Why Tik Tok Is the Emerging Growth Marketing Channel of the 2020s
With a billion monthly active users from around the world, TikTok is growing to be one of the most popular social media platforms. While this massive user base may be in and of itself enough for brands to start using the platform, one must not overlook the fact that TikTok users spend an estimated $110 million per month, which makes it the top-grossing non-gaming app.
Now one may be skeptical about using TikTok for your business because the perception is that it is just for Gen-Zs. While the platform has a large concentration of younger users, the app is almost nearly as popular among young adults and middle-aged users.
As it stands, 25% of TikTok users are between 10 and 19 years old. Meanwhile, people in the 20-29 age group make up 22.4% of the platform’s user base. 30-39-year-olds make up 21.7% of the total TikTok audience.
What is more, you can find 20.3% of users between 40 and 49 years old, with the remaining 11% over the age of 50. So if your assumptions about the platform demographic have been keeping you away from using TikTok, these numbers show that the platform’s audience is much more diverse than you’d think, and that it may in fact be a tremendously underrated channel for generating revenue growth.
Since its inception in 2016, TikTok has amassed more than a billion users worldwide! In 2020 alone, the app was downloaded 850 million times.
What Makes TikTok a Potentially Viable Growth Marketing Tactic for Businesses Looking to Scale Their Revenues
Is TikTok the right platform for your business? Here are some quick stats :
More than 40% of US TikTok users are aged 20 through 39
When it comes to digital shopping, those aged 25 through 34 are the biggest consumers in the country
Adult users are starting to join TikTok too, with more than 20% of its users falling under the 40 to 49 age group
With the diversity of ages and the high volume of users, TikTok has quickly become an important part of marketing strategies for businesses around the world.
Best of all, TikTok has made developments within its platform to help business users make the most of it. As a brand or a creator, you can view an array of analytics about your content directly within the app. TikTok marketing analytics include:
Engagement statistics such as your total likes, profile views, video views, comments, and shares
Follower counts and analytics, including gains, losses, and demographics
Detailed analytics for each individual post, including likes, comments, and shares
Detailed analytics for live videos you’ve posted
Knowing more about how TikTok’s algorithm works is vital when it comes to creating content for your brand’s TikTok channel. Here are some algorithm facts:
TikTok’s algorithm categorizes content based on user interests, so it’s essential to get to know your audience
TikTok’s algorithm uses device settings, including language and location, to place local content in users’ feeds
Videos that include trending sounds and songs are more likely to be viewed by a larger audience
To ensure your content is seen, it’s important to choose a niche and stick to it. Take some time to view other videos within your niche and take note of those that are getting the most views and comments.
And of course, make sure that the videos you post are well-suited to your brand’s style and personality. If your brand is funny, make people laugh with your videos. If it’s fashion-forward, post videos that are classy and trendsetting.
Why might businesses want to consider TikTok as part of their strategic growth marketing playbook?
You may think that TikTok is all about challenges, pranks, and dance videos. While that’s not entirely false, there’s also a ton of opportunity in the entertainment content for brands to connect with their audience on a personal level.
Moreover, 47.4% of US TikTok users are below the age of 30, and over half of those users are teenagers. For brands targeting younger audiences, TikTok is a gold mine.
But even if your business is not targeting Gen Z customers, you can still benefit from establishing a presence on the platform.
Depending on your industry and niche, these young users will eventually grow up to become your target audience, with TikTok heavily influencing their desires, aspirations, and even purchase decisions. Plus, let’s not forget the fact that over 50% of TikTok users are still aged 30+, meaning there’s a potential untapped audience for your business on the platform now.
That said, here are some top benefits of using TikTok for business:
Increased brand awareness: TikTok offers multiple ways to spread the word about your brand. You can work with influencers, run various types of ads, and use features like hashtags and branded stickers to put your brand in the spotlight. Also, if you create entertaining and unique content, your videos have a high potential to go viral.
