TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world and has seen a significant worldwide even surpassing Instagram in some countries. With over one billion monthly active users worldwide, this platform, which focuses on vertical video content, has proven to be an effective marketing tool for many brands and businesses. In this article, we will explore the advantages and disadvantages of TikTok as a marketing tool for your business, as well as the key factors you should consider before creating content.
Pros of using TikTok as a marketing tool:
- Large audience: Despite not having transparent metrics for all the countries, it is a great tool to target generation Z and Millennials. According to TikTok Ads for Business, most of the users in this platform are between the ages of 18 to 24 years old, followed by those between 25 and 34 years old.
- Visual content: Undoubtedly, video content is the king today. Being a purely video platform gives us the opportunity to be more creative and generate short and relevant videos for our target audience.
- Influencer campaigns: TikTok is well known for its large number of influencers, and many brands have successfully used these content creators to promote their products. Influencers can be an effective way to reach a specific audience and showcase your products or services.
- Paid advertising: Although the ad platform is not yet available to everyone around the globe, TikTok, like other social media platforms, offers paid advertising options. These options can be an effective way to reach a specific audience and increase your brand’s visibility without the need to constantly generate content on the platform.
- Higher organic reach (unpaid or sponsored content): Despite the fact that brands and individuals upload content to this platform daily, the likelihood that your video will have a higher organic reach and be shown to people who do not follow your brand, is higher compared to other social media platforms. This is not a guarantee that your videos will always go “viral,” but if you are consistent and generate eye-catching content for your target audience, the platform’s algorithm is likely to help you reach the right people.
Cons of using TikTok as a marketing tool:
- Limited audience: Although TikTok has seen strong growth in recent years, it is still primarily composed of young users. If your business targets an audience older than 35, you may not want to use this platform as your main communication tool.
- High competition: Being a platform where millions of brands and people upload content daily, the level of competition you face will be higher. You will not only compete with your brand’s competition, but you are also competing for users’ attention, so remember that the first few seconds of your video will be crucial in making the user decide not to switch to another.
- Visual content: Although this is also an advantage in terms of content, video production will always be more expensive than generating images or GIFs, so you need to consider this in your budget.
- Trends: TikTok is a platform that is characterized by rapidly changing trends, which can make your content planning work more difficult. It is very likely that you have worked with other social media platforms and developed a planned content for the entire month. However, on this platform, you’ll need to be aware that sometimes you will need to produce “trending” content to stay in the game, which could increase production costs for your brand.
In conclusion, TikTok can be an effective marketing tool with the opportunity to create creative content, work with influencers, and increase brand awareness. However, it is important to consider the high competition and costs that video production can generate. If you decide to use TikTok as a marketing tool for your business, make sure to carefully consider the pros and cons for your business, and have a clear strategy in place to make the most out of this platform. For more information about our plans for content creation or social media strategies feel free to contact us.