TikTok - Marketing

TikTok Marketing: Is It Right for Your Business?

TikTok is a ferocious social media beast that can easily eat up hours of your time if you’re not careful. But, did you know TikTok is also a great marketing channel for reaching a Millennial or Gen Z audience?

Gen Z is the largest generation ever; with almost 2 billion ‘zoomers’ out there globally. That fact alone makes TikTok worthy of serious consideration by marketers, but there’s more. Let the experts at Melbourne’s most awarded digital marketing agency run you through the ins and outs of TikTik marketing.

One billion+ monthly active users, and counting

TikTok registered its billionth user last year. An average of 650,000 new users are joining TikTok every day. This phenomenal growth has made it the fastest growing social media network in Australia, and throughout the world.

The majority of TikTok users (62%) are aged 10–29 with a further 16.4% in their thirties.

Instagram, which used to be the marketers’ choice for reaching Gen Z and Millennials before TikTok, still has more total users, but TikTok beats Instagram when it comes to Gen Z users. According to Forrester Research, Instagram usage among Gen Z is declining whereas TikTok usage is increasing rapidly.

Hold on; isn’t TikTok just for bite-sized funny videos?

Gen Z has access to so much content that the best way to reach them is through brief, entertaining and compelling content. That makes TikTok perfect for marketing to younger audiences. The rising social media giant raked up an estimated $2.3 billion in consumer spending last year.

A recent survey shows 56% of TikTok users feel connected to the brands they can see on the app. Almost half of surveyed TikTok users say the app helped them make purchase decisions; and 72% say they find ads on the platform more inspiring than other platforms.

But, isn’t TikTok too comic for advertising a serious business?

The perception about the unseriousness of TikTok is also not entirely true. For example, videos about #inflation saw a nearly 1,900% increase in 2021. Nearly half of TikTok users feel more connected to the brands that offer value on the platform.

So, is TikTok right for my business?

If you’re not ready to market to the soon-to-be largest consumer group, you may want to rethink your marketing strategy.

TikTok is THE channel for marketing to the biggest cohort of Gen Z found anywhere in the cyber universe.

Simply put, TikTok could prove very effective for your business if you want to reach a young and vibrant audience born between 1997-2012. And more than any other platform, marketing on TikTok can be quite fun.

Alright, how do I market my business on TikTok?

Great, now we’re talking. TikTok marketing starts like social marketing on any other platform – by creating a TikTok business account. But that’s where the similarities end.

TikTok is a totally different animal from Instagram, Facebook and Google. It moves much faster than other social media channels and has its unique trends and features that you’ll need to get used to.

Here are a few tips that could help you get started.

Organic TikTok Marketing

The TikTok engine is driven by popularity. It boosts content that has more views. TikTok trends can change quite rapidly, so your social media team needs to keep in sync with what TikTokers are watching. Here are some tips.

  • Be very creative in your marketing videos. TikTok calls itself a world of entertainment, creativity and discovery. Make sure your videos fit in.
  • Follow the 80/20 rule to balance amusement with promotion. Users will skip your video if it looks too much like an ad.
  • Use moving backgrounds, changing camera angles, and varying viewpoints to make your video more appealing. Your old doodle video won’t do very well on TikTok.
  • TikTok videos can be up to 100 seconds or longer. The optimum length for engagement is 21–34 secs.
  • Post original content frequently, if not daily. You can expand your reach and brand awareness quite rapidly if you post every day.
  • Make sure you show TikTokers full-screen videos in portrait orientation. The recommended video format for TikTok is 9:16.
  • Partnering with TikTok influencers can improve the recall value of your video by 27%.
  • Create TikTok specific content by taking help from TikTok’s Creative Solutions Guide.
  • Use TikTok Creators Marketplace to amplify the return on your investment.

      • Paid TikTok Marketing

      If your branded videos are making an impact, paid TikTok ads can multiply the impact by expanding your reach. You can advertise on TikTok yourself or, if TikTok decides you are a good fit, you may qualify for managed TikTok Ads.

      Self-Service TikTok Ads

      There are plenty of ad formats you can use, but here are the most popular ones:

      In-feed ads: These are the ads you create and feed yourself (as opposed to the ads that are managed by TikTok on your behalf). After you create a business account, you can go to TikTok Ad Manager and get started.

      Image ads: Image ads run only in BuzzVideo, TopBuzz and Babe – the TikTok Newsfeed Apps. They can feature an image, your logo or brand and your text message.

      Video ads: These include a 5-60 secs full-screen video, a display image, app or brand name, and ad text. Video ads run in the users’ For You feed or in TikTok news apps

      Managed TikTok Ads

      If your business qualifies to work with a TikTok sales rep, you can have access to additional ad formats. These include:

      TopView ads: These are video ads that take over the full screen for 5-60 seconds when the user launches the app.

      Branded Hashtag Challenge: Use TikTok’s branded hashtag challenges (HTC) to boost the reach and engagement of your ads. These are video ads that run as a 3-6 day campaign. User-generated content is featured on the hashtag challenge page.


      Branded Effects: These are video addons that make your ad more appealing and interactive. Branded effects include stickers, filters, and special effects that encourage TikTokers to engage with your ad.

      How do I get started with TikTok marketing?

      Sounds like you’re ready to start. You can either go it yourself or, if you have more important business to attend to, you can get in touch with our expert digital marketing team today. Believe us. TikTok marketing will not disappoint.