No matter what demographic your customers fall into, they’re using TikTok.

It’s the most downloaded app in history, and in 2021, it overtook Google as the #1 most popular domain in the world.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that TikTok is just full of teenagers or dancing influencers, however, just 25% of users are under the age of 19. 22.4% of users are between the ages of 20-19, while ages 30-39 make up over 21% of users.

Long story short— whether you’re looking to sell, or just get your brand name out there, TikTok is the perfect platform.

Tiktok isn’t just used for humour or challenges. Many younger audiences are treating TikTok as their new search engine.

We discussed why this is in one of our recent blog posts. The app’s versatile content means that users are searching for new restaurants, product recommendations and even advice for job applications and recruitment.

Take the trend #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt for example. Here people share the products that the app influenced them to purchase, from home goods to fashion, beauty and more. With over 26 billion views, the hashtag has been driving sales for brands in every industry.

95% of customers still trust the reviews of friends, family and peers over that of messaging from brands themselves, and a viral TikTok review is just the same.

What’s more, the trend has such an influence on users’ buying habits that last year the #1 best-selling clothing product on Amazon for almost two months was a pair of leggings that went viral on TikTok.

Dubbed “the tiktok leggings”, they’re still one of the most-searched terms on Amazon. If you make it into the viral product recommendations group, you could even be listed in Amazon’s “Internet Famous” category.

Tailored content

In an attempt to be more transparent, TikTok shared how they use user’s data to suggest content.

Factors that TikTok considers in their ranking include

Video engagement

This one’s obvious, but “engagement” is more than just likes or comments. The app considers watch time, profile visits, replays, follows, bookmarks, and flagging a video as "not interested" (which naturally affects your video negatively).

The good news for new accounts is that your follower count or previous engagement rate doesn’t affect the ranking of new videos, unlike other platforms such as Instagram.

Video content

In order for TikTok to recommend videos of topics that users like, it needs to understand what each video is about. It does this by considering:

The audio. Trending audios are common on the app— if a user engages with multiple videos with the same audio, then TikTok will provide them with similar content. Trending sounds receive a ranking boost for a short time as they give an indication of engagement levels. This is why you need to be on top of trending sounds and filters.
The text. Closed captioning is commonplace in the app. Its popularity has also been noted by TikTok and is used to categorise and show your content to the right audience. That’s why keywords are just as important in your content. A top tip is to add the text using TikTok’s own in-app feature instead of your own font/branding.
The visuals. You might be surprised to find that TikTok can actually “detect and collect characteristics and features about the video and audio recordings”. This means the platform’s AI can identify some objects, scenery, and what body parts are present in your video. While it is used for content moderation, it’s also used to power a user’s recommendations.

What kind of content is popular from brands?

So how can your business make a mark on the platform?

TikTok encourages you to think of out-of-the-box content, and users are always eager to see something different. But don’t feel too pressured when testing out new content. Here are some basic but popular ideas for content creation:

Show off your product in a demo - Whether it’s with a trending sound in the background or a voiceover from one of your team members, a good product demo can showcase your product in the best way and grab people’s attention with its results.
Behind the scenes - @the.sign.guy has amassed over 4.6 million followers by showing how he makes his product. This content has guaranteed him thousands and sometimes millions of likes on every post. In fact, “pack an order with me” videos have become a staple of small businesses and brands across the platform. They boost engagement with users commenting their order number so that you can film a packing video for them. This connection between brands and followers is unmatched by any other platform
Do something unconventional - If your product can be used in a weird way then TikTok is the perfect place to showcase that. Or you can make some out-of-the-box content. @Tomstotes is a great example of this. Their unique marketing of giving free tote bags in exchange for trash picked up from the street or loading as much weight as they can into their bags before it breaks have charmed users and built an audience of 161.4K followers.
Work with content creators - TikTok has revolutionised the way that brands work with influencers. You don’t need somebody with millions of followers to make an impact. Smaller creator communities have shown to have more engagement and dedicated followers. So, even if you don’t have a physical product to send to influencers, you can still stitch, duet and comment on their videos to increase connections.

Examples of businesses doing it right

Every TikTok user knows about the Duolingo bird. The language learning platform has made their mark through videos featuring their mascot, Duo.

Already known across the internet, their social media team used this fact to play along with the conversations their users were having.

While their content started off as relating to their industry, they soon diverged into current trends and pop culture news. They quickly understood that if people knew their name and content, only then, would they learn what their business does. This model is more preferable to audiences as they don’t feel sold to.

While Ryanair is often seen as a risky choice for your flights, they’re the go to for hilarious brand content—gaining over 1.8M followers with their tongue-in-cheek videos. Here they make videos with commentary on scandals, pop culture and relate it all to their brand.

Selling on the app

TikTok Shop is an in-app shopping feature which allows “merchants” to showcase and sell products directly on the app through organic feed videos, live video, and the product showcase tab on your profile.

Your followers can also link to your products in their own videos to encourage their audience to shop. Find out how you can set this feature up for free.

Last year, we predicted that live video would be one of the biggest digital trends in 2022— and we were right!

Livestream selling is predicted to be worth $184.3 billion by 2027 and can hold your users’ attention 10-20 times longer than pre-recorded content. When a live element is added to a video, it makes the content more engaging for your audience.

TikTok Live Streams can pop up on any users ‘For You’ page, not just your followers. Here you can give real-time demos, answer questions from followers or engage in trends such as “fill orders with me”.

As you showcase each product, a pin related to that product can pop up for your viewers. They can then tap that pin to add the item to their cart and check out directly within the TikTok app.

TikTok Ads

While there is a lot you can do organically, you can also invest in paid advertising on the platform. TikTok ads now reach more than 1 billion people aged 18 and above, and TikTok has many different ad formats to target your audience. Check out this detailed list from Sprout Social.

Ad content is discoverable in search, so ensuring your ads feature the right keywords and hashtags also goes a long way to increasing your reach—even to users you might not consider as being in your target audience.

To advertise on TikTok, you need a TikTok Business Account. Here’s how you can easily set one up. However, One thing to note about TikTok is that depending on where your ad account was set up or registered, you may be unable to advertise in some of your target regions. Consider this before creating your strategy and content plan.

Like most paid advertising platforms, TikTok ads run on a bidding system. That means that the market is highly competitive, and you’ll be competing against other advertisers for specific placements and audiences.

However, TikTok does help you optimise bidding to increase ad deliverability with their objectives. If you’d like a step-by-step guide on how to set up a TikTok ad campaign, Hootsuite has an informative guide explaining the different objectives and the top tips for any beginners.

Even though it’s 2022, it is not too late to hop onto the platform. TikTok users are 1.9x more likely to like, share, or comment on your brand's videos, 2.5x more likely to take future conversion actions with your brand and watch 5.4x more of your brand's livestream than other platforms.

Tiktok is a platform for communities. Whether it's booktok or sciencetok. There is always a corner of the app full of people looking for your product or service.

An active account on the platform can boost your brand awareness, connect you with new audiences and promote your products. So, don’t make the mistake of thinking the app isn’t for a business like yours.

Need help with your digital marketing strategy? Are you interested in trying out TikTok? Our team of experts have helped companies across the world to achieve their goals. Get in touch or follow us on Linkedin and Twitter.