Oh, TikTok – the platform notorious for young audiences, dance videos, pranks, and general silliness.

But wait! Is it too soon to write off TikTok as either a fad or something useless for business? Here are a few things to consider if you’re trying to decide whether or not to jump on the TikTok bandwagon:

Potential Reach
First off, the app has exploded over the past few years, and now boasts over 1 billion active monthly users in 141 countries around the world. If you’re trying to reach new people and are asking yourself, “is my audience on TikTok?” the answer is almost certainly ‘yes.’

Attention Span
The content approach for TikTok is short-form videos of either a maximum of 15 seconds, 60 seconds, or 3 minutes, and with the minimal attention spans we all have these days, this time restriction is just the thing to get you thinking on the right wavelength – catching people’s attention quickly and delivering all your valuable information within a very short window of time.

Engagement
This platform is also great for engagement marketing or experiential marketing – getting the audience involved and participating in your brand and campaign. TikTok users are quite active and seem to readily engage with content. Other than likes and comments there are additional built-in methods for users to engage with your content, such as using Duet and Stitch features to give reactions and responses in a video format and add their voice to the conversation, while spreading (at least part of) your video to their audience as a bonus.

Marketing
Another great benefit is that it doesn’t feel like marketing (or shouldn’t, if you’re doing it right). This is great because the younger generation, who make up a majority of TikTok’s users, is very distrusting of advertisements and traditional marketing practices, so it’s important to meet them where they’re at and in a format that speaks their language.

Creativity and Authenticity
TikTok is a place that encourages creativity and scoffs at stiff and professional content. Let this be your creative outlet to show off your brand’s fun and crazy side, while also giving people a glimpse into your company culture.

Opportunities to Go Viral
TikTok’s algorithm is unique among social media platforms – it does not give preference to larger accounts over smaller ones when deciding what content to show. In addition, users generally enjoy exploring new content on the For You page which increases the opportunities for your content to show up in front of someone new.

Paid Traffic if Desired
The platform does have options for placing several different kinds of ads, and it’s worthwhile to explore this if paid traffic is your main marketing strategy. However, the real value of using TikTok for marketing your brand comes from joining the conversation and creating your own content, participating in trends and challenges, as showing your authentic and human side.

Link in Bio
Finally, as you grow your account you will have access to the ‘link in bio’ option. This allows you to include one link on your profile, where you can now encourage your audience to explore your website, download freebies (and capture their email address), direct them to your other social accounts, or offer ways that they can purchase your product, service, or work with you more closely.

If you haven’t yet considered adding TikTok to your marketing strategy, now is the time to do so. This platform is still new enough to provide the opportunity for rapid growth for your account, and is beginning to become more searchable, making it easier for your audience to find you.

Start experimenting and adjust as you get feedback and data. Just remember to show your creative and human side!

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