Keeping up with the drama between TikTok and the American government is essentially like watching (juicy) reality TV. However, controversy aside, the booming social media platform is quickly proving to be the most powerful marketing tool of 2020, with over 100 million active users in the U.S. alone. In fact, there was no better growth hack for the app than a limited usage window, with downloads increasing by 12% in a single day following the announcement of a potential ban.
To some, TikTok may be marginalized as the latest Gen Z craze. In reality, however, it is earning its stripes as a dynamic tool with a wide-ranging audience that marketers can (and should) leverage to grow their brand. While a large portion of users identify as Gen Zers, it’s worth noting that the fastest-growing age group on TikTok is 34+. And similar to Instagram circa 2015, the content creator / influencer pool is still undersaturated and up for grabs, meaning anyone can be the next TikTok star.
While navigating the platform and its content creator base may seem daunting, the MuteSix team is here to break it down for you.
TikTok has given birth to a new era of influencers, known as content creators on the short-form video platform, whose increasing popularity can be attributed to their contagious creativity, humor, and talent. This presents an opportunity for brands to choose from a large number of creators, and work with the right influencers who best align with their product, messaging, and ethos.
Compared to more established competing social media platforms, TikTok influencers are refreshingly ‘normal’ in that they generally do not have a large following on other outlets and steer clear from heavily edited, studio-produced content. Instead, they leverage platform-specific trends while infusing their own element of originality, embracing and sharing their most authentic selves through raw, lo-fi, seemingly off-the-cuff videos.
The key to success on TikTok is partnering with content creators who are genuinely interested in a brand and product, and aligned with their overall vibe and ethos. In order to keep costs low for our clients but still ensure a high ROI, MuteSix takes a ‘Crawl, Walk, Run’ approach, where a tried-and-true first step is to test influencer demographics and messaging with product gifting.
We source influencers who have high video views per post, use trending hashtags and editing tools, and are native to the platform. When targeting the right TikTok content creators, the results speak for themselves. For example, Inhale Health gifted product to a TikTok user who posted this video, securing almost 1.8million views and prompting a significant spike in sales – at no additional cost to the company.
Snibbs, a work shoe for nurses, chefs, and other professionals, wanted to showcase their product, celebrating all of their features after a successful Kickstarter campaign. MuteSix approached a variety of influencers on networks including TikTok, and each received a creative brief and shareable discount code. As a result, Snibbs saw a spike in website visitors, generated revenue, and a bevy of content to repurpose for ads across Paid Social channels.
Goodfair, an online thrifting experience, has similarly benefitted from a TikTok influencer-first campaign. After seeing initial success through Facebook and Instagram advertising, they started dabbling with influencer marketing. A micro-influencer posted their checkout experience to TikTok, which led to $200,000 in sales overnight and over one million views.
Though there’s not yet an option to include a clickable link in a post, we’re still able to report impactful data. As content goes viral on TikTok, our brands see a spike in Google searches. We also measure success using other tactics like discount codes, in addition to affiliate codes and links.
TikTok is much more than a Gen Z fad, and the most loved app on the market isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. As the first agency to partner with TikTok, MuteSix has a deep understanding of the exponential growth potential and ROI the platform has to offer.
If you’re interested in learning more about our TikTok advertising services, drop us a line through our website.
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