So, you’ve finally wrapped your head around the app.
You know the difference between a stitch and a duet, you understand the power of a viral sound, and you know that a well-choreographed dance barely scrapes the surface of the content that fills your #FYP.
Now what?
Using TikTok for marketing purposes can either be the best thing for your brand or an absolute disaster depending on your approach. Besides their hatred of the side part and skinny jeans, Gen Z is pretty unforgiving when it comes to inauthentic marketing and see right through those failed attempts at going viral.
It’s not all bad though! The good news is that when done properly, TikTok has the potential to reach an incredible amount of people organically, quickly catapulting your brand in front of an engaged audience.
How To Use TikTok For Marketing Correctly
One word – authenticity.
People on TikTok aren’t as receptive to the ‘in your face’ ads that are common with Instagram or Facebook. The last thing they want is an obvious attempt at advertising breaking up their feed.
Whilst their recent deal with Shopify has launched the app into the social commerce realm, there is still a far less transactional feel to the platform, and this is the number one thing to keep in mind when creating your content.`
Gen Z has been described as the entrepreneurial generation and is much more likely to support smaller businesses. As we described in our blog about marketing to Gen Z (which you can check out here), this generation is socially conscious, innovative, and digitally savvy, meaning that for small businesses, TikTok is a goldmine of opportunity.
The smaller brands that are doing well are the ones who are being as genuine as possible. Brands that are showing off their work, sharing their story, and creating a relationship with their followers.
Fantastic examples we’ve seen of small brands using the platform right include, utilising the duet feature to communicate with their audience, snappy and quick behind the scenes sneak peeks, and jumping on a viral trend, quickly!
It’s important to remember that your content should be just that – content. Trying to use traditional advertising techniques on an audience immune to traditional advertising will not only be a waste of time, but also a waste of money.
What Not To Do On TikTok
Just as important as the things you should be doing, are the things that should be avoided at all costs.
Talking at your audience? No.
Creating a scripted 1-minute sales pitch? Yikes. Don’t do that.
Recycling the same content you use on other platforms? This is hit and miss, but as a general rule, TikTok is a league of its own. It has its own unique humour, it’s own style, and to be honest, a pretty unforgiving audience.
A trap that a lot of larger brands are falling into is using viral trends, but a month too late. A massive no-no, and the younger generations will see right through it, getting you nowhere.
We’re not saying don’t jump on viral trends that work well with your brand, but unlike other social media, what’s cool on TikTok can switch up, literally, overnight. Having an old and out of touch video is a complete faux pas.
To get it right, you need to have your finger on the pulse, and if you see a trend that could work for your brand – jump on it immediately. If the approval process is long and drawn out, scrap the idea altogether, or else your hot trend will just be a lukewarm mess.
Feeling overwhelmed?
Never fear! Our talented team lives and breathes TikTok, and we know the right way to get you not only noticed but also have people enjoy and interact with your content.
Ready to talk TikTok?