Enlarge your audience: TikTok has millions of users distributed across 140+ countries. It’s one of the best platforms to reach an international audience and grow your customer base. Plus, there’s always the added benefit of reaching exclusive TikTok users who don’t actively use any other social platforms.
Attract new customers: TikTok is all about creating authentic, engaging content that feels human and personal. This helps you build strong relationships with your audience and increases the chances of them turning into customers. Plus, if you hop on the right trend at the right time (or even better, start a trend) you may end up acquiring a lot of new customers.
What are some benefits of making Tiktok part of your Business’ Growth Marketing Funnel?
The majority of TikTok users are millennials. Thus, the platform presents a great opportunity for your business to connect with this key demographic in a fun and authentic way.
A TikTok study found that 37% of TikTok users instantly seek to buy a product upon discovering it. Thus, they’re interested in brands that create engaging content for their products.
So use TikTok for business to focus on creating videos that are creative, entertaining, and informative. It will help your business reach a new audience and build brand awareness.
Increases Conversion Rate
TikTok is popular because people are drawn to the platform’s creative and relatable content. TikTok for small businesses is a powerful marketing tool that can help them reach a wider audience and increase their conversion rate.
It allows you to showcase your products and services creatively and engagingly, which can instantly attract the viewers’ attention. For example, create short and to-the-point videos on your products’ USP while being creative to grab users’ attention. Encourage them to take action like sign up, check out, etc.
A TikTok study found that adding Calls to Action (CTAs) in TikTok video text can up conversion by 152%.
It is the perfect place for user-generated content
Millennials value authenticity over anything else. They are aware of the marketing tactics and thus will not fall for age-old concepts.In such a situation, user-generated content is the best way to build trust with your audience. TikTok is the biggest source of user-generated content and has the advantage of being the new kid on the block.
Even some popular video publishing platforms have been plagued by fake views for some time, leading to users having trust issues with what they see on these platforms. TikTok’s design helps drive content organically and encourages user-generated content through its challenge concept whenever possible.
The new product discovery platform
On TikTok, brands don’t necessarily have to rely on influencers or paid posts to woo consumers, as brands’ product-focused videos can parlay likes into shares and sales.
The app has become an important platform for product discovery, particularly in the beauty and skincare space. While brands with a following like Cerave and elf Cosmetics have generated surprise sales as a result of viral TikTok recommendations, using the video platform to go viral has proven successful for emerging brands as well.
Cosmetics brand Kaja Beauty provides another successful case. With product demos and by highlighting the brand’s unique stackable and colorful packaging, Kaja was able to build a sizable TikTok following without tapping into star creators or influencers.
How to Go About Developing a TikTok-Focused Growth Marketing Strategy
At first, the platform posed a challenge for some established brands to nail the correct tone. After years of honing a picture-perfect Instagram strategy, communicating in the meme-heavy language of TikTok was a much different beast. (Memes are a mainstay for the app and can help brands connect with their audience on the platform.)
There’s no shortcut to striking the right tone. “In terms of a general platform strategy, the best thing to do is to be a student of the app — watch what others are doing, discover what takes off, and, most importantly, create.
Artesana Soaps, an online business based in Arkansas, credits TikTok with helping the business succeed through the pandemic. Not only did its behind-the-scenes content boost sales, it helped the company grow and connect with a new generation of consumers.
The younger generations that compose much of the TikTok community require a lot of interaction, which is why the engaging features of the app have helped us to become successful on the app. For example, fans can duet with Artesana’s videos, ask questions in their own response videos, or start conversations in the comments.
Customer engagement such as this is of prime importance because you are showing your potential customer that, although we are not dealing face to face, they still are getting one-on-one service. For customers who cannot visit the store in person or for ecommerce stores that do not have a physical storefront or a retail presence, TikTok helps the owners provide descriptive sales content in the form of product demonstrations, Q&As and behind-the-scenes production videos. Taking it a step further, the Artesana team found success experimenting with ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) videos like soap cutting, which are popular among some users for the “tingly” or relaxing feeling they can create.
