As it is still a new platform, now is an opportunity for advertisers to scale TikTok ads and customer acquisition with TikTok advertising. Since we specialize in social media marketing, including TikTok ads, we recognize it’s not so easy for some marketers to get a handle on what makes TikTok tick.
We’ll begin by covering the most interesting statistics that show why TikTok is a must-have social channel in 2021 and beyond.
TikTok by the numbers – it’s all about Gen-Z
TikTok’s user statistics speak for themselves. In 2018, the company reported that it had 500 million monthly active users. Today this figure is as high as 800 million users and growing, no small feat for any social media application, let alone a relatively new one. TikTok has been downloaded more than 1.5 billion times over the last decade. Users who downloaded the app in 2019 account for more 44% alone, and it was the fourth-most installed app in the iOS App Store and the Google Play Store combined.
Demographic statistics on TikTok are just as noteworthy, specifically when it comes to marketing to Gen-Z. According to Reuters, about 60% of US TikTok users are below the age of 24. If your business serves this age group, TikTok should be a large part of your social media marketing. TikTok users average 45 minutes per day on the app for all age groups, which translates into a windfall of profitability for TikTok. The company reported $176.9 million in revenue in 2019, and that’s not including a substantive part of the Chinese market for TikTok.
TikTok is all about Gen-Z, but we foresee the app growing in popularity with older demographics as well. Facebook and Instagram followed similar patterns, appealing to younger demographics before the platforms lost their “cool” and brought in Gen-X users and Baby Boomers. No matter how you look at the numbers, it’s clear that TikTok has staying power in social media marketing. To prepare your company for the next wave of TikTok’s popularity, we’ve compiled a shortlist of ten TikTok advertising strategies for customer acquisition at scale. Here’s what marketers can do to have the most success in TikTok:
1. Invest in Brand Takeover ads to reach millions
TikTok features four main types of ad campaigns. The Brand Takeover is arguably the most beneficial campaign if you can afford it, as it is the most expensive ad placement on TikTok. A Brand Takeover is an ad that pops up as the first content the user sees upon opening the app. This gives marketers a wave of exposure, but the price of admission might exclude smaller organizations.
Only one advertiser can purchase a Brand Takeover per category per day. Key performance indicators during a campaign are impressions, clicks, and unique reach. The unique reach of a Brand Takeover can top several million in just one day with the right ad targeting.
2. Get your key message out early
According to report by TikTok, over 63% of all videos with the highest click-through rate (CTR) highlight their key message or product within the first 3 seconds. So get straight to the point and keep it short and direct. But remember, TikTok users still value and yearn for a great story over anything else. Therefore, try to embed your message into an interesting and compelling narrative your audience can relate to.
3. Create Hashtag Challenges with clever calls to action
Our experience with TikTok shows that Hashtag Challenges are a huge part of the user experience, and one of the main reasons the app is so popular. Remember the ALS ice-bucket challenge a few years ago? What started as a silly way to get more clicks and shares snowballed into a global charitable cause.
Brands can prominently feature Hashtag Challenges on TikTok’s Discovery page. Sponsored challenges will appear at the top and encourage users to create and share their user-generated content. User-generated content can have enormous reach on TikTok. Hashtag Challenges are prime opportunities to perform split testing and see which challenges appeal to which target audiences.
Sponsored HashTag Challenges are great when combined with a Brand Takeover’s call-to-action. It’s all about leveraging TikTok’s high user engagement.
4. Sponsor a branded filter, effect, or lens
Branded effects, filters, and AR lenses are a bit more tricky. Depending on the complexity of the effect, it may cost you more, but the option is there. Social media apps, such as Instagram and Snapchat already feature branded filters, so the idea is viable. With TikTok, however, branded effects benefit from the app’s native video editing features.
Users can use the branded filters in their videos, ideally combined with a HashTag Challenge, and share the videos with other social media apps. Branded AR content costs less than a Brand Takeover campaign, but if you want a complex filter, you’ll need a bigger budget.
5. Ride on the latest trends
Since change is a constant phenomenon, the same is of trends. As they keep changing, you should always align your ads accordingly and ride on the latest. It is a given that great content on TikTok often revolves around trends, such as new effects, new editing styles or trending storylines, or music; hence, it’s a no brainer to take advantage of it. Referencing these trends in your ad can be a true performance driver as well as a natural conversation starter within the TikTok community. To scale up is to capitalize on trends by monitoring trending topics and assure fast production turnarounds.
6. Influence the influencers
Like other social networks, especially Instagram, influencers fuel the fire. The best part about TikTok users is that these influencers have an enormous number of followers and have impressive reach statistics. As part of their ad platform, TikTok provides custom influencer packages in any category. For companies on a strict budget, it may be more cost-effective to find the influencers yourself. The app allows you to search users, hashtags, and trends to see which influencers are moving the needle. It is so popular with Gen-Z that influencer marketing should be a part of any advertising mix on TikTok.
Another benefit of using an influencer-based strategy is that even unverified users can have a big following on the app. A custom influencer package on TikTok is a good way to get started but to grow at scale, you may need to get creative with how you find influencers on TikTok. Any account can go from a modest following to a viral following in a matter of weeks or even days. Data measurement and tracking are key to analyzing which influencers align best with your brand.
7. Engage TikTok creators
Owing to the fact that TikTok Creators are the best at what they do and are well informed about the trends on the platform, engaging them to run your ads will be a good idea with a fruitful outcome. According to TikTok’s data, Creators take the lead in creating amazing TikTok videos results in better-performing ads. Therefore, if you want to scale your ads further, it is advisable to leverage the expertise of some TikTok’s most successful Creators by signing up for the TikTok Creator Marketplace .
8. Harness the power of sound
Aside from the obvious visual component, TikTok is a sound-on experience. It is important to take full advantage of this and make music and sounds an essential part of your storytelling. To make this easy, there are thousands of commercially licensed tracks available on the platform. Also, try to include fast-paced tracks above 120 BPM, as these often drive a higher view-through rate (VTR) than other videos. Or you can take your creativity to another level by telling your story through music and sounds, either by re-contextualizing lyrics or literally interpreting them.
9. Shoot videos natively
When shooting your videos, ensure to use TikTok’s vertical full-screen experience and capturing 100% screen space by shooting in 9:16. According to TikToks, videos shot vertically have an average 25% higher 6-second watch-through rate. Consequently, while adopting this tip in shooting for TikTok, try to also have a balance between authentic-looking content that can blend with user-generated videos and an appealing advertising outlook.
10. Leverage on Automated Creative Optimization
While the afore-highlighted strategies are the most beneficial, what about businesses that don’t have a lot of time to spend on managing TikTok ads?
The solution, created by TikTok, is to leverage Automated Creative Optimization. This feature is primarily useful for companies that have a lot of rich media content. TikTok’s success arose from its unique AI algorithm, which allows marketers to benefit as well since the software chooses which video ads perform best. The key is to stay as native to the app as possible. While it’s feasible to upload the same video content for Instagram or YouTube, TikTok works best when you stick with the native features.
At JungleTopp Media, we specialize in social media advertising on Facebook/Instagram, Walmart, Instacart, Google, Amazon, and TikTok. These ten strategies can help you become familiar with TikTok Creative and scale TikTok ads, or you can contact us at any to learn more about our services.
