With 1 billion active users in 154 countries around the world, TikTok is one of the most popular platforms in 2022. According to start.io statistics, approximately 134,160 people in Croatia have TikTok, and most of them belong to Generation Z (75.9%). Although they make up the largest user base in the world, TikTok is becoming more and more popular among other age groups as well.
One of the reasons is that all generations love quick entertainment, and this is exactly what TikTok is about. In addition to members of Generation Z (which even replaces Google’s search engine by TikTok), TikTok was soon embraced by millennials and boomers, and an increasing number of celebrities, influencers and brands are coming to get their own share of the pie. It is expected that the presence of companies and brands on TikTok will continue to grow rapidly in the coming years.
TikTok algorithm enables success overnight
Short videos, as a specific format of TikTok, have an unbelievable potential to go viral regardless of the user’s current ‘status’.
Videos on that platform have more engagement than those on Instagram or YouTube, and it is not uncommon for videos from TikTok to spill over to other networks. In addition, TikTok shows the best results in organic growth and that is why it seems to be a meaningful destination for anyone who wants to present their products or services.
The application is rapid and a bit chaotic at first because it combines elements of Spotify, Vine and Snapchat into one network, which serves algorithms to users exactly what they want to see. And while more and more people have been complaining about Meta’s algorithms for years, the TikTok algorithm has been accepted by everyone as the main feature of the application because it creates the impression that it perfectly recognizes interests. As many as 90% of users access the application daily, which is a significantly higher percentage than the 62% of those who regularly connect to Facebook.
There are two main feeds – the default ‘For You’ and ‘Following’ which contains uploads from people the user follows. Videos that are trending or that are being tested by TikTok can be found on the FY page.
When a user shares, adds under Favourites, likes or spends a certain amount of time on a video, the algorithm receives feedback on how it attracts attention and then serves it to an ever greater number of users. If there is no engagement on the video at the start, it stops showing on the For You page.
Profiles with a large follower base may find it easier to end up on the main feed precisely because they have a loyal follower base that insatiably seeks out more similar content. However, everyone has the opportunity to join and create their follower base by creating content that appeals to the target audience.
As stated by TikTok:
– You may come across a video in your feed that does not seem relevant or that has not garnered a huge number of likes. Adding variety of videos to your ‘For You’ feed gives you additional opportunities to stumble upon new categories of content, discover new creators, and experience new perspectives.
The easiest way to reach your target audience is through the use of niche hashtags, and the use of trending sounds or effects further increases the chances of content distribution. Fortunately, TikTok provides all the information you need about current trends.
How to approach TikTok as a brand?
Brands can create their business profile and promote services on their own, or hire content creators who have already built a following. Unfortunately, advertising is still not available in Croatia.
TikTok’s suggestion is to post once to four times a day, and some of the most successful companies (those with 10,000 or more average views per post) create a new video on average three times a week.
Examples of global brands that have harnessed the organic power of TikTok
The language learning app puts the face of the brand in the foreground – the owl. In the form of the Duo mascot, the brand has embraced the menacing perception of an owl that doesn’t give peace, relying on hundreds of memes over the past few years. Although there was a negative perception of the app, they accepted it, thus getting even closer to the audience.
They also owe their popularity to constant monitoring of trends, as well as actively responding in the comments.
Instead of its brand, the sportswear brand focuses more on the place where their clothes can most often be seen on their profile – the gym. By creating content that the target audience can identify with, they build a community where their content is shared organically.
Examples of global brands that have taken advantage of TikTok advertising
One of the most successful examples is an American Mexican food chain that, just before National Avocado Day, launched a challenge #GuacDance which invited guacamole lovers to show their dance moves dedicated to avocado, referring to the children’s musician Dr. Jean whose Guacamole Song went viral on social networks before.
The video generated more than 250,000 new videos with that hashtag, resulting in nearly 430 million hits during its six-day run on TikTok. The promotion also resulted in Chipotle’s biggest guacamole day in history, serving more than 800,000 of them.
An American software and computer services maker that aims to become the most sustainable tech company, approached TikTok to raise awareness of its efforts to reduce and reuse plastic and partnered with creators to launch #HPRadicalReuse hashtag challenge.
Environmentally-focused influencers have shown how they recycle every day, sending the message that every step in sustainability helps. More than 670,000 users were inspired by the challenge, generating more than 1.2 million videos. With this move, inclination towards HP increased by 1.9%.
What do brands gain from their engagement on TikTok?
Brands profit mostly in terms of brand awareness, i.e. spreading awareness, while building an engaged community around their product/service. The app is also great for getting feedback from customers and providing customer support. All this could stimulate the sale of the product itself in the long run.
In any case, without an advertising budget, a large number of people can be reached, which is currently not the case with other social networks.
It is important to remember that TikTok is worth trying using a product/service aimed at the group that spends the most time there.
As the content on TikTok is mostly focused on memes, tutorials, challenges, lip-syncs and trends that disappear and arise at the speed of light, positioning on that platform needs to be strategically well thought out because timing and speed of reaction on TikTok are more important than ever. If the brand does not join a trend on Tuesday, Thursday it might just already be too late.
Audiences on TikTok want brands to entertain them first and foremost, but in the context of the values they share. Such an approach opens up a lot of space for the humanization of the brand, as well as for creating a community full of trust and loyalty. The most important step on this path is to put products or services in the bigger picture, in the context of time, events and trends.
Thanks to TikTok, the potential organic reach is the highest in the history of social networks, but at the same time, the time windows for responding to trends are shorter than ever, which is why TikTok is an extremely challenging platform.
It will be extremely interesting to see how often sluggish and cumbersome brands will manage in this new environment, because the audience and content creators have already found their way around. TikTok is simply no longer only the future, it is the present.