TikTok Tactics to Help Establish Proper Marketing Growth Fundamentals
Now that we’ve covered why you need to take your business on TikTok, let’s look at the different ways you can use the platform to its maximum potential
As a small business, you may be wondering if it’s worthwhile to create another social media profile on another app.
Considering that 92% of global TikTok users take action after watching a video and are 1.5x more likely to immediately go out and buy something they discovered on the platform, there is a real opportunity to really build your brand if you use the app.
The ideas mentioned above are valuable for large and small businesses alike, and you can leverage many of them without a large budget. However, there are specific content ideas that are relevant for small businesses, which we will now go over.
1. Share your origin story.
Sharing your small business’ unique origin story humanizes your business and helps you connect with your audience. They’ll clearly see how you came to be and why you care about what you offer, and your video can also be a source of inspiration for your followers starting their own business endeavors.
As mentioned before, TikTok viewers don’t demand high production value, so you can tell your story however you see fit.
As an example, Pierce Woodward uses TikTok to explain how his jewelry business, Brand Pierre, began its journey and grew into what it is today.
2. Highlight your production process.
Showing viewers what goes into creating what you offer is exciting because they’ll see how the things they care about come to be. It also shows the hard work, dedication, and care that goes into creating what you offer, demonstrating your commitment to giving value to your customers.
Victoria Adrian is a textile artist who creates custom rugs and embroidery projects. She frequently shares her production process on TikTok, displaying the care and thought that goes into creating her products.
3. Use trending sounds and hashtags.
Using trending sounds and hashtags helps you build brand awareness for your small business as your videos are visible to a broad audience. People browsing through the sound or hashtag will see all of the different videos that were uploaded and have the potential to land on your video, click on your profile, and learn more about what you offer.
4. Duet and stitch videos.
Duets and Stitches are ways to build on existing TikTok videos. With Duets, you add on to another user's existing video, and with Stitch, you clip specific scenes from another user’s video to add to your video.
As a small business, using these native TikTok features allows you to engage with existing related content and incite conversation with your audience. You can Stitch and Duet videos from anyone on the platform with the feature enabled, so you can even begin conversations with users that may not know you exist.
Jeeves expertly uses the stitch feature to answer audience questions. The video below is a stitch from a video where someone asks how to take care of an item of clothing.
5. Partner with relevant content creators.
Partnering with content creators or influencers helps you gain exposure to a new audience relevant to what your business offers. By working with a content creator, you’re also benefiting from the trust they’ve built with their audience that the products, services, and businesses they work with and use are trustworthy and worth doing business with.
About Time Coffee in New York City partnered with a group of sisters, Sister Snacking, who are influencers in the New York Food scene. The business posted the video to its profile, and so did Sister Snacking, featuring some of the store's products to their audience of 147.6K followers.
6. Showcase what makes your business shine.
A great way to get people excited about what your small business offers is to showcase how well you do what you are reputed to do. This shows viewers exactly what they can expect from you, generating excitement and maybe helping people decide to work with you based on your expertise.
The Pool Guy, Miles Laflin, is a swimming pool engineer in the UK who often posts videos of the pool cleaning process and the effectiveness of his work. He shows a before and after picture that clearly demonstrates how he brings pools from green and swampy to clear and ready for swimming. He shows that he’s good at his job, alerting potential customers he can bring their pool back to life.
5. Create product campaigns and tease new launches.
Running product campaigns or teasing upcoming launches on TikTok can help you generate excitement. Viewers know that they can expect a big reveal on your page, and they’ll be waiting on the edge of their seats and returning to your profile to see if you’ve released more information.
A great pro tip here would be to combine a product campaign or launch with a related and relevant sound or hashtag to get more visibility from users scrolling through current trends.
6. Share a unique business story.
Sharing a narrative story about your business is an engaging way to connect with your audience, as these videos represent something that they can only find in your business. For example, customer spotlights or success stories, explaining the lifecycle of your products or services, or an exciting story about related industry news all uniquely relate to your business and what you offer.
