TikTok has had incredible success since its rebranding from the dancing app Music.ly to something that captures the audiences from Vine and Music.ly above alike, creating a phenomenon of over a billion active users tracking their DIY projects, sharing their music, giving their thoughts and opinions. The list goes on for how people have used the TikTok platform. It’s a simple, short-form entertainment style that has overtaken how many internet users consume media. 

Of course, with all those active users, brands have taken the opportunity to connect with a diverse and highly engaged audience. However, there’s more to TikTok than posting trendy videos—it requires a well-informed marketing strategy to pinpoint where in the TikTok audience to focus the brand. Unlike more established social media platforms like Facebook, the ability to get the right eyes to see your videos relies even more on the content being published due to TikTok’s even more robust algorithm. 

Understanding the Power of TikTok Marketing

That unique algorithm, prioritising content over follower count, levels the playing field for brands of all sizes. This is good news for small businesses and one they must capitalise on because they can achieve viral success with just the right content and focus their efforts on creating content that is good quality, highly focused, and incredibly engaging instead of worrying so much about that pesky follower count increasing each quarter. 

The sting in the tail, though, is that brands must understand what makes TikTok tick to seize this potential with the tenacity required. 

The first key to understanding marketing on TikTok, and the first of many TikTok marketing tips, is knowing that the TikTok audience will be less forgiving if they’re just straight being sold to or directed somewhere. The community is all about authenticity, creativity and community; thus, users come to the platform to be entertained. Unlike the Gladiator ring, where entertainment is rewarded with life and death, TikTok users reward brands that provide value through engaging, relatable content with clicks and loyalty. So, to stand out, you must prioritise creative storytelling and organically tap into the platform’s trends and culture. Not in a Steve Bushcemi “How do you do, fellow kids?” way. 

Developing a TikTok Marketing Strategy

So, how do you develop a TikTok marketing strategy that ticks all those boxes while making an impact? 

Define Your Goals

Start by identifying what you want to achieve with TikTok marketing. Are you looking to build brand awareness, drive traffic to your website, increase sales, or grow your follower base? Clearly defined goals will guide your content creation and help measure your success. This is the basis for any brand looking to launch on a social media platform, so identifying how you intend to use TikTok is goal numero uno. 

Understand Your Target Audience

You WILL find all sorts of people on TikTok. Yes, kids, your grandma might even have it. 

That being said, it’s trendy among younger Millennials, Gen Z and Gen Alpha. That’s a potential age range of late twenties to mid-teens. Research your brand’s average audience age to understand their preferences, behaviours, and the type of content they engage with on TikTok. For example, if your average age hits young millennials or older Gen Z, they may not be as interested in consuming Roblox content as the Gen Alphas. Your TikTok marketing strategy can only benefit from knowing your audience. 

Create a Content Calendar

The double-edged sword of TikTok marketing is the fact that content is key, but so is posting consistently. Plan your content – but allow flexibility for trends so you can catch them as they zoom by the user’s FYP. Hit it too soon, and it doesn’t engage; hit it too late, and it’s already a dead horse. Keep posting consistently to ensure you regularly show up in your followers’ feeds (and whoever the algorithm deems relevant), but remain vigilant on the month’s flavour. 

To help balance this, your TikTok marketing strategy needs to use a combination of challenges, educational videos, behind-the-scenes glimpses, and trends to keep viewership up and entertain TikTokius Maximus. 

Additional TikTok marketing tip: don’t just jump on any and every trend just because it’s trending; that leads to an inauthenticity that’ll be sniffed out in minutes. Ask yourself if the trend can be entertainingly worked into the brand. Does it work with the brand messaging? Does it work with the audience? If you find yourself manipulating the office team into learning a trending dance routine, ensure you can back up your reasonings. 

Incorporate User-Generated Content

TikTok marketing can be a beautifully collaborative environment. There’s a whole subsection of musicians who duet with each other and add a little flavour to a riff someone came up with in their bedroom or to add sound effects to a child falling over. The duet feature is used and sometimes abused on TikTok—it can enhance the video, someone can add their expert knowledge to a topic, or people can beef with each other publicly. 

