Tick…Tick…Tick. Is time running out for you to make the most of TikTok? Not if you make the right investments.

TikTok has surpassed a number of social platforms in key engagement areas, such as retention rate and active collaboration features like duets and stitches, thanks to recent feature rollouts and off-the-chart viewership numbers.

To optimize reach and facilitate purchase, best-in-class businesses use TikTok’s native tools, editing options, ad formats, and ecommerce capabilities. In fact, as of November 2021, 84% of the top 50 brands had a TikTok profile.

However, many high-performing firms are still underinvesting in their brand TikTok pages or avoiding the medium entirely. What does this imply for digital marketing executives?

Opportunities with the Target Audience

First, those who ignore TikTok will miss out on communicating with key audiences. TikTok has a massive, hyper-engaged user base that marketers should be aware of. The platform is also investing in more complex commercial services, such as TikTok Ads Manager and the goal-driven Promote feature. TikTok allows marketers to spend in a variety of ad formats and influencer relationships to promote a specific call to action among a highly focused audience.

Given this, digital marketers should evaluate the extent of TikTok’s development and audience, its business tools, and the competitive landscape in order to initiate educated talks about the merits of investing within the marketing department and the rest of the C-suite.

Missing Out on Social Commerce Development

Second, TikTok’s increased investment in social commerce implies that digital marketers risk missing out on a significant monetization potential. TikTok reports that the hashtag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt has had over 6.8 billion views, and viral videos frequently result in immediate sales increase. After their watermelon products went popular on the app, one cosmetic firm reported a 600% boost in daily sales. TikTok has capitalized on the success of viral items by integrating in-app ecommerce capabilities — for example, an in-app store and a link in bio — to provide users with a seamless purchasing experience.

As a result, digital marketers must monitor TikTok’s commerce features and assess their fit with key marketing objectives. As personal data privacy becomes more of a concern, keep an eye on ongoing legal issues and maintain transparency with users.

Use TikTok to Enhance the Customer Journey Experience

Brands that use TikTok — and other key social media channels — successfully across the customer journey outperform competition by increasing word-of-mouth, engaging more prospects, and producing more valuable engagement with consumers.

To increase brand exposure and consideration, digital marketing executives have historically concentrated their social media efforts on brand postings, advertising, and influencer marketing. They frequently, however, fail to establish and invest in social initiatives that increase customer happiness, loyalty, and brand advocacy, so passing up opportunities to enhance customer relationships.

To successfully deliver value through social media, organizations must consider the larger context of consumer requirements, as well as how and why customers utilize social channels, rather than just which channels they use.

Identify Social Opportunities Throughout the Customer Journey

TikTok brands often play three roles: content developer, influencer partner, and advertiser. Top performers in all three categories provide informal and enjoyable material to cater to the platform’s algorithm.

Understanding that TikTok’s primary audience is seeking creativity, authenticity, and collaboration will aid in determining the best mix of TikTok features and ad types (e.g., in-feed ads, discover page, brand takeovers, and dynamic showcase ads) to further marketing campaign goals and achieve the optimal customer journey.

Be Responsive and Use User Generated Content (UGC) During the Purchase Cycle

Social media is more than simply a platform for one-way messaging. It is an opportunity to build loyalty and promote word-of-mouth. Active advocacy is critical for increasing marketing results in today’s more connected and social world.

TikTok may help digital marketers increase brand awareness by optimizing the reach of branded content on the site, which is commonly measured by video views. TikTok, when used properly, can assist drive traffic to brand sites, social media, or the landing page of a business’s most recent campaign. Audio, particularly catchy melodies, is essential for brand organic and paid videos. Similarly, hashtags can assist marketers in catering to particular demographics and serve as a major campaign visibility KPI.

UGC challenges are an excellent method to increase reach and align with different stages of the customer experience. A typical challenge requires users to emulate dance motions and other actions or to apply AR filters while listening to enticing music. To track performance, digital marketers might develop a challenge hashtag and begin by posting on brand accounts. To optimize reach, have influencers follow up with posts on their handles and complement with paid ad spend. After all, collaborating with platform-native influencers, whose posts often produce higher interaction, is one of the most successful strategies to enhance brand recognition and drive sales.

Don’t underestimate TikTok’s popularity.

From community to connection to commerce, social media’s value for marketers is only growing — and TikTok’s rapid growth as a crucial social platform cannot be overstated. At the moment, it’s the site with the biggest potential organic reach when compared to others like Meta or Twitter, which is noteworthy given the overall drop in organic reach.

Social marketing channels can be helpful in meeting marketing’s business objectives, but there are a variety of challenges on digital marketing professionals to ensure their brand is leveraging the appropriate channels to produce the maximum returns for your organization and your customers.

Seattle Advertising specializes in all types of Digital Marketing and Digital Advertising.  Contact us today!