it doesn’t, and your target audience is all of a sudden intrigued by something else. Obviously, it’s important to stay true to your brand and stick to your values but also remain conscientious about how other brands are taking advantage of trends, advertisements, and content creation to stand out. Trial and error may be useful when testing out strategies, but once you crack the code things will surely fall into place.
Check Out Some Similar Blogs!
Want to learn all that you possibly can about social media marketing? Look no further than our very own blog! Check out the links below for some great introductions into social media marketing.
- Why Duolingo And Ryan Air Rock At TikTok
- The Power Of TikTok
- How To #26: Cracking 15 Steps For Better Social Influencer Partnerships
- Digital Marketing Tactics That Strengthen Your Brand in 2021
- 10 Products That Have Gone Viral on TikTok
Want to stay up to date on What's Hot In Hollywood? Sign up to receive our weekly report on what's hot (and what's not).
