How are brands using TikTok to reach new audiences?

TikTok may be a young app, but it already has overthrown platforms like Snapchat. The new app (that allows users to create videos, adding music and special effects) registers over 500 million monthly active users. The app was designed to address Millennials and Gen-Z individuals, but because of its booming success, brands have also started to register and produce content. And according to HubSpot, more companies should use TikTok because the platform is filled with opportunities for organisations from all industries. And now that the app added new advertising and hyperlinking capabilities for businesses, there’s no reason to ignore its existence.

TikTok videos can be up to 15 seconds long, and users can connect more clips for up to 60 seconds of recording. It’s more than enough for a brand that wants to deliver a message through a video. The app also allows them to upload longer videos if they record them outside the app. TikTok also has a live-streaming option for the organisations that want to make a bold statement and offer their clients a glimpse at their operations.

On TikTok, everything happens fast and takes colossal proportions overnight. It takes users less than a half of year to grow millions of followers and gain thousands of dollars. TikTok influencers are achieving what their Instagram tiers took years and hard work to do. It’s surprising for companies to find out that the solution to attracting more clients is using an app; people over 25 years avoid to use. But with new members joining the app daily, it seems that it holds the key to success for the brands that dare to engage in a pioneering activity.

How are brands using TikTok

The brands that use TikTok don’t play by the rules

Most social media platforms have strict rules, and brands need to respect a formula if they want to be successful. They should post only unique curated content, create a unique brand, engage followers with relevant information, and collaborate with influencers to achieve nirvana. And then TikTok came and disrupted their formula. And it’s frustrating for a platform like Snapchat to see that a young app breaks all rules and still gets millions of users.

Most users are indeed Gen-Zers, but it shouldn’t scare brands from using it because the platform ensures its users, it provides democratised content. Brands don’t even need thousands of followers to land on their public’s For You Page (the equivalent for Instagram’s Explore section). All users have a shot the For You Page to feature their videos. If you check the suggestions, you’ll quickly notice that the developers seem to encourage people to try less if they want to engage the public.

The videos with less directing behind are the most successful because TikTok users like natural reactions. A single song can bring together people from different sectors. Comedians, musicians, doctors, firefighters, and even warlocks use the same sound to create videos.

TikTok has its language, and the community supports everyone to use their creativity and share content with the world. For weeks, brands and individuals used Doja Cat’s song to create dance videos and challenges.

Brands use it as a trend incubator

Brands would kill to be named the pioneers of specific trends. Nothing brings them more success than initiating a brand everyone is following. TikTok has an intuitive Ui that spreads content fast and far, and it powers it to become viral overnight. When using other social media platforms, businesses need to perform hashtag research to identify the phrases they need to include in their descriptions if they want to reach their target audience. But with TikTok, each video becomes a searchable, usable sound. When a user likes a tune, they can tap on the audio and discover countless videos with the same music.

Starting May 2020, TikTok restricted brands from using songs without holding the license, so now they either use one of the tunes the platform provides in its library or they pair their visual content with royalty-free songs like the ones from melodyloops.com. The app is acknowledging that people associate sounds with emotions, and they encourage brands to use music that stands for their values. In this context, it’s effortless for brands to start trends and for the public to identify the originator.

The beauty retailer e.l.f created a song called Eyes, Lips, Face and collaborated with TikTok influencers to generate buzz around their music. It didn’t take long users to feature the song in their videos and to draw attention toward the brand. At present, there are over 1,7 million TikTok videos that include the song and use the tag #eyeslipsface. No matter how interested someone is in using beauty products from e.l.f, the next time they will see a shelf filled with their products they’ll purchase at least one because the name with clearly come into their mind.

Victoria Secret is another brand that took TikTok to grow its customer base. The brand faced backlash for a long time because of its lack of inclusivity on its runaways, so it needed a new marketing tool to attract clients. They encouraged people to use the #pink2020 keyword, and they featured all the videos with the hashtag in a sponsored page, people could reach when they clicked on the hashtag. This is a common promotion method used on TikTok. When someone taps a sponsored hashtag, the platform redirects them to a page created to promote engagement beyond views. A single page offers multiple options; the user can follow the hashtag to receive related content on their homepage, learn more about the brand, or shop products.

The bottom line: often, new is good for business. There’s no reason for companies to ignore opportunities even if they ask to change their usual way of acting. The moment they pick to hop on trends can make the difference between a memorable and barely-known brand. The great thing about TikTok is that it suits all brands, no matter the values they want to promote and image they want to show. At present, this platform is the fastest-growing social app, with the power to create influencers overnight, and companies shouldn’t miss the opportunity to become the inspirational figures of their industry.

TikTok Influencers Report