TikTok Marketing: how buying habits have changed in the short video era

As social media scrolling continues to play an increasingly important role in our daily lives, businesses are looking for ways to tap into the potential of these platforms to reach and engage with their target audience. And one platform that has taken the world by storm in recent years is TikTok. With over 1 billion active users worldwide, TikTok is quickly becoming the go-to platform for brands looking to reach a younger, more engaged audience. In our experience as marketing consultants, we have been following its evolution and found it one of the most interesting phenomena in the history of social media. If you are considering a TikTok campaign for your brand, however, you should first and foremost be aware of how TikTok influences buyers, how TikTok promotion works, and the benefits of using this platform for brand promotion within your specific field.

TikTok’s Influence on Buyers

TikTok’s unique algorithmic system enables brands to reach a highly targeted audience, making it an effective tool for influencing buyer behaviour. TikTok’s short-form video format, coupled with its ability to showcase products in a fun and engaging way, makes it an effective tool for creating awareness and generating interest in a brand.

Moreover, TikTok’s user-generated content (UGC) approach means that brands can leverage UGC to build trust and credibility with their target audience. When people see other users creating and sharing content related to a brand, it creates a sense of community and authenticity that can be hard to replicate with traditional marketing methods.

Call us to plan your next social media campaign!

How TikTok Promotion Works

TikTok promotion works by utilizing a variety of tools and features available on the platform to create and share content that engages with your target audience, but it can also involve influencer marketing at its finest. Brands can leverage TikTok’s advertising platform to create and run ads that appear in users’ feeds or as sponsored content on the app’s Discover page.

In addition to advertising, brands can also partner with TikTok influencers to create sponsored content that reaches their followers. TikTok’s unique approach to influencer marketing means that brands can collaborate with influencers to create authentic, engaging content that resonates with their target audience without engendering the instinctive mistrust that overly “salesy” content can produce.

Benefits of Using TikTok for Brand Promotion

Using TikTok for brand promotion has numerous benefits, including the ability to reach a highly profiled audience, build brand awareness and credibility, and associate your brand with the positive values embodied by your chosen influencer.

TikTok’s short-form video format and interactive approach (allowing “stitches” and remixes) make it an ideal platform for creating fun, entertaining content that showcases your brand in a truly original way and that your target audience will actually enjoy watching, rather than merely endure (like they do sponsored ads before Youtube videos). Moreover, TikTok’s algorithm enables brands to reach a highly targeted audience, increasing the likelihood of converting viewers into customers.

Types of TikTok Promotions

There are several types of TikTok promotions available, including:

Hashtag challenges – A hashtag challenge involves creating a unique hashtag and encouraging users to create and share content using that hashtag. This type of promotion can help generate awareness and engagement around your brand.
Influencer collaborations – Brands can partner with TikTok influencers to create sponsored content that promotes their products or services.
Brand takeovers – A brand takeover involves allowing an influencer to manage your page for a set amount of time (e.g. 24 hours), to cover an event or to create a special interaction with your users by engaging with their comments or streaming live content.
In-feed ads – In-feed ads appear in users’ feeds and can be used to promote products or services directly.

Effectiveness of TikTok Promotions

The effectiveness of TikTok promotions can vary depending on the type of promotion and the brand’s target audience. However, many brands have reported significant success using TikTok to promote their products or services.

For example, American fast-food chain, Chipotle, launched a hashtag challenge campaign on TikTok that generated over 500 million views and 250,000 user-generated videos.

Mistakes to Avoid When Promoting a Brand on TikTok

While TikTok presents an excellent opportunity for brands to reach and engage with their target audience, there are a few mistakes that businesses should avoid when promoting their brand on the platform.

One common mistake that brands make is creating content that is too sales-focused. While TikTok is an effective tool for promoting products and services, it’s important to remember that users are on the platform to be entertained and engaged, not sold to. Brands that focus too heavily on promoting their products or services may find that their content fails to resonate with their target audience, leading to low engagement and little to no ROI.

Another mistake that brands make is failing to leverage TikTok’s unique format and features. TikTok’s short-form video format and user-generated content approach make it an ideal platform for creating fun, engaging content that rides the wave of popular culture, trends, meme culture, and, of course, adopts the visual language that your target audience is most familiar with. Brands that fail to take advantage of this may struggle to stand out on the platform.

The Effect of TikTok Videos on Impulse Purchase

TikTok videos have a significant impact on impulse purchases, as the platform’s engaging and entertaining content can inspire viewers to make purchasing decisions on the spot. The very existence of the hashtag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt is proof of that. Brands that create quality content that showcases their products or services while also providing genuine entertainment can capitalize on this trend, generating significant ROI in the process.

Conclusion

TikTok presents an excellent opportunity for brands to reach and engage with their target audience, meeting users in a space where they have control of the content and receive genuine entertainment. By leveraging TikTok’s unique format and features, brands can aspire to the status of love brands, creating communities of interested and engaged users and maximising their promotional ROI. With the right strategy and approach, TikTok can be an incredibly effective tool for driving brand awareness, engagement, and sales.