Dana Kachan August 4, 2021 The future of digital marketing is creative, and it’s definitely on the newest social media platforms, such as TikTok. Keep on reading to learn how to market on TikTok smartly.
Photo by Marija Zaric on Unsplash
Is your primary audience Gen Z? Are your consumers the digital natives? Would you like to be ahead of your competitors by marketing your brand innovatively? If your answers are yes, TikTok marketing is definitely worth considering for your brand. TikTok is quickly gaining popularity with its short vertical videos, impressive visual effects, AR stickers, and a fun format. It feels like a breath of freshness compared to traditional marketing and advertising practices. However, launching on a novel platform is a real challenge that requires a lot of preparation and learning from those who already have experience with this social media space. In this article, I’m sharing some basics and secrets of successful influencer marketing on TikTok.
5 Ways Companies Advertise on TikTok
Before we dig into TikTok influencer marketing, it’s important to familiarize yourself with all advertising opportunities available on this platform. You can consider combining them with your influencer marketing efforts to boost the effectiveness of your campaign. What I like the most about TikTok is that it gives brands tools and opportunities to speak like a storyteller, not a seller. There are five common ways businesses advertise on this social network today.
Brand takeover ads
Brand takeover ads cost $ 50,000 per day with 5M impressions guaranteed, according to TikTok disclaimer. This type of ad appears on the screen when a user opens a TikTok app, taking the immediate user’s attention and motivating people to learn more about the brand on an external website. If they aren’t interested they can simply click on a button to skip the ad.
In-feed ads
You can run ads that will naturally blend with ordinary user videos in a news feed. TikTok ad targeting is based on location, age, and gender. An average ad cost is $ 10 per impression with a $ 6,000 total campaign spent. There are three TikTok ad models: CPM (cost per impression), CPC (cost per click), and CPV (cost per 6-second video view).
TikTok hashtag challenge ad
A hashtag challenge implies organizing a public challenge that will run under a branded hashtag and encouraging the submission of UGC (user-generated content). The hashtag challenge banner will be displayed on a Discovery page and will take people to a page with participation rules while also featuring a feed of other users’ videos.
Branded stickers
Another creative way brands can interact with their consumers via ads is by crafting branded stickers. TikTok provides an opportunity for companies to create their own interactive experiences to engage consumers and advertise creatively.
TikTok shoppable ads: the ‘hashtag challenge plus
Shoppable ads are a new TikTok ad format that is also called the ‘hashtag challenge plus.’ It looks like a common hashtag challenge ad, but there is also a shoppable element. This advertising format refers to when a company sponsors a hashtag and builds an exciting experience within the platform for people to watch video content and explore products.
TikTok influencer marketing ads
Influencer marketing is known as one of the most effective TikTok marketing practices. It refers to the collaboration of companies with creators during which they collaborate on producing sponsored content and share it with the creator’s audience. A growing number of companies cooperate with influencers on TikTok, and most of those collaborations are a remarkable success.
6 Steps to Launching a TikTok Influencer Marketing Campaign
TikTok influencer marketing is a pretty new practice, but a lot of brands have already invested in it as a very prospective space for building relationships with their target audiences. Follow these six simple steps to launch marketing on TikTok successfully.
1. Define your campaign goals
Think of what your campaign’s end goal is. Is it to fill the space with user-generated content to boost engagement around your brand on TikTok or is it to encourage users to try out your MVP? Choose KPIs to track your campaign’s success according to these goals. Set goals and KPIs will help you calculate the ROI of a marketing strategy.
2. Find and research TikTok influencers
It’s important to find creators that resonate with your company’s values, drive continuous user engagement, and are known for the best quality content in their niche. There are various manual and automation techniques to find and research influencers.
Find sponsored content on TikTok. You can search for sponsored content by the hashtag “#ad” and identify whether it’s worth reaching out to those influencers.
Hashtag research on TikTok’s Discover Page. Another practice is looking for the most popular hashtags on TikTok’s Discover Page. An important thing to note is that a desktop version of TikTok has restricted navigational functionality that’s why it’s better to perform research using a mobile app.
Organic Google search. The simplest one is organic Google search, which may appear beneficial and bring some relevant results. However, it usually provides insufficient information about influencer’s average rates, audience engagement, and is really time-consuming.
Use special influencer search tools. If you want to find the right influencers faster and receive trustworthy information about their average rates, audience engagement, the average number of views, and so on it’s worth considering influencer marketing automation tools.
3. Less brand’s control, more creative freedom
It may be tempting for companies to take too much control over the influencer’s creative process. However, it’s better to give more freedom to thought-leaders who are native to this platform and have already built authenticity and reputation there. Trust creators since they have had a chance to obtain a solid experience in what works on TikTok and what their viewers love.
4. It’s time to track campaign performance
A crucial part of an influencer marketing campaign is well-set performance monitoring. Determine the main benchmarks of great campaign performance, constantly track them, and adjust your influencer marketing strategy accordingly. For instance, if your goal is brand awareness, your primary KPIs are the number of views and post engagement rates. If your goal is conversions, make sure you have a trackable link taking the user to an external landing page or store.
5. Keep in mind FTC compliance
Don’t forget about FTC compliance. Brands that have been working with creators on other social media platforms might know how important it is to follow rules set by the Federal Trade Commission. Otherwise, the company can get into a costly legal mess. So, be sure influencers use a hashtag “#ad” under sponsored content and are compliant with all FTC guidelines.
6. Experiment with different ad formats
Consider pairing your influencer marketing efforts with other TikTok advertising practices to make the most from the platform. It can help you raise brand awareness and boost the performance of an influencer marketing campaign.
Are You Ready?
TikTok is a relatively new social media platform bringing a lot of new opportunities for brands to the table. Since it’s still uncharted territory for many companies and marketers, it’s crucial to arm yourself with all the necessary information and proven practices to launch on TikTok successfully. In this article, I have considered TikTok’s marketing basics, and we have paid particular attention to how to work with influencers on this platform. When you already know TikTok influencer marketing best practices, it’s time to start building your own strategy.
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