When you think of TikTok, you probably think of dance contests, sea shanties, and most of all, gen z. If that’s the case, keep thinking.
More than 30 percent of today’s active TikTok users are between the ages of 30 and 50: That’s more than 40 million adults with money to spend. And spend they do. Nearly half of all TikTok users have purchased a product they’ve seen using the app.
Here are some tips to get them to consider yours.
Don’t make ads. Make TikToks.
No matter who you’re targeting on TikTok, authenticity and originality are the name of the game. Even if the videos you’re producing for other platforms have TikTok-friendly lengths, they cannot be effectively repurposed if you want to gain any kind of traction.
Whatever you do for TikTok has to be created with TikTok in mind.
But don’t worry about making it perfect.
Production value takes a distinct back seat to authenticity, as Scary Mommy’s executive producer, Micaela Birmingham, observed to Morning Brew in early June. “Sometimes you can have the most beautiful cinematic, gorgeous TikTok,” Birmingham said, “and these women are like ‘I don’t care. Show me the baby eating peanut butter at your table with the terrible grainy cell phone footage, because that’s what I want to see.’”
Follow the trends.
When you “make TikToks,” remember what separates the app from other social media platforms: Gaining an audience doesn’t mean gaining followers. The vast majority of traffic takes place on the For You page, which serves videos to the user based on demonstrated preferences (using the app’s algorithm) and ongoing trends, not on the accounts a user follows.
If you have the creative bandwidth, monitoring and responding to TikTok trends is a great way to get onto the For You page—even if the trend appeals to a younger demographic. The more popular a TikTok video is, the more it will be served across the board. There’s value in every view.
Give your audience “all the feels.”
It’s only natural that the most successful TikToks excel at connecting with the audience, and research by VidMob indicates that two methods of connecting have a particular impact. Videos with talent that:
- Looks directly into the camera in the first frame convert twice as many viewers
- Shows four or more emotions have a conversion rate more than three times greater than those with fewer
The emotion factor is essential for brands that position themselves as solutions to their targets’ problems, like healthcare brands and financial institutions. Using TikTok to capture the emotional journey of having a problem solved can be a great way to connect and be remembered while also demonstrating your brand’s value.
More sound = more interest.
Every social media platform has a defining feature, and on TikTok, it’s sound. That’s how Scottish postman Nathan Evans became a global sensation with “The Wellerman,” and how warehouse worker Nathan Apodaca put Fleetwood Mac back on the charts while helping Ocean Spray cranberry juice go viral.
VidMob found that videos that blend recorded music with original narration deliver a conversion rate two times greater than videos with one or the other.
Reach out for help.
Naturally, it’s in TikTok’s interest to be accessible to brands, so there’s plenty of help available, from the platform’s official guide to an ad library that allows you to examine the platform’s top-performing ads.
Want to explore how you can make TikTok and other platforms work for your brand? Contact us.