So what is TikTok? What are its features? How can you get promoted on the platform? And why does everyone love him so much? 4D Communications Agency experts have collected all the most important about TikTok in a new blog post.
About TikTok
In simple terms, TikTok is an app for creating short music videos and messaging. This format fits perfectly into the modern life of people, when they consume content mainly from mobile devices. At the same time, users increasingly prefer short content, which is convenient to consume at any time and anywhere: videos on TikTok are up to a minute, but most often 15-second videos are shot.
The main feature of the application is its algorithms, which selectively show videos to a wide audience - even a beginner in a few months of regular filming can gain hundreds of thousands of views and an army of millions of fans, which often leads to large advertising contracts in the future.
But despite the fact that brands offer active collaboration to TikTokers, the video clips currently being filmed in the app are rather frivolous and simple. The creators of the videos simply dance, imitate singing, shoot humorous videos, and launch video challenges. The most common formats are: duets, challenges, reactions, dancing to music, tutorials and life hacks, illusions, sketches and parodies.
Many people still compare TikTok to Instagram or Snapchat Stories, since content is also served in vertical and short formats, but the platform has become popular not only because of them. Its main difference is the atmosphere of absolute creativity and freedom of self-expression, sincerity and real emotions of the content authors. We can say that TikTok gave a huge boost to the trend of "being real". This is what hooked users, because everyone can become famous on the platform without using special equipment or third-party video editors. It is enough to have a good idea.
In terms of interface, TikTok is quite simple and consists of only 5 sections:
- Home: Feed of posts from users you follow
- Highlights: Popular videos and recommendations feed
- Button to add your video
- Notifications
- Profile page
Who is on TikTok?
The main target audience of the application is still adolescents and young people, which provide the main growth in the application's popularity. You can also say that users have matured, since the solvent audience is also fully represented on the site.
According to a TikTok representative announced at the conference "#Realtime Marketing", the monthly audience of TikTok in Russia in January 2020 amounted to 18 million active users, although in May 2019 their number did not exceed 8 million. Of these, 60% are women. 40% are men. Children and adolescents make up 43% of the audience. The second, most massively represented age group in Russia - from 18 to 34 years old - makes up 33% of the total TikTok audience. Of these, the main number falls on paying users aged 25 to 34 years - 21%. However, in the segment of the Russian audience of TikTok, 40% are users under the age of 18. It is at their expense that the active growth of application users is taking place. For example, the share of authors under the age of 18 grew by 40% in 2018, according to Brand Analytics. And today the Oberlo studytells us that TikTok has 800 million active users worldwide, and 41% of TikTok users are between the ages of 16 and 24.
The most popular TikTokers are also young guys, with an average age of 18-25. Some of the most popular TikTokers are Rakhim Abramov (22 years old) , Dina Saeva (21 years old) , Danya Milokhin (18 years old) and others.
Promotion on TikTok
Despite the widespread belief that content on TikTok is "complete trash", one in seven Russians uses the video service , which attracts advertisers. Coca Cola, PepsiCo, MegaFon, McDonald's, Mail.ru and other large companies have already mastered promotion with the help of TikTokers. And according to the Conviva report, many sports, news and streaming brands abroad are actively using the social network to distribute their content and attract new users.
As we said earlier, TikTok is a social platform that focuses on creative content and mainly native advertising, and user engagement is quite high compared to other social networks. That is why the application is used as an opportunity to increase brand awareness, increase reach and attract a loyal audience ready to take a targeted action.
But who is advertising on an app like TikTok good for? It's safe to say that promotion will suit almost any account. However, the most effective advertising can be for the following segments:
- brands;
- online stores;
- delivery services;
- goods for children;
- companies from the fields of beauty and sports;
- dance studio;
- mobile applications;
- courses and schools of foreign languages;
- FMCG (or fast moving consumer goods);
- service owners.
The main advantage of TikTok ads is nativeness. Content makers create videos that are interesting and fun for users using the product of the advertised brand.
Through the site, businesses can access TikTok's ad formats, including TopView, a full-screen banner that appears when the app is first launched. In addition, the platform provides formats:
- Brand Takeover is a full-screen banner with a 3-5 second countdown to the close button.
- The Hashtag Challenge is a brand-name flash mob that lasts six days.
- In-Feed Video is a campaign with a video for 5-15 seconds in the users' feed.
- Branded Effects - branded 2D or 3D filters.
Let's talk about them in more detail.
Brand takeover
The peculiarity of this type of advertising on TikTok is that a large ad appears immediately after opening the application. This is a photo, gif or video up to 2MB in size. The ad contains a link to the site or a unique hashtag. It is also recommended to use this tool in addition to others, for example, with the Hashtag Challenge.
Brand Takeover is measured by metrics such as views, reach, and conversions.
Hashtag Challenge
Challenges are the main ad format on TikTok. A variety of challenges are constantly held on the platform, to which anyone can join. Note that this is one of the most effective ways to get promoted quickly on TikTok.
