We asked some experts how brands can succeed on TikTok.
“Brands succeeding on TikTok use the right hashtags, follow trends, incorporate influencers, comment regularly/encourage comments, post often, use effects, make interesting videos with good descriptions, use ads, set hashtag challenges, and blend branded content in. Some things that brands should avoid on TikTok are using the platform if their target audience isn’t there, not using user-generated content, repurposing other content, and using ads wrong. To reach a younger audience on TikTok companies need to find ways to entertain them with imaginative and creative personalized brand experiences,” said Todd Ramlin, Manager of Cable Compare.
John Linden, an interior design from Los Angeles with www.mirrorcoop.com says “the best way for brands to advertise on TikTok is to be subtle. Usually, this is done by collaborating with TikTok influencers.
There is no single magic action to reach the youth population. However, for simplicity, these two ideas will be a stepping stone for any brand that wants to be more youth inclusive. Brands should follow trends and collaborate with youth influencers who create content – those are viable paths to success. “
Jeff Harry, author of Rediscover Your Play, who was named Top 100 HR Influencers of 2020 By Engagedly, says, “Many brands are showing up on these platforms like TikTok and Snapchat and doing the exact same boring approach to marketing that they did on other social media platforms.
Maybe, they are doing some product placement or getting an influencer to use their product, but it is the same dull approach that they used to do with TV and even radio. They are not thinking creatively. They are not having fun. They are not allowing their brands to take risks and play on these platforms to create ridiculous videos that have no ROI, but are just fun, creative, and allowing themselves to figure out their voice and brand on this new platform.
Take a look at these Brands’ Twitter Accounts that are having fun with the platform. They are taking risks, they are not taking themselves too seriously. They don’t have a specific agenda or trying to figure out an ROI. They are just being fully present and enjoy the platform, playing with other people on it. That is the magic of TikTok. It is an opportunity to play with other people and create really innovative fun ridiculous content in a no-judgment zone.
So don’t show up with your boring standard advertising that you have done on Instagram and Facebook to TikTok, because you as a company will fail miserably then.
Here are some examples of brands that are having fun while creating original content that represents them. Take for example the Washington Post, which is typically considered a stuffy newspaper that most Gen Z and Millenials would never pick up and now they have this ridiculous guy who is just having fun while educating people and sharing news that now gives the Post street cred for this generation. They can connect and relate to this guy so now they can relate to this brand.”
Fun seems to be a keyword on TikTok – a platform sure to grow in the days ahead.