TikTok is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms in the world. It's a social discovery platform for short-form mobile videos that celebrates and empowers a new generation of creators. With 800 million monthly active users accessing the app for an average of 52 minutes per day, it's becoming increasingly valuable to advertise on TikTok. Not sure if TikTok is right for your brand? Find out why you can't ignore TikTok anymore here.
TikTok is especially great for reaching fans under the age of 30, as Millenials and Generation Z flock to this app. In fact, 69% of TikTok users are between the ages of 13 to 24, while 65% of users are under the age of 29, in the United States. Not sure what the best practices are for advertising to your fans on TikTok? Read on for helpful tips to consider when advertising on TikTok.
1) Choose Your Ad Type
Hashtag Challenge
This type of ad campaign capitalizes on the popular hashtag challenge trend on TikTok. Hashtag challenges typically encourage users to create and share content in relation to your campaign hashtag. By encouraging user-generated content (UGC) by asking users to participate in a challenge (something TikTokers naturally love to participate in), this type of ad campaign has the potential to get a high volume of publicity and can go viral. Consider sponsoring your challenge. TikTok allows brands to sponsor their challenges, in which the brand's challenge is placed on TikTok's discovery page for six days, allowing the campaign to get maximum reach and engagement.
Ensure your tile on the TikTok discovery page is visually appealing and entices users to clickthrough because this is where users will organically find your sponsored hashtag challenge.
In addition, use the Official Videos function. These videos are pinned to the top of the challenge page and provide users with inspiration and ideas they can incorporate in their own videos. In the example below, popular Netflix series Stranger Things and Baskin Robbins partnered up to encourage TikTok users to showcase how they like to binge watch Stranger Things (ideally while eating Baskin Robbins ice cream).
In this example, the NFL promoted Superbowl LIV by asking TikTokers to show how they were getting ready for the big game.
Brand Takeover
This is a fullscreen ad in the form of a 3 to 5-second JPG, GIF, or video. It's shown when a user first opens the TikTok app. Your ad can link to your internal or external destination, such as a Hashtag Challenge within TikTok or your campaign landing page. The fullscreen format of this type of ad campaign easily captures user attention as it's the first impression they will have when they open TikTok. Ensure your ad has a high impact visual to avoid people skipping the ad.
In-Feed Video Advertising
These ads appear as native videos in the TikTok feed. These In-Feed Video ads are 5 to 15 seconds long; auto-play, full-screen, and audio options are available. This type of ad campaign is a great way to capture TikTokers' attention because users frequently browse through their TikTok feeds to see what other people are posting. In fact, TikTok users spend 75% of their feed time in the "For You" feed (where these ads appear). Therefore, your ad will gain incredible exposure and play seamlessly within the TikTok platform. These ads mimic organic videos by including a profile picture, username, and all the functions that organic TikTok videos have (like, share, and comments). These ads encourage users to click to an internal or external destination. Ensure your caption is concise, informative and upfront since users may not finish watching the entire video.
2D/3D/AR Branded Lenses/Effect
Choose from a variety of unique face filters and fully animated 3D objects, allowing TikTokers to change their environment drastically through the TikTok app. Lenses are activated either automatically when a user selects it or through motion technology when a user does a certain movement, such as moving their heads. This feature is similar to the AR lenses on Instagram and Snapchat. Using branded lenses/effects is a fun way to let users interact with your brand by playing with your filter. You can create a stronger bond to your brand while promoting products by integrating Branded Lenses into a Hashtag Challenge.
Branded Stickers
Branded stickers are a fun way to entice TikTokers to engage with your content. This form of advertising is less intrusive than other ads formats and is interactive. The NFL has jumped on this type of ad campaign with their player AR stickers.
Custom Influencer Package
These ads are in partnership with a TikTok user with influence in your market. They appear as sponsored content created by a TikTok influencer. TikTok influencers receive lots of engagement, so these types of ads are a good choice for advertising to your fans.
2) Keep it 'On Brand' with TikTok
One of the best ways to advertise on TikTok is to create ads that are authentic and in-line with what TikTokers see on the app. In-feed ads are one of your best options because ads appear in TikTokers' feeds. TikTok creates a seamless experience with in-feed ads to ensure they blend in with the user experience.
The key to making your ad 'on brand' with what users normally see on TikTok is to make your ad not appear like an ad. Make your ad look organic and natural with low production value, something a TikToker might make themselves. Creating a relatable, fun, creative ad with light-hearted humour is a great approach to take. You can even just shoot it on your smartphone for a more authentic feel. When it comes to Hashtag Challenges, ensure they're easy to participate in and avoid barriers to entry. You should also avoid making a challenge overly-specific. For example, make dance-based challenges fun and creative, but doable by people who don't have a dance background.
3) Make it a Scroll Stopper
It is crucial to make your ad a scroll stopper, especially for in-feed ads. The first second of your ad should be compelling, engaging and eye-catching to make TikTokers stop scrolling through their feeds. Otherwise, you may end up with users skipping right by.
4) People Love a Catchy Song
Music is a hugely important part of TikTok's appeal. Many of the most popular TikToks use a catchy song, so you should ensure your video ads use music. The most popular songs on TikTok encourage users to synchronize their actions with the music or audio. Using a song that is trending on TikTok is an excellent choice to maximize engagement. Looking for some inspiration? We've got a list of the most popular songs on TikTok in 2019 here
5) Try a TikTok Trend
Combining self-promotion with user engagement is one of the best ways to be successful on TikTok. TikTok videos that incorporate popular TikTok trends can go viral as they are relatable, and users love watching and sharing videos that involve popular trends. Incorporate emerging and popular content trends that align with your brand and incorporate it into your ad. In this example, Apple showcases the iPhone's ability to shoot slo-mo selfies - an incredibly popular trend on TikTok.
6) Influencers Have Influence
TikTok influencers are recognizable and have huge followings, so they can definitely help your brand gain exposure, making them very valuable to partner with. Influencers have the skillset and the reputation for engaging TikTok users, driving optimal engagement. Ensure you choose the right influencer to help you reach the fans you want to target. It's a good idea to use different types of influencers in order to give users a variety of creative inspiration. For stronger fan engagement, allow your influencers to use their voice by creating content that is natural and genuine. In this example, Chipotle partnered up with TikTok influencer David Dobrik and had him participate in the #ChipotleLidFlip Challenge on TikTok. David is famous for his funny videos, so he was able to authentically showcase his humour in this ad.
7) Have a Strong Call-to-Action
It is crucial to make your CTA clear and direct if you want users to perform a specific action. In Brand Takeovers, to increase the likelihood of users clicking though, make your CTA interactive by gamifying the tapping process.
Not sure where to start with TikTok advertising? Contact us for more info on getting your next TikTok ad campaign started.
