The COVID-19 pandemic saw TikTok’s meteoric rise to social media superstardom, with 315 million installs in the first quarter of 2020, when the unprecedented lockdowns and restrictions caused people to look for new hobbies and ways to connect. The platform is a hub for short-form vertical videos, often edited with attention-grabbing audio, text, and filters. TikTok gained popularity for challenges and entertaining yet relatable content, but many also turn to it for bite-sized educational videos from professionals, experts, and businesses.

TikTok has a lot to offer brands and advertisers — credibility, engagement, reach, and so much more! Read on to learn how TikTok marketing can help your business level up.

6 Ways that TikTok Marketing Can Help Your Business

1. Foster Brand Affinity and Credibility

Cultivate affinity and credibility for your brand by leveraging on real people — customers and brand advocates — to create TikToks about their experience with your products or services. Start a branded hashtag and ask them to tag you when they post. You don’t have to worry about whether their content style fits your feed because 56% of TikTok users and 67% of creators develop a closer affinity to brands with unpolished content showing everyday people. 

On top of collaborating with customers for user-generated content (UGC), you can also engage with them by creating a duet (responding through a split-screen) or stitching (editing and repurposing a video into your own content). Also, you can try using UGC as TikTok ads, which research has shown to outperform Facebook ads, conventional ads, and even purely brand-made TikTok videos.

2. Increase Ad Reach and Viewing

Because it’s primarily used on mobile, this video-firm platform offers ad placements with undisrupted screentime, making it the global #1 for ad equity.

The two primary ad formats on TikTok are:

• TopView: This auto-play, sound-on, and undisrupted long-form video format makes your brand unmissable. It’s proven effective, with 71% of TikTokers stating it grabs their attention and yielding 67% higher sales effectiveness. ‍
• In-Feed Ads: This enables you to integrate into your target users’ “For You” page, which results in ads being embraced like native content. Data has shown it to result in better top-of-mind recall versus TV ads and a stronger push to purchase.

3. Improve Chances of Purchase and Trial

Content on TikTok has proven so effective at convincing users to try or buy something that #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt was born. The credibility and popularity of products advocated for in that hashtag don’t just stay in the app either. A simple Google search of the term “TikTok Made Me Buy It” will show several listicles from online publications summarizing these recommendations.

Data from Adweek showed that almost half of TikTok users buy from the brands they see on the app. But to increase your sales and purchase intent rates, your content must first be delivered to and seen by the right audience group. To do this, you must craft an effective TikTok content strategy and master the platform’s algorithm.

4. More Creative Freedom!

Unlike professionally-made commercial ads that are typically aired on TV or posted on YouTube or Facebook, TikToks are known, accepted, and even encouraged to be made simply and organically. You don’t need a high-budget, glossy production, so you can allocate more time and resources to experimenting with various content styles and testing different brand messages and tones.

Influencer marketing is one of the best ways for brands to maximize the platform because they already have a captured audience and have proven capable of creating their own content. TikTok understands the power of influencers and has made it easy for brands to partner with content creators via the TikTok Creator Marketplace. This tool will allow you to search for and collaborate with relevant TikTokers, manage your marketing campaigns, and view campaign insights.

One of TikTok’s defining factors is its usage of audio. Many songs, concepts, and memes have gone viral because the audio trended on the platform. Stay updated on trending audio and consider how you might use them while staying true to your brand identity. 68% of users remember brands better when they use songs in their TikToks, 58% connect more to the brand, 58% are more inclined to share the ad or talk about the brand, and 62% become more curious about the brand.

The platform is known for its challenges, so you can start one for your brand if it’s relevant. With a median engagement rate of 17.5%, branded hashtag challenges can help increase your brand’s organic reach on TikTok and help potential consumers along the path to purchase.

For more info on this, learn how to use TikTok for business.

5. Level Playing Field for Businesses

Small businesses and start-ups may feel disadvantaged when it comes to marketing because they don’t have massive budgets like large corporations. But because authenticity wins on TikTok, you don’t need to reserve large budgets for big, ultra-polished, TV commercial-style ads. You also don’t have to worry as much about paid ad spending because, unlike other social media sites, organic reach is still possible on TikTok.

Most social media platforms show users information on their feed from people or pages they follow. But TikTok does the opposite, pushing content from creators that the user has never seen before. So, as long as you create content that’s interesting and appeals to your target market, you have a chance of appearing on the For You page of users who don’t follow you.

6. Get More Value Out of Content Via Cross-Posting

With the success of TikTok, many social media platforms are pushing similar content styles, such as Instagram Stories, Instagram Reels, Facebook Stories, and YouTube Shorts. Instead of making platform-specific content, you can maximize your videos by repurposing and cross-posting on your different accounts.

Additionally, TikTok allows you to promote your Instagram account via the Instagram link button displayed on your profile page. This feature is different from the external link button option, which you can use to connect to your website, eCommerce site, product list, and other relevant third-party sites.

Unlock the power of TikTok with the help of a digital expert. Get started with LSM by booking a free consultation today!