5 Things Marketers Must Know Before Joining TikTok

People Are Important

It’s easy to maintain a neutral, even incognito persona, when communicating on behalf of a brand on other social media platforms. However curious they are, the audience rarely finds out or gets to know the person sitting behind the screen tweeting – like the Wendy’s Twitter account that’s known for trash-talking their competitors on Twitter or ending up in the middle of a viral Chicken Nuggets campaign. Even when that original person is unveiled, there’s a layer of separation.

Meanwhile, most videos on TikTok feature a main character, either someone doing a trending dance routine, telling a funny story about their lives or pranking their friends. That means companies have to decide who to put in the spotlight on TikTok.

Will it be one of the employees (or a whole bunch of them) or should you hire an influencer to be the spokesperson? The Washington Post predominantly features one of its employees. The NBA’s Chicago Bulls also decided to go with an employee, of sorts – their mascot Benny the Bull is the main character in their videos.

If more and more companies join in on the TikTok fun, they might think of new ways to create viral content and it could take just one video to change the trends within the platform.

It’s All About the Trends

Even if you aren’t a dedicated TikToker, you might have noticed a recurring theme in videos – it’s safe to say that it’s the essence of the platform. It’s thousands, if not millions, of people doing the same dances, lip syncing to the same tunes, and joining in on challenges.

When it comes to this platform, there is absolutely no shame in jumping on all of the trends around even if you are a month late. Or doing them all over again, publishing different takes of the same story.

Charli D’Amelio could be considered the princess of TikTok and has been highlighted as one of the app’s success stories. The 15-year-old joined the platform late last summer and by April 2020 had more than 44 million followers. She has also taken her fame outside of TikTok by appearing in a Super Bowl commercial and visiting talk shows around the US.

Don’t Fear Trying Your Own Thing, Too

Enough about dancing! “People on TikTok go viral for literally the dumbest reasons possible” is one of the most popular sounds people use to show off their creativity.

There’s really much more to TikTok than moving your hips around – humor and bringing knowledge to the table will also be greatly appreciated by the community. It’s also fair to say that Vine – RIP Vine – has been reborn with all the short comedy sketches thriving on the new platform as well.

Tutorials and humor are the obvious roads to take for companies looking to make a name for themselves on TikTok. Thinking about how your products can make appearances in the videos is probably the best way to start brainstorming sessions in the marketing department.

Sometimes a completely random video ends up being the most popular using a particular sound or would make Vine users proud, but others have some substance. Helpful videos are doing great, and if the time limit of the videos doesn’t allow to tell the full story, then second, third, and fourth parts are uploaded as separate videos.

The Community Is Strong With This One

On a platform where virality is so common, it’s only obvious that the audience is rather unified. Also, since it’s still rather niche and new, it adds to the overall closeness of the community.

TikTok as a company is really looking after their users with pop-ups that are warning about possible dangerous activities being performed in the videos (backflips or any other stunts) or call to action about looking up reliable information about COVID-19. A university student trying to show her professor the essence of TikTok virality gathered a million likes in less than 24 hours.

Overall, people on TikTok aren’t shy to like, share, and comment, which are the obvious attributes that boost visibility of the videos. And a feature that helps track how well a video is really doing is that every time the URL of a video is copied from the app, it counts towards the engagement.

The Takeaway

The best way not to make your brand’s TikTok plop is to put some thought and effort into creating engaging videos that match the vibe of the platform. While only a few brands are testing the waters, it’s a good time to jump on the bandwagon, but the regular Instagram and Facebook agenda will not get you anywhere – you have to give the audience what they want.