What do Brands Need to Do to Be Successful on TikTok?
Brands are quickly catching on to the fact that they can experience significant revenue gains by utilizing TikTok for the marketing of their products. Luckily, this is a great Gen Z marketing tactic because Gen Z consumers like exploring new products through the TikTok platform and do not mind their ads or branded content.
However, exploring a product and wanting to buy it are two distinct points, and not all brands with many TikTok visitors or views are making sales that are reflective of the visitor analytics they might see. That's because many of these brands are playing the TikTok game incorrectly. So what do they need to change about their approach to boost their rate of success?
Getting Personal
One thing that distinguishes TikTok is that users who visit brands there do not expect the brand to be the best version of themselves like they would through other marketing channels. In fact, it's very much the opposite. They expect a brand to be their most authentically fun selves. This helps visitors on TikTok feel a more personal connection with the brand, as this type of engagement reduces intimidation and boosts comfort in otherwise big brands.
TikTok has a particular energy about it that is different from everywhere else. This energy requires that brands using the platform take a unique approach to generate the content for TikTok. Again, the key here is authenticity and its utilization in establishing an emotionally based connection with the users. On this platform, brands have an opportunity to engage their consumers differently, by having interactions that are more personal and perhaps those that would be far less comfortable to have in any other social media or real-world setting.
Engaging as a Person, not a Corporation
While keeping up with Gen Z trends is important, consumers are looking for a human-level engagement from a brand, rather than being marketed to as any company or corporation would. In other words, if a viewer on TikTok leaves a comment, responding to that comment in a real, authentic manner is important, and creating content rooted in the idea of that comment is the next step in such engagement.
A strategy that is even more beneficial for brands is to duet with their audiences. A duet helps everyone feel more connected and helps prospective consumers feel like they are part of the brand itself. Beyond all that, duets are simply fun for everyone involved. All of this, for the low low price of free. Chief among many Gen Z attractions (as well as those of other generations) is getting stuff for free.
Embracing Values
Gen Z marketing can be difficult for some advertisers, as Gen Z can detect something that feels like a straight-up ad quickly, and ignore it with the same speed. When ads are ignored, they fail to communicate much. But when a brand takes a more creative approach in attempting to communicate their values, such as through TikTok utilization, it can be a gravitational tool for those who share or espouse those same values.
The keys, as with the other aspects, here are authenticity and creativity. TikTok is a platform that allows those values to be brought to life through various challenges and campaigns. When trends go viral, brands need to respond to them as well. It's like catching a perfect wave on the ocean. Brands who catch on to such trends and join in on the fun, stand a higher chance of appearing on “for you” pages of more TikTokers, which in turn brings more attention to their brand.
It is important to have a strong ability to effectively utilize hashtags when joining such trends, joining the most recent challenges, using currently popular effects, and of course the hottest trending songs.
Speaking creatively, if your goal is to engage in full Gen Z global marketing strategy, then you can’t just dabble with TikTok marketing, you need to fully embrace its fun-loving mentality and aesthetic to generate fun, creative, and goofy content that will trend. Once that happens you will attract audiences from Gen Z, as well as from other .
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