Are you still on the sidelines about marketing on TikTok? Forward-thinking brands start taking over this platform NOW as it’s considered the fastest-growing social network today with the potential to engage the adulting generation of digital customers - Gen Z. These companies rush to become the first in the industry to establish a strong presence on TikTok. Thanks to its entertainment nature and orientation at the vertical video format, it is a very favorable environment for creative storytelling and marketing innovation.
To grow your community’s love and brand popularity, you will need to stay on top of TikTok trends. If you would like to integrate TikTok influencer marketing into your brand strategy and achieve a higher ROI, here are six trends to keep an eye on this year.
Influencer Marketing
A big reason for considering TikTok for your business is that this social network is new. It means that influencer content is much less salesy here and earns greater trust than on other platforms. There is likely nothing more effective for brand community marketing than collaboration with creators who are native to TikTok. Influencers with their non-ordinary lifestyles and boundless creativity can bring the brand’s communication with the audience to the next level. The larger the following, the larger power a creator has to influence the purchasing decisions of TikTokers.
Red Bull is famous for its innovative approach to online marketing. This brand experiments on all social media platforms, and TikTok isn’t an exception. One of its recent influencer marketing campaigns has been the collaboration with @Keeoh. In the video, the creator has claimed that he will perform a magic trick by pouring the RedBull into a travel mug and then showing that it’s still empty. But “magic” went into fun when Keeoh’s friend popped up upon the table, and it was obvious that the influencer was pouring the drink into his mouth.
Source: @Keeoh on TikTok
TikTok influencer marketing is very effective if done correctly. SocialBook influencer marketing software can help you find the right people by using a comprehensive system of search filters and intelligent tools. It also allows you to estimate the influencer engagement rate, set up influencer marketing campaigns in minutes, and get data-driven insights.
TikTok Duets
Duets is another successful TikTok practice gaining traction today. Instead of publishing canned content, brands should adapt their videos to the platform by using creative, in-app editing tools. The Duet function is one of the multiple ways to produce genuine content that connects with the TikTok audience. Companies can make a video and let users duet this video with a side-by-side video (both videos are played on a screen simultaneously).
This approach allows companies to showcase their products unobtrusively, encouraging them to interact with a brand, not just sell like in ordinary ads. Duets can help brands forge strong connections with the audience that will result in customer loyalty and a higher conversion rate in the long run.
You might be surprised but a TikTok video shouldn’t be complicated to appeal to millions of viewers. The Puma’s TikTok campaign started with a single video of a barista who failed to recreate the Puma logo on a cup of coffee. The brand boosted this idea by starting a challenge that encouraged users to duet the original video and show their attempts to recreate a logo.
Source: Puma on TikTok
Brand Takeover Ads
If you aren’t yet familiar with TikTok advertising options, a Brand Takeover Ad is one of the most effective of them. When opening up an app, you might have seen a pop-up full-screen advertising video. It’s a Brand Takeover Ad. This advertisement format allows delivering mass awareness and driving sales as your brand messaging appears to a target audience upon opening TikTok. There is also an opportunity to add a clickable link to a landing page or a Branded Hashtag Challenge.
One of the most successful Brand Takeover Ad campaigns was run by Guess Jeans. The company boosted its #InMyDenim challenge via a Brand Takeover Ad, which led to huge engagement on TikTok with 1,629 user-generated videos as a response to the challenge.
Source: TikTok for Business
Memes
Sound and video memes are extremely popular among Gen Z and Millennials that make up the biggest part of all TikTok users. Memes are usually humorous videos, which gives them more chances to become viral. You can create a fun video and overlay it with a song that is popular on TikTok at that moment, and voilà! You just created a meme. It is native TikTok content that seems to appear along with the birth of this social media platform itself. Brands integrating memes into their content look authentic and engaging.
Ryanair is known as a master of TikTok memes. The low-cost airline company combines simple videos with viral songs and constantly receives great user engagement. Here you can watch one of its most popular videos with a Ryanair plane moving toward instructors and put on a song called ‘Walk’ by Saucy Santana which has been viral on TikTok at that time.
Source: Ryanair on TikTok
Branded Hashtag Challenges
A branded hashtag challenge is a campaign during which a brand creates its own hashtag and encourages users to submit videos corresponding to the topic of a challenge and feature this tag. The biggest reason for launching a hashtag challenge is that it has the capability to become viral and draw the attention of thousands of TikTokers. The most successful hashtag challenge is #eyeslipsface performed by Elf Cosmetics. The company asked people to send their videos with a song ‘Eyes, Lips, Face.’ An excellent example is a video made by a famous comedian and TV host Ellen DeGeneres.
Source: @ellendegeneres on TikTok
Branded Effects
Last year, TikTok launched Branded Effects that allow brands to build branded games into their clips. This feature enables companies to create customizable “effects” that include shareable stickers, AR filters, and lenses. TikTokers can easily use or apply these gamified filters to their videos. Branded Effects are commonly available for up to 10 days on TikTok. This practice is a great way to advertise on TikTok creatively, engaging the audience with exciting online experiences. There are numerous amazing branded effects, but our favorite one is created by Versailles Palace. Here is a fun video with the ‘Versailles Run’ filter made @handlaggageonly on TikTok.
Source: @handlaggageonly on TikTok
Wrapping Up
Isn’t your brand on TikTok yet? You have to consider this social media platform for your business, as it’s on the rise right now! In the past 4 years, TikTok has shown incredible growth and popularity, especially among younger generations. While its audience is adulting and becoming the most powerful swath of digital consumers, brands should start to build their presence on TikTok and produce creative content that meets user expectations. Discover your audience’s content preferences, mirror their interests, and follow these six trends to build a loyal community on TikTok. Would you like to involve influencers in your TikTok marketing? Use SocialBook to find sponsored partnerships within minutes and advertise more effectively.