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How to Utilize TikTok for Marketing – Organic and Paid
TikTok has rapidly gained popularity, particularly among the younger demographic. It was the most downloaded app of 2020 and currently boasts around one billion active users worldwide.
Marketing on TikTok has many advantages, including opportunities for creators to participate in your advertising, making the platform highly interactive, and various straightforward strategies for growing your following organically.
If you’re looking for cost-effective ways to promote your brand on TikTok, we’ve compiled a list of tips for organic marketing, as well as some paid options.
Organic Methods
#1. Optimize Your Profile
To reach TikTok users organically and grow your audience on the app, it’s important to make your page visible and stand out (ideally in the “top row” of TikTok). To achieve this, ensure that your profile is set up optimally by using an attractive profile picture, providing a brief description of your brand, incorporating emojis, and including a call-to-action. To drive traffic and guide users to your website, include a link from your bio to a landing page or company website. Keep in mind, you will need to have a business account to do this, and you can add your website by editing your profile.
#2. Produce Compelling and Valuable Content
TikTok prioritizes user experience and promotes content that is engaging and entertaining. The algorithm gives new users an opportunity for their content to go viral – as long as viewers enjoy it, regardless of the number of followers you have, you can still get millions of views.
Therefore, grow your following organically by producing unique, engaging, and valuable content that resonates with the TikTok audience. TikTok users are highly visual, so it’s essential to create content that grabs their attention and motivates them to share it with others. Examples of engaging content include challenges, polls, and quizzes, as well as videos that showcase your brand in a positive light.
#3. Surveys
Surveys are an excellent way to obtain feedback from your audience and gather valuable information about them. You can use polls to gather data such as their age range, gender, location, interests, and preferences- all of which can be very useful when creating content.
When creating a poll, you have the option of using TikTok Polls or hosting the poll on another platform and sharing it on TikTok. If you want to create a poll that reaches a wide audience, hosting the poll on TikTok is the best option as it gives you the option to promote it. To create a poll, click on “poll” and input your question. Then click “promote” and select the TikTok channels you want to host your poll on. TikTok will then share your poll on those channels
#4. Add CTAs in Your Videos
Another effective method for reaching TikTok users organically is by including a call-to-action in your videos. Ensure that it’s brief and straightforward. Additionally, TikTok videos have a “tile” or a prominent image at the top of the video, which is another area to include your CTA.
#5. Hashtags
Hashtags on TikTok function similarly to hashtags on Instagram or Twitter, making your videos more discoverable and attracting potential customers. They’re an effortless way to help people who are already interested in the topic find your videos more easily, so it’s wise to use them. Use hashtags that are related to the primary topic of your video.
Another advantage of hashtags is that they aid in competitor research. By using hashtags, you can uncover competitors you weren’t aware of and research the essential hashtags for your industry, then compare your performance with theirs. They also offer inspiration for content creation and the chance to capitalize on trending topics.
#6. Effects
Branded effects refer to assets such as filters and stickers that users can incorporate into their content. They can also be included in your branded hashtag challenges. Since they require participation from the user, they are highly interactive.
#7. Live Videos
Live streaming has grown in popularity in recent years and has been shown to be a successful marketing tactic. It enables you to connect with your audience and address their comments in real-time. Additionally, it helps establish a relationship and trust between your brand and audience and offers them a personalized experience.
Paid Methods
#1. Ads
TikTok ads can come in the form of videos, photos, or text-only (not surprisingly, video is the most common format). The different types of video ads include:
Pre-roll: These ads are displayed before a user starts watching a video. They should be visually attractive to capture the viewer’s attention.
Mid-roll: These ads are played during the middle of a video. They don’t have to be as visually appealing, and their purpose is to provide information about the product being advertised.
In-feed: These videos appear in users’ “For You” page, like regular videos from accounts they follow. They can be up to 60 seconds long and users can like, share, and comment on these ads.
TopView: These ads appear at the top of the “For You” feed. They can be up to 60 seconds long and, due to their unmissable nature, they’re great for increasing brand awareness.
Brand takeover ads: These are full-screen ads that appear for a few seconds when users open the app. They can be up to 15 seconds long and a user will only see one of these ads per day.
TikTok ads can also take the form of sponsored posts and sponsored channels. Sponsored posts are similar to mid-roll ads, but they can also contain text-based content.
#2. Branded Hashtag Challenges
A branded hashtag challenge is when a company creates a specific hashtag and encourages their followers to post unique content using that hashtag. These challenges not only increase reach in terms of numbers, but also in the quality, as users will be emotionally invested in the interaction. To motivate them further, you can offer prizes for the best videos. To gather ideas, look at examples of TikTok challenges created by other businesses.
#3. Live Video Ads
Live video ads offer the same advantages I previously discussed about live video in general. These ads are easy to create – log in to your account, go to the “Advertise” tab, and click “Start Now” next to “Live Video”. You can also choose an “end date” and “budget” to manage your campaign accordingly. After setting up your campaign, you can share your live video ad on TikTok by selecting your target audience and clicking “share”.
#4. Spark Ads
One of the great benefits of using Spark ads is the ability to utilize not just your own content, but also the content of other users who mention your brand. This is advantageous because it provides added credibility through social proof – when people see others using a company’s product, it can be highly persuasive, more so than the company promoting their own product. This is evident in the statistics.
#5. Influencers
Look for individuals who can assist in promoting your brand. Some suggestions to consider include:
Ensure that your objective for utilizing influencers is specific and quantifiable. For instance, if the goal is to boost brand recognition, measure the number of views on an influencer’s post about your product and compare it with a control group.
Select influencers that align with your target audience to ensure that their followers have an interest in your brand.
Collaborate with influencers who have a positive relationship with their followers, as they are more likely to trust the influencer’s recommendation and consider buying your product.
Be transparent about what you expect from the influencer and what they will receive in return, to ensure that both parties understand the partnership and that it is mutually beneficial.
Monitor the campaign closely and make adjustments as necessary, including evaluating its performance and the influencer’s adherence to expectations.
The TikTok Creator Marketplace is available to aid in finding individuals for collaborations. With the ability to work together on paid projects, it is an ideal platform for creative individuals to join forces and produce exceptional content.
#6. Sponsored Stickers
TikTok has an inbuilt function where brands can design their own stickers for users to include in their TikTok posts. Sponsored stickers are an inexpensive way to promote your brand, interact with your audience and reach new customers naturally. Brands can create multiple stickers to appeal to different users, and even include call-to-actions on the stickers.
Conclusion
In conclusion, TikTok has a vast and varied audience making it a prime location to experiment with new marketing techniques. There are various methods to market on TikTok, and the most effective way to determine which one suits your brand is to try different approaches.
To reach TikTok users organically and expand your presence on the app, it is crucial to make sure that your page is visible. Once your page is set up, you can begin growing your audience organically by creating unique and engaging content that appeals to the TikTok audience.
TikTok users are highly visual, so it is essential to create content that captures their attention and encourages them to share it with others. Involving them in the content creation process through challenges and collaborations provides an opportunity for creative expression, increasing their emotional connection to your brand.