One of the great things about TikTok is that audiences don’t expect high production value from videos, so you can simply generate an idea, turn on the camera, and start filming.
7. Answer audience questions.
Answering questions is a great way to connect with your audience and build relationships. TikTokers often ask questions without being prompted, so you can browse your comments and create video replies to questions or leverage TikTok’s native Q&A feature.
A bonus is that answering questions gives you insight into customers’ troubles with your business. If you see the same asks repeatedly, you might learn that you need to update your FAQ page or provide additional information about specific topics on your website.
As an example, Franziska, the founder of Glass Half Full, answers comments in videos that deal with the best business practices when it comes to throwing products away.
8. Product Demonstrations
Product demonstrations help your audience learn how to use your products in a digestible way. Instead of reading an instruction manual and deciphering pictures or being walked through the process over the phone, they can actually watch someone take the steps and follow along.
9. Partner with relevant influencers.
Influencers have audiences that trust them and their values, so partnering with one related to your niche is a valuable tool for generating brand awareness and building your following on TikTok. These partnerships are also valuable social proof for viewers, which is a big factor in purchasing decisions.
While you certainly can post influencer content to your profile, you can also have influencers share content on their profiles to expose you to a new audience group.
10. Set up Shopify
Shopify gives you the opportunity to link products featured in your TikTok videos. This means your audience has the ability to shop for your products or services similar to what Pinterest offers without leaving the app. Ultimately this means an increase in sales!
How to Get Started with TikTok advertising
One of the benefits of setting up ads on TikTok is the fact that you are advertising to a very engaged community. Whether you are a restaurant, a clothing brand, a cafe, or a tech company, there is a place for you on TikTok to increase the visibility of your products or services. With TikTok's daily and dynamic trends, popular music, TikTok live, hashtag challenges, trendy dances, stitches, and even duets, advertisers have an endless supply of trends to capitalize on for the greatest exposure. Of course, more exposure ultimately leads to increased sales.
This is all you have to do in order to increase sales with TikTok. But ultimately, if your content is not engaging your audience it might not drive the results you want. Does your audience like, comment & share the content you create? Do they watch the videos you posted until the end? These are keys to recognizing if your ads or if your content in general are getting noticed, which can be a springboard for sales.
In-Feed Ads:
In-feed ads are native ones that support enhancing your engagement. It allows all TikTok users to view, like, and share the videos with others. So, selecting such ads to create awareness will support your growth quickly.
Brand Takeover Ads:
These ads pop up when a user opens the TikTok app. It will be displayed with a clickable link and drives more traffic. Above all, it creates awareness and helps to reach the target audience quickly.
Top-Viewed Ads:
One of the excellent ways to increase your brand’s exposure is to run top-viewed ads. However, it is more effective to reach a wider audience. So, take advantage and achieve success.
Write Compelling Captions
Captions play a vital role in TikTok marketing and increase views. If you are a new marketer who wants to make your brand get noticed by global users, write good captions. An increasing number of users watch TikTok videos without turning on the sounds. Therefore captions will help you a lot with garnering (and keeping ) attention for your business.
TikTok: An Emerging Marketing Channel to Consider for Your Growth Marketing Funnel
TikTok is here to stay and will continue to grow. If you’re still not using it for your business, you’re missing out on tons of potential brand awareness, revenue, and engagement.
Now that you know what is involved in creating an efficient TikTok marketing strategy that is tailored to your business, you are one step away from learning how to go about leveraging this incredible social media channel in order to generate greater sales and conversions for your business.
Looking for additional guidance? Work with our TikTok marketing experts in order to supercharge the possibilities that TikTok holds for your growth-focused business.
While you are at, why not schedule a free no obligation growth marketing consultation with our team in order to assess your current marketing strategy as it pertains to your revenue growth? We look forward to getting to know you.