What is TikTok? And Why Marketers Need to Care

What is TikTok? And Why Marketers Need to Care

In just a few short years, TikTok has taken the social media world by storm. The short-form video app, known for its viral dance challenges, lip-sync videos and comedic skits, has amassed over 1 billion monthly active users globally. It‘s become an integral part of youth culture and has launched the careers of a new generation of influencers and entertainers.

For brands and marketers, TikTok presents a massive opportunity. The platform offers incredible reach and engagement, especially among coveted younger audiences. It encourages fun, authentic, creative expression. And its full-screen vertical video format is perfectly suited to mobile viewing behaviors.

At the same time, marketing on TikTok comes with its own unique challenges. The app moves at lightning speed, with new trends and memes emerging daily. User expectations around entertainment and authenticity are high. And TikTok is still a relatively new frontier for brands, without a clear playbook for success.

In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll dive into everything brands and marketers need to know about TikTok. We‘ll explore:

• TikTok‘s origin story and key features that fuel its addictiveness
• Eye-popping stats that illustrate the app‘s explosive growth and influence
• How the TikTok community uses the platform and what content performs best
• Early brand adopters and examples of innovative TikTok marketing
• TikTok‘s advertising options and best practices for promotions
• Concerns and challenges to consider when engaging on TikTok
• How to develop an effective TikTok strategy for your brand
• The future of TikTok and short-form video, and what it means for social media marketing

By the end, you‘ll have a solid grasp on TikTok‘s potential for your business and a framework for getting started with confidence. Let‘s dig in.

Inside the Rise of TikTok

TikTok as we know it is actually a rebranded version of an app called Musical.ly, which Chinese tech company ByteDance acquired in 2017. Musical.ly allowed users to create 15-second lip-sync music videos. It had a devoted following, particularly among tweens and teens in the US.

ByteDance merged Musical.ly into its existing TikTok app to reach a global audience. The new TikTok maintained Musical.ly‘s core features while expanding the content formats and creative tools. Users could now post videos up to 60 seconds long. And the app made it incredibly easy to add music, visual effects, text and more to their videos.

TikTok‘s user base and engagement quickly skyrocketed:

• TikTok was the most downloaded app globally in 2020 and has remained in the top 5 since
• Users spend an average of 52 minutes per day on the app
• 90% of TikTok users access the app daily
• 83% of TikTok users have posted a video

So what makes TikTok so addictive? The key is its highly personalized "For You" feed. TikTok‘s advanced algorithm serves an endless stream of short videos tailored to each user‘s interests. The more a user engages, the better the recommendations become. This creates a self-reinforcing cycle that keeps users glued to their screens.

The TikTok Culture

Community is at the heart of TikTok‘s success. The app attracts all kinds of niche creators, from dancers and pranksters to artists and activists. Popular content formats include:

• Dance challenges set to trending songs
• Lip-syncing and singing videos
• Comedy skits and impersonations
• Tutorials and "lifehacks"
• Art and visual storytelling
• Memes, parodies and inside jokes

No matter how quirky or specific your interests, you can find your tribe on TikTok. The app makes it easy for like-minded users to connect through features like:

• Hashtags to find and categorize content
• Duets and stitches to interact with other users‘ videos
• Remix tools to reinterpret audio and build on existing memes

This collaborative ecosystem is core to how trends take off on TikTok. Jimmy Fallon kick-started one of TikTok‘s first viral challenges in November 2018 when he asked viewers to submit videos of themselves rolling around like tumbleweeds to Western music. The #tumbleweedchallenge racked up over 8,000 submissions and 10.4 million engagements. Since then, hashtag challenges have been a cornerstone of the TikTok experience.

TikTok has also become a powerful launching pad for music and entertainment. Lil Nas X‘s "Old Town Road" first went viral on TikTok before climbing the Billboard charts. The app routinely mints new stars like Charli D‘Amelio and Addison Rae, who have translated TikTok fame into mainstream celebrity status. Even established musicians like Drake and Justin Bieber now premiere songs on TikTok to generate buzz.

How Brands Are Leveraging TikTok

Some savvy companies were quick to recognize TikTok‘s marketing potential. One of the earliest brand success stories was Chipotle‘s #GuacDance challenge for National Avocado Day in 2019. Chipotle offered users free guac for posting videos of themselves dancing to a guacamole-themed song. The challenge generated 250,000 video submissions using the custom sound and was TikTok‘s top-performing branded challenge in the U.S. that year.

Since then, more and more brands have been experimenting with organic and paid promotions on TikTok. Some notable examples:

• e.l.f. Cosmetics launched an original song and hashtag challenge called #eyeslipsface. Over 5 million videos have been created using the sound, making it the most viral campaign ever on TikTok. The brand saw a huge lift in awareness and engagement as a result.

• The Washington Post takes a surprisingly playful approach to TikTok, posting comedic behind-the-scenes videos from the newsroom. This has helped the 143-year-old newspaper reach a new Gen Z audience.

• The NBA has over 12 million followers on TikTok. The league posts highlights, player interviews and funny clips to give fans an inside look at the game. It‘s also partnered with TikTok on live-streaming and hashtag campaigns.

• Fenty Beauty uses TikTok to showcase its products in action and partner with influencers for authentic tutorials and reviews. The brand‘s TikTok presence complements its other social media efforts.

Brands are drawn to TikTok‘s highly engaged user base and creative energy. When done right, TikTok marketing can yield impressive brand lift and even drive direct sales. Levi‘s 2020 #useloop challenge with influencer Callen Schaub drove $60,000 in product sales directly attributed to TikTok.

Of course, success on TikTok is far from guaranteed. The app is first and foremost an entertainment platform, not a place for overt advertising. Users can sniff out inauthenticity from a mile away. Brands need to find their unique voice on TikTok and add to the fun, rather than distract from it.

