20 MIN READ
Did you know that TikTok is the first non-facebook mobile app to reach 3 billion downloads globally?
With the pandemic keeping many people at home, TikTok has emerged as the most popular go-to-platform for entertainment content. The success of the app has drawn the interest of brands and marketers around the globe.
The pandemic has also impacted the social media landscape in Singapore. More brands are hopping on the TikTok bandwagon and starting to leverage on this expanding network by incorporating TikTok into their digital marketing strategy to gain much-needed exposure.
Below are the four reasons businesses should include TikTok as a part of their marketing strategy to take their business to the next level.
Why TikTok Marketing?
Huge & Growing Audience
Singapore has roughly 1.87 million TikTok users, this accounts for about 30% of the country’s total population.
There is no doubt that Gen Zs and millennials are conquering TikTok, but a common misconception about the platform is that all the TikTok users are within the age range of 16 to 24 years old. TikTok statistics shows that this platform is gaining popularity amongst people of older age. For instance, Singapore has a high number of TikTok followers ranging from 25 to 35 years old.
Hence, with the growing user base, we cannot deny that using TikTok for digital marketing holds a lot of untapped potential for success.
2. High Chance Of Going Viral (Without Spending Any Money on Ad Buy)
TikTok collates content for its users in a new and unique way. The TikTok algorithm pushes all videos, irrespective of who posts them, to its interested users. Unlike most social media platforms, which decide what content to serve based on the creator’s popularity, TikTok has confirmed that follower count does not directly influence what content shows up on the feed.
So if your videos are highly engaging, there’s a very high chance that your video can go viral without spending any money on ads.
3. TikTok Influencers
Unlike other social media platforms, TikTok sponsored posts appear more native and less salesy. TikTok influencers are given more freedom to be creative and add personalized flair in an advertisement that resonates with their followers and looks native to the platform.
4. Diversified Yet Relevant Content
Indeed, popular TikTok posts generally fall into one of two categories: music or comedy. But TikTok has grown far beyond that. Educational videos for a wide range of industries such as beauty, parenting and photography are getting more popular on TikTok.
How to Promote Your Brand Through TikTok?
TikTok Ads
Similar to other social media platforms, TikTok also provides opportunities for advertisement.
TikTok offers five different kinds of ad products:
1. Brand Takeover Ad
Brand Takeover ads are TikTok ads that are shown on the app launch screen. Before landing on your “For You” pages and starting your daily scroll, you’ll be greeted with a brand takeover ad. This ad will either be a 3-second static image or a 3-5 second video without audio.
This ad format is best suited for awareness campaigns. However, TikTok will only show one Brand Takeover Ad to a user each day so advertisers should expect to pay premium prices for this spot.
You can also include a clickable link that directs users to an internal landing page (e.g. Hashtag challenge landing page) or as an external link to a landing page.
Pros
100% Share of Voice; Best suited for awareness campaigns
Cons
Not available on TikTok Ad Manager; Expensive
2. TopView Ad
TopView Ads are very similar to Brand Takeover Ads. The only difference is that TopView Ads will appear as a full-screen ad (with autoplay and sound on) at first but transits into a regular in-feed ad after 3s.
This ad format supports up to 60 seconds of full-screen and long-form video, with auto-play and sound.
Pros
50% share of voice; Support user engagement (e.g. like / comment / share)
Cons
Not available on TikTok ad manager; Can be skipped/scrolled past after 3s
3. In-Feed Ad
In-Feed Ad is a part of your daily “For You” feed. This ad format can run up to 60 seconds of video with sound and blends seamlessly into your scrolling and exploring.
Pros
Available on the TikTok Ad Manager; Ads can be seamlessly inserted into a user’s feed without being disruptive; Supports lower-funnel activities (e.g. product sales).
Cons
Can be scrolled past or skipped easily
4. Branded Hashtag Challenge
This format encourages user-generated content (UGC).
