TikTok has become increasingly popular over the last few years, with its domain now surpassing Google as the most visited site in 2021. With 1 billion active users, how could your brand not think about taking advantage of advertising on this platform? While there are many advantages of TikTok advertising, it’s essential to understand if it’s necessarily right for your brand. To help you get started, we’ve compiled a list of pros and cons of TikTok marketing.
audience.
While TikTok has been known for its slightly younger audience, that’s not necessarily the whole story. While Gen Z does account for a high percentage of TikTok users, TikTok is used by 18% of global internet users aged 16-64. TikTok is also an app that seems to retain its audience members as they age, broadening the age demographics of app users. Regardless, you have a pretty broad audience to serve your ads to.
marketing opportunities.
When advertising on TikTok, there are plenty of opportunities to choose, depending on what your budget allows. Types of TikTok advertising and marketing include:
Influencer Marketing
By now, most advertisers/marketers have either tried influencer marketing or at least know what it is. TikTok is full of vlog-like influencers across numerous industries, with ??over 106 thousand TikTok influencers worldwide. In July of 2020, U.S. influencers had an average engagement rate of 17.99%, making it a pretty viable option for marketing your brand on TikTok.
For more information on influencer marketing, check out our recent blog post, everything you need to know about social media influencer marketing.
Promoting your own TikTok channel
While this one seems fairly obvious, it definitely requires the most effort on your brand’s behalf. Promoting your brand’s TikTok is a great way to get organic engagement and create a sense of trust between you and your audience. The more videos you post, the more you’re getting your brand’s name out there, which will only improve your performance. Never underestimate the power of content!
Sharing TikTok Content on Other Social Platforms
Although this is something your brand is probably used to doing with your other social media accounts, it’s important to note. Your audience is not going to know about your brand’s TikTok account automatically–it’s up to you to guide your followers from one social media platform to the next.
TikTok Challenges
One of the many things TikTok is known for is the viral challenges that users can participate in. Whether it be a trending dance or sound, users can search these and see all the videos associated with it. This is a great advertising option to consider, as it organically shows your brand participating and interacting in a given community, which will increase brand awareness and engagement.
TikTok paid advertising.
TikTok Native Ads
Now we’re at the option to make paid advertisements directly in TikTok Ads Manager, available via CPM (cost per 1000 views), CPV (cost per view), and CPC (cost per click). Within these opportunities, your brand can create TopView and In-Feed Ads. TopView ads appear once a day, immediately after a user opens their app for the first time. Up to 60 seconds long, this option is perfect for businesses looking to advertise products or services that require longer periods of attention, like T.V. trailers. In-Feed Ads appear on a user’s explore page, which TikTok refers to as a For You Page. These appear as the fourth video users see as they scroll through their feed and are generally valuable for marketers looking to use TikTok to drive sales conversions, as the videos can feature a call-to-action (CTA).
Brand Takeover Ads
TikTok Brand Takeover Ads pop up as soon as users open the app before they are redirected to their For You Page. As the name suggests, they take over the screen for a few seconds, giving the user the option to skip them. Brand Takeover ads may also appear on the FYP as images, videos, or gifs with links to landing pages.
Hashtag Challenges
Branded hashtags ask users to participate in activities like dances or something related to a brand’s product and post it using a specific–paid for–hashtag. When users click on the hashtag, they will be taken to TikTok landing pages containing all the videos with the associated hashtag. This opportunity is a great way to engage with your followers and helps build brand awareness.
engagement and content opportunities.
The biggest worry some may have about doing TikTok ads organically is that they may not have enough followers to get their content out there. Unlike social media platforms such as Instagram or YouTube, TikTok accounts with zero followers can reach millions of views on a new video due to the algorithm’s viral nature. Content has a good chance of going viral within TikTok, as the platform selects content it deems both interesting and highly engaging for each unique user and places that content within the For You page.
It’s relatively easy to gain visibility if you use a popular hashtag or a trending sound. As long as the content appeals to the audience, engagement will follow. If your account does have a good amount of followers, TikTok also experiences higher engagement rates from followers than other social media platforms, making engagement likely regardless of follower count.
ad cost.
While it’s nice to have a lot of advertising options, those opportunities can result in a pretty high cost. For your typical TikTok Native Advertisements, you can expect to start at $10 per CPM, with a minimum of $500 on a campaign. You’ll also have the choice between a daily budget or a total budget with a minimum limit of $50 at the ad group level. However, as outlined below, other ad spend opportunities such as brand takeovers, in-feed ads, and hashtag challenges lean on the more expensive side of the spectrum.
So, while TikTok does guarantee unique opportunities in front of a wide audience, your brand has to be willing and able to pay for these opportunities. With that being said, if you are a small business just starting out, consider either turning to other platforms first or trying out organic TikTok posts until you’re sure you have the proper budget.
After learning about the ins and outs of marketing on TikTok, we’ve compiled a pros and cons list for advertising on this platform:
Pros:
–Since there is a pretty broad audience on the app, many brands will find their target audience already using the app.
–There are plenty of advertising/marketing opportunities to choose from, both paid and organic, to help you get your brand out there.
–You don’t need to have 1 million followers to be discovered organically by your audience.
–TikTok experiences higher engagement rates from followers than other social media platforms, making engagement likely regardless of follower count.
Cons:
–If your brand’s audience has an older demographic, TikTok may not be the best platform for your advertisements.
–If you are a small business with a less generous budget, paid advertising may not be available.
–Paid advertising caters toward impressions, rather than conversions. Depending on your brand’s campaign goals, you may not achieve what you’re looking to.
Any decision on behalf of your brand needs to be informed and logical. We hope that we’ve made your decision of whether or not to take advantage of TikTok advertising an easy one. Still have questions or need help taking the next step? Drop us a line or D.M. us on social @clevermethod. We’d be happy to offer a consultation or develop a social media marketing plan for you and your business.