What the Fa-La-La is TikTok?

This holiday, don’t get your TikTok in a tangle.

Managing effective social media campaigns amidst the highly competitive holiday retail landscape can turn savvy marketers into sulking Scrouges faster than Blitzen can get to Canada. Don’t let this happen to you! Keep your team jolly by having a solid understanding of each social media platform and how they can work together to get your products off retail shelves and under consumer trees. In this article we will focus on the newest social kid on the block – TikTok. However, we know a heck of a lot about each of the other platforms so check out our posts on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and more on wearelms.com/blog to round out your social strategy for this season and beyond! 

If you’re older than 30, you may not be wise to the latest and greatest in social media land: TikTok. This newbie to the social scene has taken the best qualities of those that came before and emerged as a fun, quirky, brilliant, addicting video app that has teens and young adults worldwide sharing and swiping non-stop. For brands looking to catch the GenZ and even Millennial eye this season, a TikTok strategy has become essential. If done well, an effective TikTok campaign can have more reach and engagement (by far!) than any other platforms, and at a low, if not no, cost.  

THE TIK TALK

What is TikTok? 

TikTok is a social app that allows users to create 5-15 sec. videos. Each video can be edited in-app with filters, special effects, adjusted play speed, and added audio clips from a huge library of music and dialogue. The format and fast-paced content found on the app creates an almost addictive experience. So much so, the average user typically spends 52 minutes on the app – that’s upwards of 200 videos per login! Talk about exposure!
TikTok has been a rising star in Asia and Eastern Europe for some time now, and though it is still fairly new to the American stage, it is already leaving its mark in the land of opportunity. Having been founded just two years ago in 2017, the app, which merged with the popular lip-sync app Musical.ly, quickly became the 4th most downloaded app globally in 2018, surpassing social superstars Instagram and Snapchat. In 2019, the TikTok officially became one of the largest social platforms in the world by reaching over 1 billion active users.

A nod to its roots in Musical.ly, TikTok is extremely musical. The majority of content on the app revolves around lip-syncing, dancing, dueting, and sharing favorite songs or original sounds. Much like its late cousin and old Millennial favorite, Vine, TikTok has also become a platform for physical comedy, pranks, and impressive illusions.

THE NITTY GRITTY

How TikTok works.

Upon opening the app, users are brought immediately into their feed and a popular video will begin to play, initiating the constant stream of content. The next few videos are likely new and popular ensuring the first minute of use is an experience that leaves one wanting more. Users can swipe up or down to move to the next/previous video, or swipe in from right to pull up a user’s profile. There is no actual play or pause button on the app (though you can hold with your thumb to pause), guaranteeing users are continually entranced by an infinite line of 15-second clips.

Switch to the “For You” tab,  and users will find content recommendations that are not limited by the creators they follow. In fact, one doesn’t even need to have a TikTok account or “follow” anyone to explore and be entertained on the app. Simply download and start swiping. This unrestricted content reach is extremely useful for brands and influencers looking to be discovered by new audiences. Additionally, video ageing isn’t a dominating factor in TikTok’s algorithm, which means older content lives on and can continually be fed to new interested users. 

Just like Instagram, a double tap will “heart” content, and the creator profile is able to track all the hearts ever received. Users can also share TikToks to other social platforms including Instagram and YouTube, as well as import videos directly into TikTok from tools like Adobe via the newly launched Share to TikTok SDK function.

THE GOOD STUFF

Get noticed. Go viral. 
TikTok, which has a default forward-facing camera, is all about the self. Unlike Instagram or Facebook, you’ll be hard-pressed to find beautiful landscapes or gooey-burgers posted here. Instead, there are a lot, and by a lot we mean a heavy majority, of selfies (in video format, of course). Oh, and animals. So many cute animal videos that your mind will get stuck in a perpetual “awwwww”. The selfie-centeredness of the app can cause some content complications for businesses used to sharing more product-centric imagery. Brands must get a little more personal and creative than they do for their other social accounts. Utilizing mascots, employees and influencers, or creative use of your product (think stop motion videos or “magic” illusions) may be best for this platform. Or, as with other platforms, sharing user-generated content (UGC) is always a win and often can be used for free.

However, sharing content isn’t necessarily the key to success on TikTok. Take fast food chain, Wendy’s, for example. Their TikTok has close to 22,000 followers and they’ve only posted five TikToks to their profile, yet their sponsored hashtag #SpicySnap has had over 1.6 BILLION views. Scroll through the linked posts and you will find an impressive collection of videos created by TikTok-ers, not Wendys, in which users snap their fingers to summon Wendy’s Spicy Chicken Nuggets. 

