Why Should My Business Be On TikTok?
For hundreds of millions worldwide, a day is incomplete without posting or watching a short video on TikTok. The social media platform, which launched in 2016, now sees a billion-plus views a day. That’s a billion with a B. Whether it’s entertaining, educating, or annoying politicians, TikTok videos can be the shortest route to long-term success.
A quick recap (for Boomers): TikTok’s videos are no more than three minutes long but are usually less than a minute. While short may be sweet, watching can send you down a rabbit hole that lasts for hours. The app’s monthly viewer engagement now comes in over 858 minutes per month. Do the math and that means “the kids” are glued to TikTok more than 14 hours a month. On a clock, that’s a lot of tick-tocks.
The short-form video environment has become more complex and youth-driven. It’s easy to see how TikTok has influenced other platforms with the arrival of Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. All of these outlets have proven to be an ever-growing source of potential sales and customer engagement that is key to a brand’s success. Check out our top three tips to help you grow your business on TikTok:
1. User-Generated Content (UGC)
This might seem like just another overused acronym pushed by business professionals, but UGC is vital to a brand’s success. UGC’s impact on young customers is well documented. Reports cite that UGC is perceived as more trustworthy, which can increase awareness of a brand and its favorability. Teens and young adults trust their friends and other platform users a lot more than the advertisements that clog their feed.
One way to create UGC is by introducing a trend or creative challenge to the platform and let your audience grow the content organically. “Going viral” seems to be the goal of many organizations, but it’s a lot more complicated than the Kardashians make it seem. In many cases, just a few users taking part in your trend can begin to foster a sense of community, and if you’re lucky it’ll have millions of people saying “Chubby Bunny.” When linked to a brand’s identity, these challenges and trends can increase brand awareness and sales growth.
2. Visual Storytelling
Viral content isn’t the only way to build a community on these mega-hit platforms. Creative short-form videos allow you to share the story and history of your brand with your target audience in both educating and inspiring ways. Why is this effective? 1) The average adult attention span is about eight seconds and 2) Most people would rather watch a short and entertaining video than dig through your brand’s “about us” page.
3. Audience Engagement
Short-form video platforms allow brands to take a more visual and personal approach to engage directly with their customers in a new form of 2-way communication. From duetting videos to TikTok challenges, these light-hearted videos can give audiences a behind-the-scenes look at their favorite brands. Customers will feel more connected to your brand when they see real people championing the brand’s mission.
Need any more convincing? That’s what we thought! So pick up your phone, download TikTok, and don’t let the algorithm distract you like the rest of us.
Want help managing your company’s social media? Send us an email at info@onthemarcmedia.com.