Four reasons why your business should use TikTok
31st October 2022
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TikTok for those who don’t know is a short-form video hosting platform with more than 1.5 billion downloads on the App Store and Google Play and more than 500 million active monthly users, according to HubSpot data . The platform consists of 15- and 60-second user-recorded videos that allow for in-app editing and integration with the other major social players. TikTok is primarily an audience building platform for discover opposed to Instagram and Facebook that are seen as more community building. The exposure is truly next level. And while these numbers may sound intimidating or like it’s too late to get in, that is certainly not the case. If you are thinking you already use a lot of social media for your business, TikTok is different from other social media platforms because while Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram are primarily focused on sharing images and text, TikTok is all about sharing videos, which opens a whole new level of connection with your target audience.
TikTok has quickly become one of the most popular social media platforms in the world, but is it worth using for your business?
This blog explores examine four reasons why your company ought to use a TikTok strategy. Examining how user-generated content is thought to be more effective than branded content, the notion that TikTok is the new search platform, the influence of content creators, and the intense algorithmic targeting.
User generated content ranked more effective than branded content
User-generated content (UGC) is the videos created by TikTok users and content creators that feature your brand in some form or another.
Customers trust organic user content more than branded content, therefore making a user-generated content strategy highly effective. UGC such as customer or client photos, videos, and reviews provides valuable social proof and builds credibility for brands looking to sell online. In fact, according to a CNBC study UGC videos are 22% more effective than branded videos on TikTok.
When you create a video as a brand that sparks conversation, educates, or triggers emotion for users, you’re likely to be pleasantly surprised and rewarded by user-generated content and engagement.
Content campaigns which your brand could run to spark videos are contests and reviews.
Contest campaigns give your viewers a chance of winning something of value—giving them more reason to participate.
TikTok as the new search platform
TikTok has become one of the most popular consumer search platforms in 2022 according to Pew Research, and here’s why.
TikTok offers consumers more organic, and honest reviews. It enables users to interact with TikTok content in the comments rather than clicking through different websites as they would when searching on Google.
Research from The New York Times indicates consumers prefers to watch videos about the topics they are researching, whether it is learning how to do/use something, searching for restaurants, vacation destinations, or learning how to cook a recipe.
This insight provides opportunity for businesses to develop instructional campaigns. Campaigns for education in which you demonstrate how to use your product or service, so when consumers do a search, they can easily find and know how to use your offering. This from of content is more engaging, quicker for consumers to interact with and share.
The influence of content creators
According to an Ad Weekly study, consumers on TikTok are 49% more likely to purchase a product or service after seeing it promoted, advertised, or reviewed by a content creator on the platform.
This presents a fantastic opportunity for businesses to invest in TikTok influencer marketing. The process of collaborating with content creators to create short-form TikTok videos that promote your brand is known as TikTok influencer marketing. Influencer marketing allows brands to avoid coming across as pushy while leveraging the powerful marketing power of social proof. This willingness to spend on the recommendation of an influencer is based on a high level of trust between followers and their favourite content creators.
As a business, you can launch an influencer campaign to allow influencers to show your brand to their audience for them to engage with. Influencer marketing on TikTok has a higher engagement in relation to campaign/ talent spend than other social media platforms.
An influencer marketing campaign does not have to be a sneaky or unwelcome advertisement. It should be a genuine collaboration in which content creators share your brand on their own terms and with their own distinct voice. The newest feature, TikTok shop allows content creators to sell your product on their page, creating an even shorter and more convenient buyer journey influencing purchase decision.
Intense algorithm targeting
Which videos will show up on consumers For You page is determined by the TikTok algorithm, which is a recommendation system. On their For You page, no two users will see the same videos, and the videos you see may change over time based on your viewing preferences and even your emotional state. Here’s how TikTok itself defines the TikTok for You page algorithm:
“A stream of videos curated to your interests, making it easy to find content and creators you love … powered by a recommendation system that delivers content to each user that is likely to be of interest to that particular user.”
The TikTok algorithm works using the following criteria:
- Which accounts you follow
- Creators you’ve hidden
- Comments you’ve posted
- Videos you’ve liked or shared on the app
- Videos you’ve added to your favourites
- Videos you’ve marked as “Not Interested”
- Videos you’ve reported as inappropriate
- Longer videos you watch all the way to the end (aka video completion rate)
- Content you create on your own account
- Interests you’ve expressed by interacting with organic content and ads
- Hashtags you are looking at
Businesses can use the algorithm to target specific audiences, resulting in effective brand reach and engagement by understanding what your audience is watching, longer or shorter videos, favourites, hashtags they follow, and creating content tailored to this process.
At GottaBe! Marketing, we can help you through the process of creating and delivering effective trending TikTok strategies to improve your brand trust and brand engagement on TikTok. We can help identify your target audience, build and execute an TikTok strategy personalised to your business objectives, and measure the campaign’s success against your initial goals. To speak to a member of the team please contact us on