TikTok is no longer the hot new app that everyone is talking about. It’s become a social media powerhouse, attracting a desirable target market with an innovative content style. TikTok’s format is short and engaging videos, and for many brands posting on the platform entertaining the audience is a priority, with brand promotion playing second fiddle. TikTok has roughly 800 million monthly users and was the number one downloaded app of 2020. Demographics skew young, with 27 percent of users ages 13-17 and 42 percent of users ages 18-24.
It’s been reported that users are spending more time using TikTok than they are spending using Facebook. Additionally, average monthly time spent in-app per user has grown 70 percent, and the platform is expected to hit 1.2 billion active users in 2021. It only makes sense that brands would be interested in advertising on such a popular platform, but how do you know if TikTok is right for your brand?
How TikTok Ads Work?
TikTok offers a variety of ad types and then uses its own algorithm to deliver ads to the right target market. Brands looking to advertise on TikTok will find that set up is very similar to Google Ads, with the platform offering a structure which includes campaigns, ad groups and ads. Brands are asked to pick a campaign objective, target audience demographic info and a bidding method. Ad options include:
- In-feed video – appear natively in the feed
- Brand takeover – appear when users open the app
- Hashtag challenge – appears on the Discovery page and encourages users to create content and use the desired hashtag
- Branded AR content – appears as branded stickers, lenses and other interactive content
- Custom influencer package – appears as sponsored content created by an influencer
Should you place ads on TikTok?
It depends! If a majority of your target audience is under 30 and your brand lends itself to short-form video content, TikTok is likely a good place for you. Before jumping on the bandwagon, consider these additional points:
Do you have time – Advertising on a new platform takes time and commitment to explore the capabilities and create strategy for custom content. If you’re already overwhelmed with your social media commitments, this might not be the right fit.
Do you have budget – You’ll not only need to purchase the ads, but you’ll need to develop custom creative and manage placements as well. Look at your budget and see if you have room to cover the costs of a new platform.
ROI – What are your end goals? Does the platform offer enough analytic data to be able to show that you’re getting a return on your investment? Make sure you can track the necessary data sets so you can prove performance.
Time for TikTok
Your brand doesn’t have to be on every platform. In fact, it’s probably better for your overall strategy if it’s not. Review all the information before deciding to invest in advertising on any new platform. Once you’ve determined that TikTok can reach your target, offers you the right content style to showcase your brand and that you’re able to find time and budget to put your best foot forward, feel free to dive in!