Users will participate in creating themed content that incorporates the branded hashtag. This content will then be compiled in a hashtag challenge page and can be viewed by others.
Pros
Highly engaging and interactive; encourages UGC
Cons
High barrier to entry due to the cost
5. Branded Effect
Similar to Instagram filters and Snapchat lenses, these special effects are created for users to engage and use on their videos.
Usually, Branded Effect is used together with Hashtag Challenges to add more fun and memorable interactions between your brand and users.
Pros
Fun and interactive; Encourages UGC and drive brand engagement.
Cons
Costly; Difficult to tie to lower-funnel activities.
TikTok Influencer Marketing
TikTok Creators are sensitive to what’s hot and what’s not on TikTok. According to TikTok, letting creators take the lead in creating TikTok videos results in better-performing ads.
Nevertheless, choosing the right TikTok influencer could be the hardest part of getting into TikTok influencer marketing. You have to make sure the influencer you pick is in the right niche. If you want to boost your ads further by leveraging TikTok‘s creators, you can consider signing up for TikTok Creator Marketplace. TikTok Creator Marketplace is the official platform for brand and creator collaborations on TikTok. Through this platform, you are able to reach more than 1,000 high-quality creators across over 7 countries to boost your campaign and analyse creators’ performance with comprehensive metric analysis.
TikTok Creatives Best Practices
Creatives play an essential part in an advertising campaign. Attractive and engaging creatives act as the catalyst when building out high-performing ads. Below are 8 creatives best practices that you should follow when planning for the ad content.
1. Leverage the power of sound
The second you open TikTok, it’s a sound-on experience. So, make music and sounds an essential part of your content.
2. Get your key message out early
Videos with a high click-through rate (CTR) usually highlight their key message or product within the first 3 seconds. So get straight to the point and keep your content short and direct. But TikTok users still value a great story over anything else. So embed your message into a narrative your audience can relate to and expect to see on TikTok.
3. Ride on the latest trends
Great content on TikTok often revolves around trends, such as new effects, new editing styles or trending storylines. Referencing these trends in your ad can act as a natural conversation starter within the TikTok community.
4. Keep your story real and entertaining
Most of the best performing TikTok content managed to convey their stories in emotionally appealing ways. Great TikTok content often includes an undertone of lightheartedness and positivity.
5. Shoot natively for TikTok
Use TikTok’s vertical full-screen experience and capture 100% screen space by shooting in 9:16. When shooting for TikTok, try to balance between authentic-looking content that can live in between user-generated videos and a polished advertising look.
6. Break the fourth wall
What makes TikTok content truly unique is creators addressing the community directly. Make your content a dialogue by asking questions and provoking reactions from the audience.
7. Overlay concise and informative text
Stories on TikTok are told in fast-paced, visual ways. Text overlays in your videos can help the audience to understand your content better.
8. Include a strong call-to-action
TikTok has a range of call-to-action buttons ready to be deployed for auction ads. Keep your call-to-action short and use personal, direct language.
So Is TikTok Suitable for Your Business?
The perks of TikTok seem to be rather attractive, but is it the best channel to promote your business?
Here are the 4 factors you should consider before jumping onto the trend:
- Is your target audience on TikTok?
- Is the product/service that your brand is promoting best presented through videos?
- Is your brand suitable to be promoted in light-hearted content?
- Does your company have the resources and ability to create original and engaging content?
If you answered yes to all of these questions, TikTok is a highly suitable platform for your brand to jump on.
Key Takeaways
Despite being a new platform, TikTok is undoubtedly one of the leading social media platforms today. More businesses in Singapore are hopping on the TikTok bandwagon and have achieved successful results with TikTok marketing. Check out our article on 7 Successful Singapore Businesses on TikTok.
Although the perks of TikTok marketing seem rather attractive, businesses should keep in mind that establishing a successful presence on any new platform takes careful planning and resources. Interested to know more about TikTok and how you can leverage TikTok Marketing to promote your business? Contact Hashmeta
