A Brief Introduction to TikTok Marketing

Introduction

Being bored and isolated is a pair of feelings many of us have felt in the past year. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced us into our homes and away from each other, people needed an outlet to be entertained and connect with others.

An app named TikTok just so happened to be the perfect solution: an endless stream of entertaining content from users all over the world.

Oh, and did we mention it’s free?

TikTok is the new place to be, without really being anywhere. Getting your company in on this social media marketing opportunity while it’s hot is crucial in building a successful internet brand.

Want to learn how to do just that? Keep reading!

What Is TikTok and Why Is it So Popular?

TikTok, originally known as Musical.ly, is a video-based platform that allows you to create, view, and share original content all around the world.

And when we say world, we mean it! TikTok has over 700 million active users worldwide, and is now the seventh-largest social media platform in the world.

With that kind of data, what company building a brand wouldn’t use TikTok?

The answer to that: many of them! While many companies have found success through social media marketing on TikTok, many others are intimidated by the ins and outs of using the app.

If you resonate with that last part, this is the article for you. Keep reading to learn the ropes!

Common TikTok Terminology

Before we go into depth on our social media marketing tips, let’s first discuss some TikTok terminology you need to know. Once you understand these basics, then you can move onto incorporating your personal branding.

• For You Page (FYP): This is the main page of the app, and the first page users will see when they open TikTok. You will commonly see this referred to as the “fyp”. The videos that appear here are curated using the TikTok algorithm (which we will explain next.)

• The algorithm: In order to provide users with content curated to fit their tastes, TikTok uses an algorithm. This algorithm is based on factors such as your location, language, device type, users/videos you interact with, and information about the video itself.

• Discover page: If you want to delve deeper into the current trends, the Discover page is the best place for you! TikTok groups content together here based on hashtags and effects.

• Following feed: A quick tap to the left of the FYP is the following feed, where you can find the content from users you are following.

• Duets: A creator can duet another user’s video. The result is two videos side by side, with the original video’s creator tagged in the description. This is great for reaction videos!

Social Media Marketing on TikTok

Now that you’ve made it through your first vocabulary lesson, let’s get moving towards the good stuff: the marketing possibilities!

TikTok can be an amazing platform for companies looking to build their brand through both paid and unpaid strategies. Let’s look at the first steps to take when practicing digital marketing on TikTok.

Create a Brand Account

The first thing you’ll want to do when marketing on TikTok is create a brand account. Creating an account is free, and you most likely already have your logo created. Set it as your profile photo and start scrolling!

Post Something

Don’t fret about your first video. It’s easy to get first-post jitters when you think that your content needs to be perfect, but it doesn’t need to be! Using your new vocabulary, find your way to the Discover page and check out what is currently trending.

One example of a trending topic (at the time of writing this article) is the Adult Swim trend. In this trend, users are recreating their own versions of the Adult Swim commercial and using the same sound. Study a few, make your own, and get that engagement!

Start a Challenge or Contest

While trends tend to appear organically, challenges can be crafted. Create a challenge that is related to your brand, create a catchy hashtag for it, and post it. If the challenge is deemed relevant by the algorithm, you could be in for an engagement extravaganza.

Contests may require a bit more funding than starting a challenge, but money is always a great motivator. Offering a prize for the winning TikTok video is a great way to get more entrants, and in turn, more engagement.

TikTok Paid Advertising

If your company has a marketing budget, you should think about spending some of it on TikTok. There are two ways to spend your dollar in this instance:

Ads

TikTok offers paid options for those looking to advertise within the FYP.

There are five different options: TopView Ads, Brand Takeovers, In-Feed Ads, Branded Hashtag Challenges, and Branded Effects. These greatly vary in price.

To start advertising on TikTok, you’ll have to have a TikTok for Business account.

Buy Followers

Another way to build engagement with a budget is to buy followers. You can get TikTok followers from companies such as Social Boosting, which offers packages at every price point.

The algorithm mentioned earlier does take follower count into respect, so your engagement will grow as your follower base grows.

TikTok Is a Great Marketing Resource

TikTok is quickly becoming one of the leading platforms in social media marketing.

Whether you’re looking for a free way to start building your online brand or allocating some funds to up your engagement, TikTok is the right place to do it!

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