Snapchat. Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. We all have them, and, even though not all of us will admit it, we spend a bit too much time on them. Social media is not only good for killing time by scrolling through endless posts and interacting with the world, but it’s one of the most important communication tools for businesses.
Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, with many businesses now shutdown and homeworking coming to the fore, social media is more important than ever. To maintain a large audience reach and engage current and potential customers, businesses have to think about doing things differently.
The latest arrival to the social scene is TikTok. According to their website, they are ‘the leading destination for short-form mobile video’ and their ‘mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy.’ With a younger audience making up the majority of their eye-watering 500 million followership, the platform crossed the one billion download mark in February 2019, making it an essential marketing tool for businesses and brands.
Interested in utilising TikTok for your own company? Here’s a short guide on who it suits, benefits and why lip-syncing is so on trend!
BE UNIQUE
TikTok is a video sharing platform which lets you create a 9-15 second video, with the resulting clip filling your smart phone similar to an Instagram story. The short nature of the video means you need to get a message across quickly and effectively. The best way to do this is to be unique and reflect your brand ethos and image.
Give users an inside look at what goes into your business behind the scenes, introduce a colleague, highlight a particular piece of work or product, but make sure you stay on brand. It doesn’t have to be shot in ultra 4K by a professional videographer. As The Influencer Marketing Factory puts it, ‘you don’t need high quality or highly polished content to make the required impact’ as ‘originality should be the driving factor as opposed to quality.’
DRIVE, ENGAGE AND SHARE
Like other social platforms, TikTok allows you to showcase your business to users, creating a fun and engaging conversation between the brand and the customer.
Clothing companies are linking up with influencers and celebrities to showcase their items. For example, Calvin Klein linked up with Shaun Mendes on TikTok to promote their range. Mendes can be seen wearing a Calvin Klein outfit, talking about how he wished others could experience what it feels like to have large audiences sing back to you. The post garnered 1230 likes and 44 comments and neatly tied into their #mycalvins trend.
Speaking of trends, Hashtags work in a similar vein to Twitter. Companies have been using challenges to connect with their audience, with the pacesetters Chipotle leading the way with #GuacDance, encouraging people to showcase their finest dance moves to coincide with National Avocado Day.
Their #Boorito challenge tied in with Halloween, with the prize of food at a reduced price for customers who ordered in a spooky outfit. The prize? Free burritos for a full year! 3.6 billion views later, it’s fair to say their challenge was a success.
A WORLD OF POSSIBILITIES
The biggest allure for businesses is the number of users. With such a gigantic audience, there is a huge market to engage, collaborate and share creative, snappy and engaging content. Despite currently boasting a flawed algorithm set-up, Social Media Examiner explains that ‘it seems to be much easier for your video content to go viral on TikTok than on other social media platforms.’
The numbers behind TikTok’s rise to prominence as a major player staggering. Despite being introduced midway through the decade, 1.5 million downloads made it the seventh-most downloaded app of the 2010’s. With 150 markets around the world in 39 languages, the reach for you to get your brand out there is limitless. Get connecting!
If you are concerned about the current economic climate and its’ effects on your business, visit our COVID-19 Business Support Hub to learn how GAS can help you control your business running costs.