How to use TikTok in your marketing strategy

TikTok can’t be ignored by marketing professionals anymore. The app is especially useful for engaging with Gen Z, born in the digital age and supposedly harder to reach because of the way they use media (or don’t).

The fact is members of Generation Z, born in 1997 or later, don’t use traditional media and use ad blockers on Internet, diminishing digital advertising visibility. To reach them, marketers must adapt to their reality.

Of the 500 million active TikTok users in the world, 41% are in the 16-24 age range. The time has come for marketers to consider TikTok for their marketing strategy. Here are three great ways to integrate TikTok in your marketing strategy.

1. Create a TikTok account for your brand

When a brand is looking to speak to a young and cool audience, it can be a great idea to create a TikTok account and to regularly post videos on TikTok. Before posting, make sure the videos you want to share are aligned with your brand image. You should also learn about the unwritten rules of the video sharing platform, or you might risk looking totally out of the loop.

Here are three American brands that are killing it on TikTok right now:

Chipotle

The mexican restaurant chain’s TikTok is an artful mix of original video content and user generated content. The brand follows trends and participates in popular challenges, generating considerable engagement.

@chipotleIt be like that sometimes. Get free delivery every Sunday in February. Terms: chip.tl/feb #TikTokTimeout ♬ Yummy – Justin Bieber

San Diego Zoo

The San Diego Zoo has a major asset when it comes to content creation: hundreds of animal species, which star in the zoo’s short videos alongside humorous captions.

@sandiegozooMe trying to be social at a party #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #introvertlife ♬ Dissolve (Acoustic) – Absofacto

Washington Post

The Washington Post posts daily TikToks, sharing life behind the scenes at the newspaper and taking part in the platform’s challenges, with just the right amount of self-deprecation.

@washingtonpostHope this helps #newspaper #whatilooklike ♬ follow jakesalright for more – jakesalright

2. Creating TikTok ads

By purchasing ad spots on TikTok, you’re making sure your brand videos are seen by more potential clients. It’s also a good way to increase the reach of videos created and posted by TikTok influencers for your brand. Take note, though, that to sponsor posts you must have a TikTok advertiser account. Creating a media campaign on TikTok also allows you to fully personalize your marketing efforts. You should always precisely define your objectives and target audience or, if you aren’t sure how to, turn to an agency that can optimize your campaign for you.

3. Collaborate with TikTok influencers

It’s possible to work with influencers on TikTok, just like on YouTube and Instagram. But here the trick lies in choosing the influencers you work with well, to make sure your message is shared as it should be. Here are some elements to consider when choosing TikTokers to collaborate with:

Number of followers: The more followers an influencer has, the wider a reach your message will have. However, remember it costs more to work with the most popular influencers. It can therefore more interesting to collaborate with a larger number of smaller creators, whose followers are often more engaged.
Audience: The influencer’s audience needs to be part of your target audience. You should therefore ask the creator to share their audience stats before signing any collaboration contract.
Video type: The content created by influencers on TikTok for your brand needs to align with the rest of their video content, or it won’t be appreciated by their audience. You should therefore trust each influencer’s unique personal creativity and make sure you have one unique, clear, message to share through TikTok.

For example, Made in recruited many TikTok influencers to promote the Ivanhoé Cambridge Shopping.ca gift card in the lead-up to the 2019 Holidays. Take a look at the case study to learn more about this campaign’s results.

Another great example of a brand collaborating with TikTok creators is Too Faced. You can see all of the TikToks created for campaigns promoting the Damn Girl mascara or the Lip Injection lip gloss by looking up the #TooFacedPartner hashtag on TikTok.

Want to dive deeper into the wonderful world of TikTok? We can help! Take a look at our wide range of integrated services.

Corinne Blair

À la recherche permanente de plus d'informations pour satisfaire sa soif de culture, Corinne est une rédactrice bilingue au vocabulaire riche qui s’applique à créer et maintenir des relations fortes avec tous les créateurs de contenu avec lesquels Made in collabore.