Every business needs a social media marketing strategy to stay competitive. However, you don’t need to use every social platform to reach your target audience. Instead, you must be strategic with where you spend your digital marketing dollars to ensure you prioritize the most effective marketing campaigns. TikTok is just one popular channel many successful companies use to grow their business, but it might not be right for everyone.
What Are the Benefits of Investing in TikTok for Businesses?
There are many clear benefits of TikTok; you simply need a strategy you can follow through on. Once you develop your action plan, you can use TikTok to grow your brand, reach new audiences, and target your customers. Here are a few of the benefits of investing in TikTok for businesses:
Large Audience
TikTok seems to get more popular daily, with over 800 million users worldwide. While the main demographic is teenagers and young adults, many older adults also use the platform. Much like Facebook and other trendy social media platforms, TikTok started gathering the attention of younger individuals. However, as time goes by, more adults and parents will join its growing audience, giving you the perfect opportunity to reach new audiences easily. If you market to adults over 30, TikTok may allow you to reach your audience in a space where there’s not much competition.
Unsaturated Market
Many businesses are afraid of TikTok because they think they don’t have the resources to make short-form video content. Since TikTok is still much newer than Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, many marketers might not have enough experience with the platform to use it confidently. This leaves you with an opportunity. While your competition is focused on highly saturated platforms like Facebook, you can reach the same audience on TikTok for less money and with less competition.
Of course, many large brands are using TikTok, including Chipotle, Walmart, and HP. However, while there are tons of businesses already on TikTok, there’s still a huge gap for you to fill. By taking advantage of this gap and launching your TikTok marketing strategy now, you can cast a wider net to reach your audience for a lower cost.
Cementing your place on TikTok while your competition is focused on other platforms can help you become more established. Then, when your competition finally starts using TikTok, you’ll already have the key stats you need for success.
Authenticity
Since TikTok is all about entertainment, it allows your brand to get more personal and show real people instead of blatant advertisements. Your videos don’t have to be professionally produced to gain the attention of your audience, and using your iPhone with basic video edits will make you come across as a more authentic brand. Remember, consumers are smart and no longer willing to trust everything a brand says. If you want your customers to trust you enough to purchase your products or services, you must build that trust by showing them the people behind the brand.
Of course, your TikTok account is still part of your brand identity, so you shouldn’t create videos to be trendy; instead, learn about your target audience and the types of videos they want to see.
User Generated Content
Your TikTok strategy doesn’t have to consist completely of your own videos. Taking advantage of user-generated content allows you to connect with your fans and let them do the hard work for you. In addition, if you can get customers to use your branded hashtags, you can start leveraging their content to boost your visibility online.
Is TikTok Worth It?
Everyone is talking about TikTok, and many businesses have found success in marketing on the platform. However, TikTok marketing isn’t right for every business. That being said, with the right strategy, it might be an investment that boosts customer engagement and sales. Wondering if TikTok marketing is right for your business? Consider the following:
Your Target Customers
Before you invest any marketing dollars in TikTok content creation, you must consider whether the individuals who use TikTok are part of your target audience. For example, if you market solely to individuals over the age of 40, TikTok might not be right for you because they have a younger demographic. If you find the audience on TikTok matches your target customers, investing in TikTok could be wise, as long as you’re willing to invest in a comprehensive strategy to boost your online visibility.
The Competition
Looking at your competitors’ actions can help you determine whether TikTok is the right marketing investment for your business. For example, if your competitors are marketing on TikTok, look at how they’re using it and their performance rates. Conversely, if your competitors are not using TikTok, it may mean they don’t believe it would be worthwhile.
Commitment
To invest in any type of social media marketing, you must be committed. Creating content only when you feel like you have something to share isn’t going to benefit your business; your audience is looking for valuable, helpful content. If you’re not committed to your TikTok strategy, there’s no reason to invest in it because it could actually cost you time and money. However, if you’re willing to devote time, energy, and money to TikTok and your audience is there, it could be well worth it. Adding TikTok content to your project management plan can help determine whether you have the resources to get started on and maintain your social strategy.
TikTok gives you the unique opportunity to create short-form videos with different tones than your other social media channels. However, if you’re not willing to put in the time to create valuable, high-quality videos, TikTok isn’t right for you.
Advertising Budget
While organic social media strategies can be effective, most businesses need to spend some money on ads to boost their online visibility and engagement. There are a few different types of ads to consider on TikTok, including:
- In-Feed ads: These native ads play between content and have a call to action button.
- Brand takeovers: With brand takeovers, your ads show up before a user can view other content.
- Sponsored hashtag challenges: Brands can sponsor a hashtag challenge giving them a custom banner on the Discover page.
- TopView ads: TopView ads are 60-second videos that run when someone opens the app.
- Branded effects: Branded effects let you create branded stickers, AR filters, and lenses and are a great way to promote engagement.
Of course, TikTok ads cost money, and every business is different, so there’s no way of knowing how much these ads will cost you until you set them up on the platform. So if you’re a small business, consider setting aside a small budget to experiment with TikTok.
Is TikTok Right For Your Business?
Any type of social media marketing is a big time and money investment, so you must ensure you’re prepared to go the extra mile to increase your online presence. If your target audience is on TikTok and you can create original and engaging content regularly, this platform might be a great way to find new customers in a relatively unsaturated market.
Ashley Nielsen
Ashley Nielsen earned a B.S. degree in Business Administration Marketing at Point Loma Nazarene University. She is a freelance writer who loves to share knowledge about general business, marketing, lifestyle, wellness, and financial tips. During her free time, she enjoys being outside, staying active, reading a book, or diving deep into her favorite music.
