Are you on TikTok?

TikTok has taken the world by storm. Since its launch, the platform has been a topic of global interest. Right at the onset, its organic video content caused controversies and had some celebrities calling out the platform as “a bad influence on their kids” as it exposes Millennials and GenZ to content that might seem not suitable.

Let us start with a little brief on the platform, which has over 1 billion users globally. TikTok is an app for making and sharing short videos. The videos are shot horizontally and the videos are navigated by scrolling up and down, like a feed, not by tapping or swiping side by side.

With TikTok, video content creators have various tools at their disposal, such as filters and sounds, to adapt and make videos interesting. Users can also engage with other users, through response videos or by means of duets, where users can duplicate videos and add their content to videos created by others. With the right hashtags and new video challenges launched on a daily basis, TikTok is fast becoming one of the most engaging platforms on the internet today.

Tiktok was still undiscovered territory for anyone over the age of 25 when it was first launched, however, we have seen its growth now and how it has become a crucial tool for businesses to gain exposure to a unique and potentially new audience.

So how does TikTok actually contribute to a successful marketing strategy?

We will talk about this in the next part of this blog.

Stay tuned.

TikTok and Marketing

In the first part of my blog, I highlighted how TikTok has grown to become one of the best social media platforms in the past years. In this blog, I will talk about its importance for brands and businesses.

TikTok marketing is becoming essential now for brands that are incorporating it in their communication strategies to create more awareness, engage their target audience, get feedback, and sell or advertise products/services. Some of the brands, globally and regionally, that are active with their content on TikTok are Amazon, Guess, NBA, HP, Calvin Klein, Namshi, and Splash.

What is good about the platform is that it doesn’t depend solely on influencers, like Instagram and Snapchat do and therefore one does not have to pay a huge sum of money to promote a brand. If you are a business, you can simply create a Business TikTok account and start creating your own organic content, where you can post what you want.

Making an official ad on TikTok is also a good way to get more views for your content, and there are lots of different TikTok ads that can be used to spread the word.

Once you are setting a strategy and want to incorporate TiktTok in it, it is very important to note that the platform should be approached in a different way than other platforms such as Instagram or Facebook marketing. It would be good to first identify target audience and learn about TikTok demographics before rolling out content.

TikTok is all about sound and video. It’s hard to have a successful TikTok post without some interesting audio and eye-catching visuals. Even when used for business purpose, one cannot ignore the fact that it resonates more with audiences when integrated with the right audio-video combination. So, even though you may maintain a very professional appearance on Instagram, you’ll probably want to tone it down a bit and get silly for TikTok.

There are lot of great opportunities for your business to become one of the trailblazers. If done right, you could end up setting new advertising and content paradigms.

In conclusion, it is a good idea to give it a shot and try TikTok marketing out for yourself. If you haven’t yet, download the app, flip through some videos, and see whether it fits into your brand’s marketing strategy.

Khaled Abu Hishme is Group Account Director at Cicero & Bernay Communication Consultancy, an independent PR agency headquartered in Dubai offering new-age public relations consultancy to the UAE and across the MENA region. | www.cbpr.me