Hashtags (like #SpicySnap) are a pretty big deal on TikTok. Just like on Instagram, you can caption and tag your content, but unlike Instagram, TikTok has made this an integral part of connecting on the app. TikTok content feeds off of hashtags and there is a constant stream of new trending ones, often seeded by the app itself. TikTok’s operations team goes deep, deeeep, on hashtags. Not only checking integrity to make sure it doesn’t violate community standards, but also whether the content is creative and has the potential to go viral. If deemed creative by the TikTok hashtag gods, it will be boosted to get more exposure. Because of this first manual checkpoint, TikTok essentially controls its own trends and can guarantee more stylish and creative content gets more exposure.

Where do these hashtags come from?  Well, other than the obvious caption integration and Instagram rollover, there is a unique feature called “challenges.” Challenges are a top content-inducing trend on TikTok and likely a brand’s best bet for getting their hashtag and content to “go viral” – which in case you didn’t know, is the dream of all social media dreams. In this context, a “challenge” is an invitation to participate in a viral trend with the allure of going viral yourself.  Examples of this can be found by searching #eggchallenge, #basketballchallenge, and for a holiday take #wrapbattle, and many more.  

Sponsoring a hashtags or challenges through TikTok will get your tag on trending lists for users to discover. Card game, UNO, has a sponsored challenge titled #UNOirl (UNO in real life), prompting users to “use your favorite UNO card to transform a real life situation.” The hashtag has 1.6 billion views on the videos featuring “Reverse” cards being thrown at moms asking kids to do laundry and cats duplicating when someone pulls out a “+4” card. The creativity around a challenge is endless and the best part is, the users do that hard work of creating the content for you!

For brands, TikTok is more about the long game and awareness. Overtly salesy advertisements or sponsored posts will not do well with TikTok’s young userbase. Brand ads and influencer partnerships are best received when subtly integrated into the user experience. Challenges, hashtags and product featured simply in the background or used as a prop is the way to success. This platform is not the place for coupon codes and product reviews – leave that to your Instagram strategy. 

THE DOWNLOW

Shhh…no one tell TikTok how valuable it is

There is no denying TikTok is now a major social platform and with GenZ being the future prominent consumer base, it’s a good idea to get in front of them now. You’re likely using influencer marketing on other platforms (if not, click here. It’s urgent), and TikTok should be no exception. In fact, influencer marketing on TikTok could be major for your brand! Currently, TikTok is still in the sweet, easy honeymoon phase of social media. Because of its newness, regulations aren’t fully flushed out, there’s less competition and lower cost for sponsorships and ads, the algorithms aren’t (yet) out to drain ad budgets, and the TikTok influencer market hasn’t quite realized it’s worth. All of this adds up to brands getting more bang for their buck (or no bucks!) To top it off, TikTok seems to truly value good, creative content over just taking all the sponsorship dollars, this means if your campaign is clever enough, you could hit the jackpot without spending a dime. For small brands, TikTok could be your way to break into the crowded, expensive social scene and be discovered by consumers. Don’t go chasing waterfalls on Facebook and Instagram. Turn your efforts to TikTok and hitch a ride on this rising star of social media. 

 

Jingle bell time…is a swell time…to kick off a stellar TikTok campaign!

We’re already a good bit into the holiday season, but don’t let that deter you from getting your TikTok ramped up. In this fast-paced, ever-changing app, a fun holiday tag could be the top featured challenge overnight! To add to our list of great things about TikTok: simplicity does well. Perfect lighting, product layout, scripts and all of that fluff isn’t necessary on this uber casual, spontaneous app. The easier your hashtag or challenge is to riff off of, the better chance of users participating and your sugarplum dreams of going viral coming true. 

Not sure you’re ready to tackle TikTok? Give yourself the gift of LMS and let our elves handle your needs! From ideation and strategy, to full social media campaign and community management, LMS does it all. Contact us today at imgame@wearelms.com and check out our nice list of killer clients and services here.

Lauren Jones
Lauren comes from a background in media and journalism, with a history of working with small businesses. Throughout her career, she has managed blogs and social media content for various businesses to grow, curate and educate their audiences. As a freelance and staff writer, Lauren has contributed to multiple online and print publications, many local to her home state of North Carolina. Lauren is a lover of traveling, Thai food and extra large dogs.

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