The mechanics are also very simple: popular TikTokers launch a challenge, according to which you need to record a video for a specific track and publish it in your profile with a hashtag. Such a video from one influencer can get about 500 thousand views, after which it gets into the recommendation feed, and subscribers join the challenge. It is important that advertising is not direct.
All videos are available by hashtag, and the reach of such campaigns can seriously exceed the plan due to the involvement of not only influencers, but also their subscribers. This is why TikTok offers brands the Hashtag Challenge as an effective ad format.
In advertising campaigns, this tool is often used in conjunction with Branded Effect. This is a 2D or 3D mask that a person can use in their video and become a creator of branded and original content.
Key metrics in this case will be: views of the banner, clicks on it, views of the hashtag page, the number of videos created by users, indicators of video engagement (likes, comments, reposts), the number of branded music used (if used).
In-Feed Native Video
The easiest to enter and transparent tool for tracking conversion into targeted actions is TikTok. The ad video appears in the user's feed among other content in full screen and lasts up to 15 seconds, which can be accompanied by a call to action, link or hashtag.
In-Feed Video can also add additional functionality to interact with users, such as polls. For example, a blogger talks about his experience with an application and asks if his followers have used it. If you answer "no", the transition occurs in the AppStore or Google Play for installation, if you answer "yes" - to the advertiser's website with a special offer. You can also add the "Super like" function, when a branded special effect appears when you click on like. It is possible to place a banner at the bottom of the screen when using In-Feed Video. The latter is important when you need a mandatory presence of the brand in the frame and declare the product or packaging from the first second.
This format can be tracked using impressions, clicks, CTRs, video views, as well as video engagement metrics (likes, comments, reposts).
Branded Effects
This format reminds us again of Instagram masks and Snapchat lenses and Facebook effects. On TikTok, you can create them for a limited amount of time (up to 10 days). Branded content will show up in key locations throughout the app. For example, it can be customized stickers, filters and special effects in 2D, 3D and even AR formats.
After getting acquainted with the basic tools of the application, it is still not clear what will the promotion on TikTok give?
First, audience loyalty. Social network users highly rate the high-quality native content of brands that does not sell head-on. These can be not only entertaining videos, but also expert ones. Secondly, it is a community in a short time. The ad site algorithm is loyal and you can expect higher organic reach than others. At the same time, the audience is easily involved in the communication process, likes and comments on the content. Thirdly, leading positions and recognition. Of course, there is a stereotype that "there is nothing to do in Tik-Tok," although we see that there is now an active influx of older users, which entails other content formats: expert videos, live expert consultations, etc. And finally , it is making a purchase decision. We are fully aware that this will not provide you with instant sales,however, presence at another new site is an opportunity to tell about the brand in a new way.
Working with an advertising account in TikTok
The interface of the advertising cabinet is intuitive and similar in functionality to the Facebook account. You can set up detailed targeting, including user interests and formats, set budgets, and upload information on the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.
To create an advertising campaign on TikTok, go to the TikTok Ads page and click on the "Create" button.
Choose a target:
- Traffic (increase in traffic);
- Conversions (conversion analytics);
- App Install (increasing the number of users by demonstrating a branded application).
Ad Group Name. Name your campaign.
Placements. Select the site required for placement. The app recommends choosing automatic placement for the greatest coverage.
Ad Details. Specify the type of promotion: go to the site or install the application.
Display Name. Enter your brand name and upload your logo.
Category. Select a category for your business. You should choose the one that best reflects your ad offering to ensure that TikTok's ad optimization model works effectively.
Ad Tegs. Specify tags, the maximum number is 20 tags. The TikTok algorithm will use these to match users for the campaign.
User Comment.A function that opens or closes comments under the video.
Automated Creative. Selecting this feature will automatically generate new creative combinations. Also, TikTok algorithms will be able to improve the quality of traffic by matching your target audience and creatives. There is no need to manually optimize and track creative performance.
Targeting. Create a relevant audience based on the specified data.
Set a budget:
- Daily Budget - daily limit;
- Total Budget - determination of the total budget.
Set your bid per click.
Create creatives.
All creatives are completely up to you.
TikTok analytics
TikTok's internal analytics provides little data, and also prevents third-party accounts from being analyzed. Before promoting on TikTok, it is important to audit competitors, prepare for an advertising campaign and collect detailed statistics, for this you will need third-party services. Unfortunately, there are not many analytics services for the application, we recommend using Popsters. It will help you find the most popular and discussed posts, compare several accounts and upload the results in the form of a report.
To analyze your account, find it in the search bar (by link or name), select the analysis given. You will see a list of posts sorted by likes, as well as summary statistics for the period.
By default, posts with the maximum number of likes are displayed at the top, but they can also be sorted by reposts, comments, ER or publication date.
To view summary statistics in the right column, click Show Table.
In the left column, select the parameter you are interested in and get an analysis on effective days of the week for publication, time of day, dependence of engagement on publication format and text volume.
Conclusion
TikTok is a fast-growing honest and creative platform where the audience prefers to be themselves and shows themselves and their ideas as they are. Promotional opportunities in the app are still in their early stages of formation, but even they are already enough for your brand to be able to show itself on TikTok.