TikTok has been around since 2016, but has exploded in popularity over the last few years. As the platform has reached buzzword status in the marketing world, you may be wondering whether it’s time for your brand to get in on the action. We’ve assembled a few questions to help you consider whether having a TikTok presence would align with your brand’s overarching digital marketing strategy and help you best utilize your resources and time online!
1. Is your brand social-first?
In other words, do you consistently publish content on your existing platforms with updates and information that reaches a consistently engaged audience? If your brand doesn’t already have a strong social media presence, TikTok may be a challenging place to spend your time and energy building a community online.
Only 55% of TikTok users have uploaded their own content to the platform, indicating that many TiKTok users are on the platform to consume fun, engaging content rather than create their own. TikTok users can be particular about the content they consume on the platform.
2. How’s your social media trendspotting?
Are you able to stay on top of audio trends and popular memes? Do you spend personal time engaging with trending TikTok content? If not you, is there someone on your team - or an agency partner you could work with - who does? Like any digital platform, having a strategic approach is key to succeeding on the platform. And since TikTok content generally takes more time and energy to create than content for other platforms, ensuring you’re creating effective and engaging content is key to using your resources wisely.
3. Who is your target audience?
If a significant portion of your target audience is made up of Gen Z and/or Millennials, TikTok is certainly worth exploring. Nearly 60% of 16-24 year olds and 40% of 25-34 year olds in the US use TikTok at least once every week, making it one of the top places they are spending their time online (following Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook).
However, even if your audience skews older, TikTok can still be a great place to reach them! Nearly 30% of Internet users in the US between the ages of 35-44 - a total of 12.3 million people - use TikTok on at least a weekly basis.
If you decide TikTok is relevant to your audience, be sure your content strategy is aligned with how your audience uses social media and interacts with content online. For example, Internet users in the 16-34 age range primarily use social media to engage with viral/funny clips and memes, so this age group is more likely to engage with content based on a humorous audio trend or dance.
However, 35-44 year olds primarily use social media to see updates from friends and family who use the platform, so they may be more likely to positively respond to story-based content about your brand.
Across the board, Internet users between the ages of 16 and 45 are more likely than their parents and grandparents to use social media to interact with content from brands and learn about products.
4. What are your goals?
If driving traffic to your website is social media goal #1, Facebook and Pinterest are probably better avenues to explore (TikTok allows you to include a link to your website in your bio and in sponsored posts, but not in organic content). But if video views and engagements are what you have in mind, TikTok could be a great option!
As with all social media platforms, it’s important to understand your goals and how your approach to a given platform will impact your audience on their customer journey, and decide accordingly where it makes the most sense to invest your resources.
5. How serious is your brand?
If your brand takes itself pretty seriously, TikTok is probably not the place for you. If you like to have a little fun, however, TikTok is a great place where humor, creativity, and imagination can flourish!
PRO TIP: If you’re considering launching a TikTok account, start with Instagram Reels! If you already have an Instagram presence and following, you can see how your audience responds to this type of content, and start getting a sense of how much time and energy you’ll need to invest in each post before launching an account on an entirely new platform.
Things are always changing in the digital world, and working with a team of experts can help your brand keep up! Here at McLernon & Co., we’re actively running and advising on several TikTok campaigns for our clients.
If you’d like some guidance figuring out TikTok or setting up a TikTok campaign, sign up for an Intensive Strategy Session, or if you’d like to have an experienced team fully manage your TikTok presence for you, get in touch to talk about our retainer options.
Sources:
Global Web Index
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