TikTok is the hottest social network for smartphones in 2022.
TikTok was founded in 2016 and has become one of the most used social media in the world among 18-24 year old who account for about 80% of users.
Find out in this article what TikTok is, why it is appropriate that you bet on TikTok to succeed in your digital strategy, what are the winning digital marketing strategies on TikTok, and what are the different advertising formats. Finally, we will give you an example of a winning strategy on TikTok.
Why use TikTok in your digital marketing strategy?
Just like its competitors Facebook and Instagram, TikTok did not hesitate to become an advertising platform for brands. The digital network has thus made available to companies a professional space where they can publish their ads to be added to the users’ feed. The success was not long to come; already in 2019, the investments to launch ads on TikTok reached one billion dollars!
With 1.7 billion downloads of the app, brands have understood the importance of this platform in their digital marketing strategy. On the increasingly trendy platform, they can show a more human side and get closer to their potential customers in an informal way.
Brands such as Nike or Bershka have understood this and use TikTok to communicate with their customers through influencers and ambassadors who convey a positive image for these brands.
It is the platform par excellence for companies that target an audience under 35 years old which can generate thousands, sometimes millions of views and gain visibility.
The type of publication on TikTok
TikTok allows users to create and share short videos, ranging from 15 to 180 seconds in length, to which they can add filters, stickers, and cool effects such as slow-motion or speed-up.
For example, TikTok users share videos about their daily lives or dances accompanied by music. They also create videos with their own voices, or voices of famous movie characters or actors, or sing in playback.
They can also create choreographies or skits. On TikTok, users challenge each other as well. It is definitely a trendy and fun social network that is addictive!
The choice of the music that accompanies the videos is also very important! Indeed, TikTokers can search for the music used in a video and see all those that have been created with this same music. By using popular music, you increase the chances that your video will be massively viewed and goes viral.
Winning marketing strategies on TikTok in 2022
There are many ways to promote your brand on TikTok. We have selected some of the most impactful ones:
- Launching challenges with hashtags
As a brand, you will encourage users to create content in the form of a fun video related to your brand, service, or product. You’ll ask users to include your brand name in the hashtag. This is a fun and effective challenge to promote your brand, grow your community and create engagement among your audience. Your brand can quickly go viral!
- Partner with well-known influencers
By reaching out to famous influencers on the TikTok platform who are aligned with your brand, you greatly increase your chances of getting your brand in front of your target audience. Make sure that the influencer(s) you select are in line with your brand’s values and that their community is likely to be interested in you.
This way, you can quickly increase your visibility and grow your community on the social network. Moreover, thanks to your professional access, you can follow the engagement rate of your audience.
- Advertise on TikTok!
Since 2020, TikTok gives brands the possibility to advertise directly from the platform. Like on other social networks, these ads appear in the users’ feed.
The content of ads on TikTok must be original, visually appealing, and fun, in line with the philosophy of the platform. Note that on TikTok, more “serious” and professional ads will have less chance to have the desired effect. Subscribers want to see spontaneous and fun content.
The different advertising formats on TikTok
There are several types of formats to advertise on TikTok. Here are the most engaging formats to consider:
- The in-feed videos: You create videos of about 15 seconds with which you encourage users to do an action directly related to your brand, service, or product (e.g. invite users to visit your website or download your app).
- Brand Takeover: as soon as a user opens their app, your ad is displayed on full screen. Use this technique when you want to increase your notoriety, and promote an offer or a product.
- The Hashtag challenge: We already talked about it above. This is the most popular TikTok challenge. It consists in engaging your community to take up a challenge for several consecutive days by asking them to create content and Hashtags that define you.
- Top view: in short, you combine the strategy of in-feed videos and brand takeover: your videos first appear on full screen for 24 hours and then go into the user’s feed.
- Branded effects: you can add 3D objects or effects, masks, stickers, or filters to users’ videos. The goal is to increase their engagement with your brand.
Example of winning strategies on Tik Tok
We have selected a successful example of advertising on Tiktok.
With more than 40% of car owners among TikTokers from generations Y and Z, Mercedes Benz chose to challenge them with the Hashtag Challenge #MBStarChallenge in Germany and the UK.
The challenge for the TikTokers was to create short videos with the theme of redesigning the Mercedes-Benz logo. The winning videos would then be presented on all official brand channels.
The success was not long to come! 73’000 TikTokers took up the challenge and created 185’000 videos! Thanks to the Hashtag Challenge strategy, Mercedes-Benz generated more than 180 million views on both markets and more than 30,000 new subscriptions to its profile. In addition, Mercedes-Benz conducted a market study on TikTok and the result was as good as the challenge: brand preference increased by 15.7%!
As you can see, TikTok has become THE social network on which to launch without further delay if you want to promote your brand to generations Y and Z. Are you ready to jump in and create fun and offbeat advertising content that can go viral?
Our experts at Eminence, your digital marketing agency in Geneva, are at your service to guide you. Follow the guide! Contact us here: