Why TikTok Is Important In Your Marketing Strategy

New kid on the block.

Its 2020, and Social Media Marketing is yet again taking on a new frontier. But as Marketers & Business owners we love to walk the road that’s been travelled already, (sorry Mr. Robert Frost), because the truth is that there is often a lack of time and budget to try something new that is not guaranteed to show results.  However, as marketers (and business owners), we want to stay relevant and this means taking a risk every now and then and jumping on an emerging trend-wagon, to try and beat out your competitors. 

In this instance, the current hype if around a platform called TikTok, which is quickly establishing itself as the new kid on the social media block.

So, what is TikTok?

Well firstly, if you haven’t heard of TikTok I’m going to assume two things:

1. You’re living under a rock
2. You’ve been in prison and not had access to the internet 

Jokes aside... TikTok is a Social Media Application used to create short lip-sync, comedy, and talent videos, and to share them. In its two-year life span, it has been downloaded 1.65 BILLION times, making it the 4^th most downloaded app of all time. (Cue applause).

What makes this app so popular?

The way that content is being consumed has shifted, i.e., people are more community focused, and sharing meaningful conversations with like-minded people, rather than taking an individual approach. This is exactly what TikTok is; a community-based platform, where people comment on each-other’s videos, and even collaborate. This element of social sharing will become more and more prevalent in 2020, across ALL platforms.

Millennials don’t like invasive advertising, they’re much savvier, and instead they prefer to engage with brands on their own terms. So, you’re better off incorporating a sense of community to your brand story. In this same sense, when you read all the articles about the social media trends for 2020, the words ‘User-Generated content or UGC’ pop up quite a few times, and honestly, they’re not wrong! There are so many perks to UGC….

1. It’s content that is developed BY your target audience… that means less work for you! #Winning.
2. Due to the decrease of trust in social media (thanks to fake news), UGC reinforces authentic content, making it easier for millennials to exist on the platform, and be a part of your brands conversation.
3. It’s easier for consumers to become your advocates – they will talk about what they love!

So where to from here?

Due to the quick & urgent nature of the social media universe staying relevant means staying on top of the fast-moving trend-wagon, or better yet… Brand-wagon (see what we did there). This applies to both your company and your target audience! if your audience decides to migrate to a platform such as TikTok, will you be there to welcome them?

Tik Tok won’t be right for every brand, but this is more than just one new social media channel for you to investigate. Remember to get yourself into a fluid mindset so you can shift and shape your strategy to maintain integrity and authenticity online and across social media.

A huge part of this revolves around ‘expect the unexpected’, a good example of which is the transition of influencer marketing, and the way it has shifted considerably from its introduction a few years ago. People are now moving away from celebrity-crazed pages with millions of followers and instead following people who they can really relate to, in niche markets who have created a sense of community (oh there’s that word again).

This is what 2020 is going to be about, smarter consumers who are culturally aware, who want to be a part of something bigger than themselves, and to contribute to the bigger picture of society. Now is an exciting time to be live in the world of social media, especially from a brand/business perspective, with great opportunities for growth.

So, TikTok, what are you waiting for?