However, the average user’s choice to use the feature is up to them, but for brands, it’s an even easier way to build a community and provide powerful social proof. If several people are talking about your product or services, you can get several people to create content related to your brand. Create branded hashtags or challenges to inspire your audience to participate with you and advocate for you. People trust other people, so they believe in that, especially on TikTok. 

Essential TikTok Marketing Tips

You now have the strategy. You now understand why having the TikTok user on your side is essential. Now, how do you create content for TikTok? Check out these TikTok marketing tips!

Embrace Authenticity

TikTok somehow feels more personal. It could be down to the more face-centric nature of the videos—when people join a conversation, it’s like a global FaceTime session. So, where other platforms rely on highly curated content, authenticity is of higher value in TikTok land than in Polish. Show the humanity of your brand, people behind the scenes being captured in real moments rather than highly practised and scripted moments—unless the script is part of a skit. 

Hook Viewers in the First Few Seconds

TikTok videos are short, and users scroll quickly. Their attention spans are probably a little harder to catch, so be as compelling as you can in the first few seconds, and please put it all into one part if possible! 

Experiment with different things to find the most compelling way to capture your audience’s attention —it could be as simple as bold text, an intriguing question, or just jumping right into the meat of the video’s topic. 

Use Captions and Text Overlays

It’s always good to be accessible, as there will be HOH users and people who like to watch with the sound off, so always include captions. Some people use the captions and text overlays in different ways, like to add inner thoughts to what they’re speaking about or to correct information, but this is not always accessible if, for comedic value, what’s being typed is different to what’s being said. If your audience resonates with that kind of comedy, include a transcript so no one is left out. 

Engage with Your Audience

TikTok marketing is a two-way street. Engage with your audience by responding to comments, participating in conversations, and even duetting or stitching their videos. This interaction builds community and increases users’ likelihood of engaging with your future content. It’s also an opportunity to answer questions with more videos, and they can be clicked on straight from the comments, so you have already doubled the amount of content accessed from one video. 

Optimise Your Profile

A simple but sometimes overlooked aspect is optimising your brand’s profile with a clear bio, a recognisable profile picture, and a link to your website or other social media channels. This makes it easy for users to learn more about your brand and explore your offerings, and they can access it all in one place. 

TikTok Advertising Best Practices

Organic content is crucial on TikTok, but its advertising platform offers powerful tools to amplify your reach. How do you ensure your paid ad campaigns are as effective as your organic content, and what are the TikTok advertising best practices?

Choose the Right Ad Format

TikTok offers various ad formats, including In-Feed Ads, TopView Ads, Branded Hashtags, and Branded Effects. Each format serves a different purpose, so choose the one that aligns best with your campaign goals. For example, In-Feed Ads drive traffic, while Branded Hashtags are ideal for engagement.

Create Native-Looking Ads

TikTok users are savvy and can quickly spot traditional ads. To maximise engagement, your ads should blend seamlessly with organic content. This means adopting TikTok’s casual, fun, and creative style in your ad creatives. Ads that feel native to the platform are more likely to resonate with users and drive action.

Utilise TikTok’s Targeting Options

TikTok’s advertising platform offers robust targeting options, allowing you to reach specific demographics, interests, and behaviours. Take advantage of these options to ensure the right audience sees your ads. Additionally, consider using TikTok’s Custom Audiences and Lookalike Audiences to refine your targeting further.

Test and Optimise

Like any digital marketing campaign, testing is critical to success on TikTok. Run A/B tests on ad creatives, copy, and targeting options to see what works best. Use TikTok’s analytics to monitor performance and make data-driven adjustments to optimise your campaigns.

Now you have the best TikTok marketing tips, TikTok advertising best practices and a more extensive insight into TikTok and its unique marketing style. 

At Nautilus Marketing, we specialise in guiding brands towards TikTok success and social media marketing. Whether you require refinement of an existing strategy or are a blank slate looking to establish a presence, we’re right beside you, rowing the boats while navigating you through the powerful storm that is TikTok marketing and harnessing its power.