TikTok can seem like a frightening place where well-known social media rules are out and Gen-Z is in, but once you try it, you’ll be hooked! If you’re reading this, you’re likely just as curious about TikTok as we were. And no, it’s not the hit single by Kesha. 

Like other social media platforms, there are a variety of options for featuring paid advertising content on TikTok, however, there are also many ways to use the app to increase awareness of your brand and generate sales without spending a cent. 

Venturing onto the app may seem intimidating, but a business’s presence on TikTok can provide opportunities for increasing brand awareness organically – and we’re here to help!

So, What on Earth is TikTok?

Although initially launched in China in 2016, TikTok seems to have really exploded in popularity since the onset of COVID as a much-needed means of creating, sharing and discovering short videos (30-60 seconds). The app operates and is used in a vastly different way to other big players (Facebook, Instagram), and continues to grow exponentially. Anyone can become a content creator on TikTok and young users particularly are creating content to express themselves, either through singing, dancing, comedy, and lip-syncing, sharing them not just to a profile or for friends, but across a community. But businesses are also starting to see the value!

TikTok is now available in 155 countries and boasts over 689 million monthly active users and an average time spent per user of around 52 minutes each day. 

A quick how-to – videos can be found by scrolling through the “Following” page (comprised of videos from people you follow), the “For You” page (comprised of videos TikTok thinks you’ll enjoy), by searching Hashtags and Users, and viewing lists of videos by AR/VR filters or audio tracks. Users can also follow other “creators” to see their content in feed or comment on posts they like or dislike; these interactions make up 50% of all interactions between creators and fans according to research from L2 Intelligence Group. 

A major reason TikTok grew so quickly was due to the potential for virality; the TikTok algorithm allows a user to scroll an infinite feed of videos tailored to their interests. There’s no need to have thousands of followers to get thousands – even millions – of views on a video. 

How do you Create Great Branded Content on TikTok? Here are our Top Tips!

1. Look at What Others are Doing

Take some time to navigate your way around the app, get comfortable, and check out what other people are posting. It’s a good idea to specifically observe what your competitors or other brands in your industry are doing, to get an idea of what your consumer base is enjoying. 

One behaviour that is important to be aware of is the use of ‘audios’. Users take popular audios, which could include music, lines from a TV show or movie, or even the original sound from another user’s video. They then apply the subtext of these audios to a different context that is relevant to themselves or their life. These videos are a great demonstration of people’s creativity – sometimes you would never have considered that the subtext of one situation could apply so well to another context! 

User-generated content (UGC) is a large part of a successful brand social media strategy on TikTok due to the two-way nature of content creation on the app. Encouraging responses, as well as responding to others, will build brand loyalty and recognition from your audience through UGC. If you hear an audio that you think you could put a unique spin on and apply it to your brand, you can save it for later when you’re ready to make a video with it.

2. Find Your Niche

TikTok’s algorithm is very effective at showing videos to the right users. It feeds videos to users that are specific to their interests, based on videos they have sought out or engaged with previously. This means that even brands that provide a niche offering can do well on TikTok. In fact, it can actually be worthwhile to focus on a niche aspect of your brand that you think people will find the most interesting or fun. 

For example, if you run a skydiving business, you might post slow-motion videos of people’s faces being buffeted by the wind as they skydive. Due to TikTok’s algorithm, this niche content is much more likely to be shared with the people who enjoy it.

3. Build a Casual Persona

TikTok users appreciate it when brands engage in such a casual way that they seem almost ‘human’. This makes them feel like they know the brand and is crucial to forming positive relationships with consumers. Authenticity is key – creating content that doesn’t hide behind a brand but actually flaunts the fact that it’s created by real people who know how to relate to their peers. 

One radical example of this is the format of the official InStyle TikTok account, which successfully mixes more professional posts with those created by one of their leading journalists, Tefi. This is a branded profile that consumers can form an emotional connection with, and want to see content from. This works well for them as a celebrity news/fashion platform. It’s a great example of the possibilities that TikTok provides for brands to connect with their audience.  

Other ways in which brands can utilise TikTok’s casual nature is by featuring content that shows behind-the-scenes footage, demonstrations of the product-making process, or footage that features employees. 

4. Use Hashtags

While TikTok’s algorithm is great at showing videos to the right people, using hashtags can give you an edge on how your videos are classified. For example, if you’re a brand that prides itself on being Australian and your consumer base is local, using #Australia will encourage the algorithm to show your video to users who engage with other Australian content, and are therefore probably Australian themselves. 

You can also encourage followers of your brand to use branded hashtags in videos they post that feature your products. One way to do this is to start a hashtag challenge, much like US fast-food chain Chipotle did. Over 100,000 TikTok users attempted the #ChipotleLidFlip challenge, which involved using a takeaway Chipotle bowl to flip its own lid. Since participating in this challenge involved buying a meal from chipotle, the brand would have generated a large number of sales thanks to this challenge, not to mention the promotion it received by being featured in so many videos.

It may take some time to get the hang of TikTok, but once you do, it has the potential to boost your social media marketing results and increase awareness for your brand. It’s also a great creative outlet to feature content that you wouldn’t on other platforms. So get creating, and have fun! Who knows, you might even go viral. 

If you need support in managing your social media strategy, get in touch with us today to see how we can help! – info@fuseagency.com.au or 3198 4890.