Tik Tok, Beat the Market

“Clocks were invented to warn us. Tick (time is passing). Tock (time has passed), so said author and poet Kamand Kojouri.

For many marketers, time may also be passing for those who haven’t yet adopted Tik Tok, the biggest craze on social media. Already the most downloaded app in the world in January, Tik Tok was one of several platforms that accelerated when the pandemic began and is now embraced by all demographics.

Why?

Guess was an early adopter of Tik Tok and validated the power of the platform as a marketing tool in its fall 2018 Denim Fit collection campaign. By encouraging viewers to put on Guess denims to the sounds of Bebe Rexha’s pop tune “I’m a Mess” and using four influencers, the brand generated 10.5 million views in just six days. In addition, it resulted in more than 5.5 user-generated videos, more than 12,000 followers on its TikTok account, and achieved a 14.3% engagement rate.

The Washington Post was another early adopter and garnered more than 400,000 followers in a year. In an era of falling subscriptions, an added benefit is that the newspaper reached a global audience as well as a younger demographic in the process.

Often, the most popular and successful videos are everyday fun things. Dance routines, lip syncs, pranks and jokes flood many videos.

For You

One goal of brands creating TikTok videos is to get on ‘For You’, its special site that showcases what they deem as the most popular and trending videos regardless of how many views it’s been receiving. However, very little has been disclosed about the algorithm TikTok uses to determine which videos get selected. The consensus among experts is that engaging content, trending music and influencers help.

Steps to Success

Once the video is completed, insert a caption and several hashtags. These will enhance its discoverability from private, friends or public who can view it as well as comment and duet settings before posting the video.

Duet settings are highly advisable as it allows viewers to record a split screen reaction to the brand’s video. It’s also a good way to expand reach and grow popularity.

Timing

Upgrade to a Pro TikTok account. This affords brands valuable data analytics and insight to help determine when to best air TikTok videos. It also reveals information on follower growth, territories, and which videos they watch.

Cross Promote

Share information about the video on other social media channels and brand publications, emails, etc. Be sure to share the video whenever possible in other venues and platforms.

Monitor

As more videos populate TikTok, gauge the success, response and favorability of each. If any are trending, it could be a sweet spot for the brand. Similarly, if there’s a spike in viewership on a particular date, try to determine what and which one or more may have caused it. If supplementary promotions helped the increase, it may be something to replicate in the future.

Followers

There’s a potential gold mine in TikTok’s follower analytics tab and be sure to utilize it. By looking at such things as gender breakdowns, territories, and videos watched, marketers can get a clearer picture if their video is reaching its target audience.

So, to quote an old showtime expression, “Break a leg!”