If you have kids, you are probably very familiar with TikTok. But did you know that brands like The Washington Post, San Diego Zoo and Estee Lauder have incorporated TikTok into their marketing strategies?
Estee Lauder recently made its TikTok debut. According to Glossy.co, Estee Lauder is “working with content creators on the channel to support the #NightDoneRight challenge, which promotes the benefits of using the beauty brand’s Advanced Night Repair serum. The decision to grow its TikTok presence was driven by realizing few prestige beauty and skin care brands are active on the platform and a desire ‘to build a community of TikTokers that eventually love our brand,’ said Jon Roman, senior vice president of consumer marketing and online at Estee Lauder.”
Brands both large and small are seeing opportunities to leverage the platform to build awareness and generate conversation around their products or services. Research trends show that US women, ages 30-39, are the 2nd largest active user group on TikTok behind 10-19 year-old girls.
Here at Novella, we used TikTok as an awareness tool to reach a younger audience during our “Wear Your Mask” campaign we did for Kansas City, Missouri Health Department. For the right demo, TikTok is proving useful to build awareness, but it is not quite there yet in terms of conversions. It’s important to note that if it’s one of your goals for your marketing strategy. As the platform matures, this will change, and more brands will see higher conversion rates from TikTok and its direct influence on purchases.
With all this in mind, is your business ready for TikTok? What content is right and onbrand for you to post? A Harris Poll Brand Platform report noted that user-generated content performs the best and users love comedy. This attracts the most followers and engagement.
What else should you be considering when adding TikTok to your marketing strategy? First, is your audience on the platform? Can you show up there authentically and in a way that feels relevant to them? Next, define your objective for using TikTok. Does it align with your overall marketing goals? For example, your goal might be to grow your brand awareness, your other social media fans and following or your email list.
Finally, TikTok is best known for dancing videos but it’s so much more. Humorous content, business tips, series and trending topics do well on TikTok. Utilize the Discovery page to see what’s popular and to get inspiration for how your brand can show up.
