For those who are not sure what it is: TikTok is a social media platform for creating and sharing very short videos. Think of it as a type of online karaoke snippets site. It allows users to upload their short videos of 15 seconds or less and share them and it is aimed at young people having fun. TikTok enables people to have a community of followers and to become a TikTok influencer fairly easily and quickly.
TikTok is a rising star in the social media world – especially with the younger generation. To date, it currently has 800 million active users. Included in this are a lot of influencers, which businesses are able to connect with in order to promote their product or brand in an engaging way.
So, should you be using TikTok as part of a social media strategy? Honestly, It depends on your target audience. If you are targeting a group of people that you have found to engage more with visual content, such as videos, then this would be a good route for you to take.
A variety of different types of businesses use TikTok to leverage their brand. You will find businesses from a vast range of industries such as:
- Fashion
- Beauty
- Technology
- Automotive
- Finance
- Music
- Sports
It’s important to analyse whether or not your audience spends time on Tik Tok before deciding whether or not to invest in the platform. If your brand connects with customers on a personal level and you already have very active social media platforms then it may be an idea to test the water with TikTok. If you have more of a traditional audience with a more formal approach to marketing it may not be the platform for your business.
That being said, TikTok is knocking on the door of the big, older social media sites and it may be that the younger generation is ready for something new and exciting other than Youtube, Twitter or Facebook.
Here is a summarised list of pros and cons for using Tik Tok for your business:
Pros
- A huge amount of users and brand exposure
- Reach new markets
- A chance to get creative with your content
- Free to set up an account and post content
Cons
- Not great if you have an older audience
- Expensive ads if you choose to go down the paid media road
- Could get expensive if you choose to use influencers as part of your strategy
- Questionability on data security
One thing is for sure, TikTok’s growth has been the opposite of slow and steady. It’s user’s short, addictive, catchy, engaging videos are retaining the attention of people from around the world.
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