Advertising on TikTok

For brands that want to invest more heavily in TikTok, the platform offers five key ad formats:

1. In-Feed Ads: Video ads up to 60 seconds long that appear natively in users‘ For You feeds, similar to Instagram Stories ads.

2. Brand Takeovers: Full-screen static or dynamic ads that appear when a user first opens TikTok. These can link to hashtag challenges or landing pages.

3. TopView Ads: 60-second videos that appear at the top of the For You feed, similar to YouTube‘s masthead ads.

4. Branded Hashtag Challenges: Custom hashtags that encourage users to create videos around a brand‘s theme. Hashtag challenges can include an official music clip and special effects filter.

5. Branded Effects: 2D or 3D visual effects that users can incorporate into their videos. These can feature product elements or branded mascots.

TikTok‘s ads platform offers robust targeting, including options for geotargeting, demographic targeting, interest targeting and customer data targeting. Advertisers can set campaign objectives around reach, video views, traffic, app installs and more.

Some tips for effective TikTok advertising:

• Make the first few seconds count. Attention spans on TikTok are short, so you need to hook viewers right away with eye-catching visuals or an intriguing message.
• Use sound and music to your advantage. 88% of TikTok users say that sound is essential to their experience on the app. Find ways to make audio engaging and ensure your video makes sense even with sound off.
• Feature real TikTok creators. Ads that show regular users tend to perform better than professionally produced content on TikTok. Consider partnering with influencers who can bring an authentic voice to your campaign.
• Provide value and tell a story. Rather than going directly for the hard sell, create ads that are entertaining, inspiring or educational. Use storytelling principles to create an emotional connection.
• Test, learn and optimize. Keep a pulse on what‘s trending on TikTok and don‘t be afraid to experiment with new creative approaches. Closely monitor your campaign performance and iterate based on audience feedback.

Navigating TikTok‘s Challenges

TikTok‘s explosive growth has also brought growing pains. As with any user-generated content platform, brand safety is an ongoing concern on TikTok. The app has drawn criticism for its content moderation practices, particularly around child safeguarding and misinformation.

In 2019, TikTok paid a $5.7 million fine to the FTC over allegations that it illegally collected personal information from children. The company has since made efforts to improve its safety features and moderation policies. However, the high volume and real-time nature of TikTok content means the platform still faces risks.

For marketers, this means carefully vetting any influencers or trends you engage with. Regularly monitor your comment sections and branded hashtags to ensure a positive experience. And have a crisis communication plan ready in case issues arise.

Another challenge for brands on TikTok is measuring real business impact. Because the app is still relatively new, analytics and attribution capabilities are not as robust as on other platforms. Many TikTok users are young and may not have as much direct purchasing power.

To determine your TikTok ROI, focus on metrics that indicate brand affinity and consideration, such as video completion rate, engagement rate, followers, website traffic and email sign-ups. Use surveys or promo codes to understand if your TikTok presence is driving offline actions. Over time, stronger measurement solutions are likely to emerge.

Getting Started on TikTok

If your brand is ready to dive into TikTok, start by familiarizing yourself with the app as a user. Explore the For You page, interact with videos and follow some popular creators and hashtags. Take note of any content that naturally aligns with your brand‘s values or aesthetic.

Before posting anything, define what role TikTok will play in your overall marketing strategy. Are you looking to increase brand awareness, drive traffic, showcase products or cultivate community? Reverse-engineer your approach from those big-picture objectives.

Next, determine what kinds of content you‘ll create and how you‘ll create it. On TikTok, lo-fi is often better than high production value. Most users are creating videos straight from their mobile devices. Consider shooting content in-house or partnering with influencers who know the platform well.

Keep a close eye on your TikTok analytics to see what‘s resonating. Don‘t be discouraged if your early videos don‘t take off. It can take some experimentation to find your groove on this fast-paced app. Stay flexible and treat your TikTok presence as an ongoing learning experience.

The Future of Short-Form Video

TikTok‘s massive popularity has accelerated the rise of bite-sized video content across the social media landscape. In August 2020, Instagram launched its TikTok clone, Reels, in 50 countries. YouTube, Snapchat and other platforms have also been doubling down on short-form video features.

TikTok, for its part, is working to mature and monetize its platform. The app has been expanding its e-commerce capabilities, including integration with Shopify and in-app purchasing for products shown in livestreams or videos. TikTok is also exploring longer-form content, having expanded the maximum video length to three minutes.

As short video becomes a fixture of social media culture, marketers will need to adapt their content strategies to keep pace. Snackable video formats require a different approach than the polished, curated aesthetic that might perform well on Instagram or YouTube. Timeliness is crucial, as is an ability to tap into the unique energy of each app.

At the same time, TikTok‘s success points to a larger evolution in how people want to consume and create content on social media. Users are hungry for realism and community more than picture-perfect projections. Entertainment value is paramount. And collaborative, participatory content – whether that‘s adding to an existing sound clip or putting your own twist on a trend – is hugely appealing.

Understanding and harnessing these drivers will be key for marketers in 2024 and beyond. Brands that can bring genuine creativity, quick wit and openness to platforms like TikTok will be well positioned to connect with the next generation of consumers. The bar for social media marketing is higher than ever, but the potential rewards are also greater for companies that are willing to think differently.

As daunting as TikTok may seem to marketers who are used to more traditional social platforms, the fundamentals still apply. Know your audience. Be authentic to your brand values. And always strive to add value, whether that‘s through humor, inspiration, education or utility.

At its core, TikTok is a place for joy, connection and creativity. Embrace those elements in your marketing, and you‘ll be on your way to making a real impact.