TikTok may sound like an antique clock, but its rising popularity as a new social media application is something that brands and creative agencies should pay close attention to. With more baby boomers riding on the mainstream social media wave (i.e. Facebook and Instagram), the teens and youths have left for a younger content-filled platform. For any brands looking to launch creative campaigns targeting the younger crowd, TikTok campaigns are something that cannot be overlooked.
In essence, TikTok is a supercharged version of Instagram Stories and Snapchat as a bite-sized streaming platform. It also draws similarities to the retired platform VINE, except that it seems to be garnering a lot more interactions and engagements on it. Since that’s where the younger crowds are now at, brands have to follow suit and reach them at TikTok.
Feeling a little lost in this new platform? That’s okay. We’ve prepared a starter guide on the types of creative campaigns your brand can plan on TikTok and how you can go about leveraging this unique streaming platform. Besides, with many countries going on a lockdown, it’s time you uncover the platform that has become a social media sensation.
Target Younger Audience
Like we said, TikTok is a really a platform for the young. Not just in terms of the age of the platform, but also the demographics of the user base. We have teenagers as young as 13-14 years old using and watching TikTok content.
Similarly, in tailoring for a younger audience group, the content should also be wary of the type of users on it and what they’re accustomed to on TikTok. Don’t go too deep into matured and serious issues when engaging the users on TikTok and portray your brand as one that’s young and engaging.
Appealing to a younger audience can be difficult for most brands. But if you put in the time and effort into understanding their needs and consumption patterns, TikTok can be worth a shot for you. Just be brave in pushing the boundaries and limitations of your brand — be innovative.
Think Like Instastory, But Not Really
TikTok draws a lot of similarities to a more commonly used platform in Instastory. However, the phrase ‘commonly used’ is relative to TikTok, as most brands are not as keen to utilise Instastory as a platform for their marketing and creative campaign needs.
At the very least, the exposure to Instastory should be sufficient for brands to adjust to TikTok. Designing and planning for a TikTok campaign can draw its inspiration from Instastory campaigns, albeit with some adjustments to the type of content and engagement. TikTok does allow the addition of links to your videos as well.
When you’re feeling disoriented in TikTok, just think back to Instastories for a better grasp of the mechanics. Subsequently, it’s up to your brand to figure out the best angle and approach that would work not only on TikTok, but also to its younger user base.
Influencer Marketing
You don’t have to go through it alone, there’s a lot of external support you can draw from. One such source is TikTok influencers. Just like any social media platform, there’s already plenty of more popular users with a huge following on their TikTok channel.
By tapping on the network of influencers develop your TikTok campaign, you’ll not only reach and engage audiences outside of your brands’ targeting strategy, but you’ll also have content perfectly crafted for the platform associated to your brand. Instead of going through the trouble creating the actual content, you just have to set a proper direction.
Working with influencers can be a tad tricky as well. Be very selective with the influencers for your campaigns and check through their followers’ demographics and the type of content they usually put out. Having off-brand content associated with your creative campaign can derail it.
Not a fan of influencers? Then we’ll recommend you partnering with a creative agency instead. They’ll become essential for your business very quickly.
Products-Related Challenge
Challenges are literally the ‘in’ thing on TikTok, which means to effectively place your brand in this channel, you have to create a TikTok challenge of your own. Although most of them often revolve around celebrities, songs, or dances, it’s not impossible for brands to hijack it.
A perfect demonstration of this is the viral #VansChallenge that saw a lot of people throwing their Vans sneakers in the air to see how they landed. This challenge took a page out of the bottle flip challenge and became viral over time, with thousands of users participating in it.
Although it wasn’t started by a brand and it wasn’t on TikTok, other brands can also adopt a similar approach on TikTok. Pay attention to existing social media trends and find ways your products can create a unique challenge for TikTok users to emulate. When you can successfully do that, you should have an interesting creative campaign angle on hand.
Experience-Related Challenges
It doesn’t always have to be about your products. For brands starting on TikTok, you should also consider showcasing an experience and turning it into a challenge. It doesn’t and shouldn’t be complex, after all, your users must be able to replicate it on their own.
You don’t have to create a new experience from scratch (you can, but you don’t have to). Consider the experiences that your users have and associate with your brand, it could be something as simple as a reaction, facial expression, or even a feeling.
Take the Burger King Smile-fie Kiosk for an example, a simple challenge that asked users to smile at their self-service kiosk for additional discounts and free food (yum!). It associates having free Burger King food with happiness. How’s that for an experience?
AR Effects
Ever since Pokemon Go took on the Augmented Reality (AR) craze, it’s been popping up everywhere, on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat… the list goes on and on. Even outside of social media, brands are also employing it for their own creative campaigns and application platform (see: IKEA Place). These are just some of the ways tech is transforming the ad industry.
That’s right, TikTok is also offering that same service for branded AR ad formats to bolster your creative campaign efforts. On top of all the challenges you wish to propose, you could also include AR filters to enhance the entire experience.
Wow your target audience with first-of-its-kind AR effects and tie in the various content on TikTok to your brand. Picture TikTok users playing with the filter your brand created and doing ‘free advertising’ for your creative campaign. Yes, we’re talking about viral.
Tick… Tock… Your Time’s Almost Up
Trends come and go pretty quickly, which is why you should definitely plan your next creative campaign on TikTok before you become old news. Don’t let the lack of understanding for TikTok stop you from utilising a rising social media platform. Get an award-winning agency to guide you through the next viral TikTok campaign with your brand plastered on it.
Your time is almost up, so take us up on our offer before someone else does (;
