Hello, dear reader, guess who came back? Here is one more article about the world of digital marketing and this time the theme could not be anything other than the social network of the moment. I present you TikTok! (No, I don’t mean the song by singer Ke$ha). In this article, we will talk a little bit about this new social network. Ready?
TikTok is the fastest growing social network in recent times, breaking the record for downloads and there are even rumors that in the United States it already surpasses Instagram. This app allows users to record and share short videos, with an average duration between 15 and 60 seconds. During recordings, users can dub songs, film scenes (this is the main goal of the application), perform dances and participate in some challenges that this social network provides. Its format is very similar to the one of other social media, users can follow other profiles, like a video and share their publications. It goes without saying that TikTok turned out to be a fever within the younger crowd.
The app was launched in 2017 by the Chinese company ByteDance – here’s a small secret: the company was considered the most valuable startup in the world and its value is estimated to reach $ 75 billion. However, in August 2018, the company ended up joining the Music.Ivy application, an app focused on music. The purpose of the merge was to expand its operations in the market. From this merger, the famous hit TikTok was born and, in October of the same year, the app already exceeded the number of downloads from Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Now that we’ve introduced you to the platform, you must be thinking: “Okay, I understand that it’s an app for sharing videos, but what makes it so popular?”:
• Popularity
The first impression when we are in the app is that its usability can be very difficult – with so many features, anyone can be a little lost. However, TikTok is easy to use and its interface is quite simple. In addition, the tools that it provides are very intuitive, which makes anyone able to create and edit their videos even though they have never edited a video. A differentiating factor is that it allows users to be able to record videos with other users. Unlike other video platforms, here, users produce video content in an amateur way, there is no need to make a super production to launch a video. In fact, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the fact that many people around the world have been confined in their own homes has caused an explosion in the number of TikTok users and, consequently, of these homemade videos. User Jayde Vicent explains that the popularity of this application happens because TikTok is a world where people can be themselves, in an organic and authentic way. Another factor that the same user claims to be the cause of popularity is the form of musical consumption that makes everything unique.
• Messages and hashtags
When we talk about “social media” it immediately comes to mind “direct messages and hashtags”. Well, with this app this could not be different. Here users can send direct messages to each other, a tool widely used on Instagram. Another feature very similar to Instagram is the use of hashtags, which are used to find themes or terms with the famous symbol #.
• Monetization
Here comes the big difference between Instagram and TikTok: users can end up taking financial advantage of their content, an excellent option for digital influencers with a great number of followers. To do this, the user must purchase the currency of the application, TikTok Coins, and then transfer to the profile they want. However, the feature to receive money is not available to all users, only to the most popular.
• The presence of brands on the platform
The platform is not restricted to “normal” users, brands can also be present, and some are already there! There are advantages and disadvantages to advertising on the platform: the downside is that the company needs to pay a very high investment amount; on the positive side, the ability to achieve success on a platform that is growing is significantly high. The only thing you need to focus on is the relationship with your audience. One of the advantages of advertising on the platform is that the user cannot even go to the rest of the feed without watching your video. Paid ads are made through TikTok Ads, making it possible to produce banners, push notifications and advertising videos. The platform offers flexible formats and the possibility of developing a different creativity to tell the story of the brand.
Creating the TikTok Ads account is easy. Before I forget, this account is free, as the other platforms offer. The user only needs to fill in his data and wait for the contact of the support team to register. Just like on Facebook, TikTok Ads allows you to make budget adjustments, start and stop an ad and, of course, the power of choice for optimization (cost per click or cost per thousand impressions).
A good example of how a brand can position itself on the platform is through the challenges and contests that the platform offers that we talked about previously and, of course, the use of our dear hashtags. One brand that knew how to make good use of the platform was Guess with the #InMyDenim campaign. On September 1st 2018, the brand invited all American users of the platform to the challenge with the hashtag #InMyDenim. Users had to create some videos where they were wearing the brand’s jeans and write the mentioned hashtag.
We have reached the end of our article, but if you are interested in knowing how this application works, how about registering, and exploring this new reality a little more? And if you read and liked our article, but you’re sad it’s finished, you can always check out the articles we have on our blog or contact us!
Hope to see you soon. 😊
Pedro Montijo, digital marketing strategist at Media em Movimento
Sources:
Awin: Tik Tok: Tudo o que você precisa saber sobre a rede social que mais cresce no mundo.
Influencer Marketing Hub: O que é o Tik Tok? O que você precisa saber sobre o novo Musical.ly.
Rock Content: Tik Tok: O que você precisa entender sobre a rede social do momento.
Rock Content: Fenômeno Tik Tok: Sua empresa deveria apostar nessa rede social?
Olhar Digital: O que é Tik Tok: Tudo sobre o app de vídeos curtos que virou febre.
TechTudo: O que é TikTok? Conheça o app mais baixado que Instagram e Facebook nos EUA.
The Verge: How China’s Bytedance became the world’s most valuable startup.
Target hd: TikTok: o que é, e tudo o que você precisa saber.