Can we just take a moment to ponder how such a simple social network platform as TikTok has become of major importance in our daily lives so quickly? The platform has only been around for two years (three years in the Chinese market). Most social media platforms have required over a decade to reach global fame and popularity.
Mark Zuckerberg and his Harvard University colleagues founded Facebook in 2004, i.e., fifteen years ago. Evan Williams, Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, and Biz Stone founded Twitter thirteen years ago (2006).
TikTok is the world’s fastest-growing social media app. During its very short life, it has accumulated over 500 million active users globally. It is surpassed only by Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
So, What Exactly is TikTok?
TikTok is a unique social platform app that allows you to record, edit, or lip-sync short videos. Most of the videos are about 3 to 60 seconds long. You can then share them on the open platform. If you like what somebody has shared with you, you can follow them, and vice-versa.
In addition to just creating and sharing simple and casual video clips, gaining followers is another key aspect of TikTok. Most users are currently using TikTok as a casual way of having fun and gaining more followers to become ‘famous.’
For business owners, TikTok offers fantastic potential. Thanks to its features, it can dramatically transform your whole digital marketing strategy. Digital marketing refers to the marketing of goods and services through digital technologies. In most cases, it means Internet marketing but may also include strategies using smartphones, display advertising, and other digital media.
How can TikTok Help with My Business setup or Growth?
When Mark Zuckerberg first introduced Facebook, the simple concept was to bring people closer together on a global scale. It was a mechanism for keeping in touch with old friends.
However, as the platform gradually evolved into a giant market, users started utilizing it to promote their products or services. Today, social media marketing is a multi-billion dollar business. Thousands of companies invest significant sums in social media marketing to boost sales, brand recognition and interact with customers and prospects. A prospect is a consumer who might turn into a customer.
The best known social media platforms worldwide today are Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger, WeChat, Instagram, Twitter, QQ, Tumblr, Instagram, Qzone, TikTok, Sina Weibo, Reddit, and Baidu Tieba.
The concept of utilizing TikTok for your business promotion is identical to such traditional mechanisms, but with a unique and creative twist. TikTok, unlike other traditional social media platforms, allows you to explore your creative and fun elements with limitless boundaries. Users can utilize TikTok to either just joke around or to boost their company’s sales.
TikTok – Types of Advertising Formats
Let’s look at TikTok’s four main types of advertising formats:
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Infeed Native Content
If you have ever posted ads on Snapchat or Instagram, this type of infeed native content will be familiar. It is very similar to normal full-screen ads that are usually skippable. The video ad can be 9-15 seconds long depending on your content.
You can determine how effective your advertising campaign has been either by monitoring the duration of play or the number of clicks.
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#Hastag Challenges
Another very familiar and success-proven method of promoting your product on TikTok is to initiate a hashtag challenge. The hashtag will contain the source website and enable clickers to view your main product. This means of ad promotion is best for small businesses, especially if you want to get people talking about your product, i.e., word-of-mouth exposure.
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Brand takeovers
Brand takeovers involve taking control of the app for a day. You can create GIFs, videos, or images and link them to your business website. You can also incorporate #hashtag challenges within the content. For best results, make sure your content is informative, interesting, engaging, and distinctive.
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Branded lenses
This is a fun way of promoting your business where you can create branded lenses and help other users to filter their videos. Another simple yet very rewarding prospect if you can pull it off.
Making your brand promotion work on TikTok
Below are some key elements you should bear in mind before you begin your marketing campaign:
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Content quality
In marketing, you should never underestimate the value of content quality. Remember the phrase: ‘Content is King!’ Whatever method of supported advertisements you decide to implement, their success will depend on how unique and engaging your video content is.
Focus on creating quirky and unique content, but don’t forget to make it fun and engaging at the same time. You will then more likely generate a good CTR (click-through rate).
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Number of followers
Leaving everything aside, your number of followers DOES matter. All your effort to get everything right will be pointless if you do not have enough people to share it with. Building up a large following requires time and effort. However, there are specialist firms that can do this for you. Lionelarnaudie can provide your business with a simple and unconventional method of gaining bulk followers.
Interesting Related Article: “Everything you need to know about TikTok and other social media websites“