it a meager replacement for Vine, whose disappearance left a hole in our hearts? How did this app suddenly become one of the largest apps in the world, video download tik tok and how can I take advantage of it? How can I leverage it for social media marketing? The explosive growth of Tik Tok has spawned hundreds of questions, but there is only one thing for certain. If you are not optimizing your social media marketing for this next social media giant, you are going to sorely regret it.
TikTok the lip-syncing mobile app is disrupting social media platforms and going viral! And if your leveraging social media for your business just like we do, pay attention. If you don’t know by now TikTok, a Chinese social media app known as allow users to create and share 3-15 second music videos and 3-40 second looped videos has taken the world by a storm with over 1.6 billion downloads worldwide through the App Store and Google and has surpassed social media giant Instagram by 200 million downloads.
Created by BYTEdance originally named “Douyin” loosely translated to “Shaking Sound” was launched in China in September 2016 then rebranded to the west under the name “Tiktok” transcended cultures and borders from east to west going viral first to India then spreading to the west…
As the only app in the “Top 5 Downloaded Apps” section that isn’t owned by Facebook, it’s not surprising that TikTok is seen as both a wonder and a potential threat. But what makes TikTok different from your average social media application that fosters content and personalized profiles, such as Instagram or Pinterest?
Why should companies consider TikTok for social media marketing, and how should companies go about operating their TikTok accounts for the most coverage? While this guide is not a video with the latest memes or dance craze, we intend to cover all these important questions extensively so you have a better grasp of TikTok’s meteoric rise and potential.
What Is TikTok?
A match made in heaven back in the summer of 2014 two best friends in china named launched fast forward to 2017 Byt dance acquired and merged it with china hottest new app a couple of years later. The Tiktok app has a user interface much like Instagram but all video formats which allow users to create accounts and hashtag content much like Instagram. It’s like some magical hybrid of Instagram/vine and Snapchat combined but what makes it truly unique is the option to create videos with or without filters soundtracked by major artists or movie tracks, simple speech or lip-synced choreographed dance looped videos.
The 15 to 40-second limit seems to fit well with the dwindling attention span social media has adapted us to. Nonetheless, brands, influencers, and artists are all over Tiktok with hashtag challenges, behind the scenes short takes, rants, hilarious clips and some highlighting some downright awesome talent. With over 500 million active monthly users it is easy to see why social media agencies are all over the app!
Where else can you accumulate 1200 views within an hour and by the end of the day millions? Well, television and movies are just about where you can find that kind of marketing. Tiktok also offers paid ads as well and as the app becomes more and more popular brands, business even freelancers will be leveraging content because simply it’s fun! As of 2019, Tiktok became the fourth most downloaded non-game app, and quickly rising to the biggest social media platforms.
Why are social media marketers paying attention and using TikTok in Social Media Campaigns?
Well, Tiktok filled the void of 200 million vine users when they shut down 2016 and the once quirky app grew exponentially proving its popularity and it seems there is no stopping them. With so many users on Tiktok and its steady climb, social media marketers are wondering if and how to leverage such a large audience for social media advertising. While its growth is impressive and audience relatively small in comparison to Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest most in the industry are cautious about expending efforts following the fickleness of apps such as Snapchat which has been in decline.
But with so much obsession over TikTok and no end in sight how can you Leverage TikTok for Social Media Marketing? Well, we put together a guide for you on how we see you can leverage and implement TikTok into our social media strategy.
What’s the Difference?
The main difference between TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest is the format of content produced on these platforms—TikTok produces viral videos that feature lip-syncs and challenges, while Instagram users primarily post photos for their profile, and Pinterest allows users to collect pieces of related content and access them in one centralized area. Demographic-wise, TikTok and Instagram attract more from the 18 to 25-year-old crowd whereas Pinterest has a more spread out demographic with at least 30% of its users older than 30-years-old.
On top of this, while every social media app requires aesthetically pleasing visuals to attract an audience, not every application is built the same marketing-wise—Instagram influencers develop content that has a more “in the now feel,” but those on Pinterest who want to build a following need to serve as a reference point for users, cultivating posts with links to helpful resources and strong keywords. In short, between Instagram and Pinterest, the most essential difference in their use is Instagram is more centered on users producing content specific to their profile and building a personal brand for their audience while Pinterest is more akin to building resources that inspire and provide information for users who plan on undertaking future projects and trips.
In comparison to Instagram and Pinterest, TikTok’s main focus is short video clips up to 1-minute long. The application also provides filters and effects so users can also create their videos as well, giving more power to the users to produce their content with built-in features. Commonly explained as a mash-up of Snapchat and the now-defunct Vine, TikTok uses artificial intelligence to identify content users prefer to see as well as content users would rather not view.
Considering TikTok’s particular features, how does it fit into the realm of social media marketing? While TikTok has a steadily growing base of A-listers since its release in 2016, many do not have the same clout and exposure as more established content creators such as YouTubers given TikTok’s relatively young age.
Does this disqualify TikTok from becoming a potential social media marketing tool? And if companies are interested in investing in the current trends and starting their own TikTok, how should they go about doing this?
Who Uses TikTok?
It seems as just about everyone is using Tiktok now from teens to celebs to corporations to small business all the way up to corporations and its popularity is growing like wildfire and brands are capitalizing on it is remarkable success. This is the platform to market “Gen Z” with over 66% of its users under the age of 30 according to Sensor Tower but that stat is changing quickly crossing over to all age groups and mommy bloggers now that’s some great parenting!
How do you promote on TikTok?
At Social Motto, we have a saying “Post With A Purpose”. Before you do anything you want to study the platform, search what related businesses are doing and what type of video content they are creating and what type of hashtag challenges they are doing (I’ll get more into this in a bit). Tiktok is all about fun and creating visually enticing videos so take a look at the trending videos for inspiration get creative and know your audience, just because most users are the ages of 16–24 according to last year’s report from GlobalWebIndex that is changing rapidly. While you could get wild and wacky it may not be on-brand so highlight what you do best, make it interesting, keep it real and authentic and engage but don’t treat it as a sales pitch there are other social media platforms to use for that such as Linkedin.
TikTok’s Strong Points
Despite its age, TikTok has not only many appealing features that attract a base of content creators but also has many strong points going for them when it comes to social media marketing. We list the top three points that make TikTok the next social media marketing venture to invest in:
1. Foster a Future Customer Base
While TikTok has been espoused as an app for a younger generation—millennials and those born in Generation Z—their potential consumer power shouldn’t be dismissed; given the fact that these app users will eventually grow to become the future consumer base, it would be a grievous mistake to underestimate the marketing potential of TikTok just based off its cringe compilations and meme-y materials.
2. Navigate Niches
One of TikTok’s pros is its diversity. Due to TikTok’s system of artificial intelligence that chooses what users see and don’t see, it’s very easy for a viewer of TikTok to wind up watching a variety of content for the same topic or trend. Video creators and viewers from all fandoms, lifestyles, and hobbies are gathered on this app, forming not only just their niche communities but also actively pumping out new content as well. This is a great boon to businesses with a niche focus or who want to focus their marketing strategies on a specific audience.
3. Start a Trend
From hashtag challenges to duets—videos where users react to or imitate a pre-existing video—the trends of TikTok seem ever-flowing and endless. Though it may appear intimidating for the first-time user to jump in, the flexible nature of content creation in TikTok means that just as it is easy to post a video reacting to a hashtag challenge or even starting a new challenge. Given the Internet’s database on the latest TikTok challenges, Know Your Meme, even the less Internet-savvy have an abundance of resources to draw on for TikTok inspiration.
