With over 1 billion active users, TikTok is fast becoming one of the most popular social media platforms. It’s now ranked at or near the top of the list of the world’s most popular apps and has been downloaded more than 3 billion times.
In Q1 2020 alone, the app had 315 million downloads – the most downloads in a quarter by any app, ever!
Known as the home for short dance, lip-sync, comedy and talent videos, the video-sharing social media platform has also introduced TikTok For Business, giving marketers, advertisers and developers opportunities to reach more people through the popular app.
Reaching your target audience
There’s no doubt that TikTok has taken off with Gen Z, but if you’re looking for fresh ways to increase awareness and drive app downloads, then it’s a good idea to get on TikTok – the app is clearly growing in popularity with people of all ages.
● 26% of U.S. users are between the ages of 25 and 44.
● TikTok is catching up to YouTube – 16% of U.S. kids aged four to 15 are spending 85 minutes per day on YouTube, compared to 80 minutes on TikTok.
● Engagement rates on TikTok are higher than on other platforms. Influencers with less than 10K followers had an engagement rate of 3.7% on Instagram and 0.6% on Twitter, compared to 8.1% on TikTok.
TikTok ads
With an advertising platform that’s just emerging, you have the opportunity to:
● engage with millions of users who are regularly using the app
● stand out on a less saturated platform with little advertising competition
● get creative with new video ad formats and advertise in a way that feels more real
Brand Takeover
A full-screen video ad that auto plays as soon as a user opens TikTok
Length: 3 second image or up to 5 seconds of video
Perk: Only one advertiser can take over a category each day, and because the ad plays right away, your target audience won’t miss it
Image source here
TopView
Like Brand Takeover, this ad takes over a user’s screen but it pops up a few seconds into their video viewing experience instead of as soon as they open the app.
Length: Up to 60 seconds but 9–15 seconds is recommended
Perk: If you can create an ad that’s a bit quirky or funny, the video will easily transition between what the user is already watching, making it less likely that they’ll skip the ad.
Video here that you can download and add to the blog
In-Feed Ad
In a similar ad type to Instagram Stories, this ad shows up while a user is tapping through and watching videos in their #ForYou feed.
Length: Up to 60 seconds but getting attention within the first 2–3 seconds is recommended
Perk: You can choose from multiple calls to action that will take users directly to your landing page or app, including ‘shop now’ or ‘download’. TikTok users can like, comment, share, and interact with your video ad just like any other video on their #ForYou feed.
Branded Effects
Branded stickers, 2D and 3D special effects and augmented reality face filters that people can use in their own video creations.
Perk: Branded effects can spread awareness globally in a way that crosses language divides, so they are a great tool for mass discovery.
Video here that you can download and add to the blog to show branded effects
Branded Hashtag Challenge
Users create videos around a theme that’s put out by a brand with a popular song and original hashtag.
Perk: Anyone can put out a challenge on TikTok, but a branded hashtag challenge
has its own official landing page on the app and can be promoted further with a banner at the top of the Discovery page. TikTok now offers Hashtag Challenge Plus where users can shop for products without leaving the app.
Video here that you can download and add to the blog
Paid Partnerships
Partner with TikTok’s top creators through Creator Marketplace, where you can search for an influencer whose audience, location and interests match your app.
Perk: TikTok’s top influencers have already built huge audiences (the top TikTok influencer has 74 million followers!) and followers are more likely to trust and engage with videos they post.
But, what about security?
You’ve probably heard that TikTok is under scrutiny with governments and businesses because of the app’s origins and fears of a link to the Chinese government, so it’s helpful to understand a bit of background to how TikTok got to where it is today.
ByteDance first launched Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, in 2016, and after building a strong user base released the app in selected countries as TikTok. ByteDance bought lip sync video app Musical.ly, which was popular in the U.S. – first operating Douyin in China, Musical.ly in the US and TikTok in other countries around the world, and then merging Musical.ly with TikTok.
To this day, Bytedance operates Douyin in China and TikTok in all other countries to bring a distinction to the social media restrictions that people experience in China. TikTok has global offices with teams in Los Angeles, New York, London, Paris, Berlin, Dubai, Mumbai, Singapore, Jakarta, Seoul, and Tokyo.
TikTok has worked hard to earn the trust of policymakers and the public by updating Community Guidelines, publishing a Transparency Report, hiring a Chief Information Security Officer and Global General Counsel, expanding Trust & Safety Hubs, and announcing plans to open a Transparency Centre in LA. The Transparency Centre will allow people to take a first hand look at how TikTok teams go about moderating content on the platform.
Conclusion
TikTok gives you an opportunity to increase awareness and drive app downloads in fresh ways through five different ad formats and paid partnerships. By advertising early through the new platform TikTok For Business, you’ll be able to reach more people with less competition than other social media platforms – with the potential to see millions of views and interactions.
Ready to create a TikTok video ad? We can help!
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