The Power Of TikTok....
This week I’m writing about my favourite social media platform, Tiktok, and how brands are standing out there...
Happy New Week!
This week I’m writing about my favourite social media platform, Tiktok, and how brands are standing out there. For those who live under a rock and don’t know what TikTok is, it’s a short-form video platform. It is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms which means that there is a huge opportunity to be seen by your target audience and create a heavily engaged community online. Tiktok has over 1 billion monthly active users ranging from 13 to 64 years old and is destroying its competitors when it comes to passive screentime.
TikTok having such a large audience is very attractive for brands and brands such as Amazon, Gymshark, Pretty Little Thing, and Cult Beauty are making the most out of the platform. TikTok is still an emerging platform so the way brands use it is still developing. However, users come on TikTok to be entertained and not sold. So brands have to make sure they don’t produce content that screams it’s an ad. You have to weave your products into your content. One of my favourite pages is my local Marks & Spencers, @mandsromford, who went viral on TikTok last year with their hilarious videos.
Let’s take a deep dive into M&S Romford TikTok’s strategy.
They produce simple, authentic, and funny content involving the whole team. Their content is a breath of fresh air, you get the feeling that the staff enjoys working there and it’s a nice environment to shop as the staff comes across as very friendly online. So you can expect great customer service every time you visit. It also becomes very appealing for those looking for somewhere friendly and fun to work.
Their content is funny but also very informative, for example, they have short-form videos showing you the changes to the layout in-store, items on sale, and food being served in their kitchen. They weave in their products like the M&S sparks card very smoothly and you can always expect to see a cameo from Percy and Penny Pig.
They leverage current trends, dances, and sounds well. One thing you can expect from the M&S Romfords TikTok page is that they will manage to find a way to relate a trending dance or sound to something M&S related. You often see their store members taking part in trending dances or challenges.
Honestly, for a Marks and Spencer store, I would have never imagined their content to be so funny and engaging. They even released a Christmas song to raise money for charity, the song competed against A-list musicians for the number one spot on the music charts last Christmas. By focusing on creating engaging content that shows their personalities, brand values, and products, they’ve built a direct connection with many TikTok users.
Other brands focus on using ambassadors to gain maximum reach on the platform. Brands such as Gymshark encourage user-generated content from its fans by getting fitness ambassadors to set challenges others can participate in and post onto their page. This collaborative approach helps Gymshark build a strong online community that appeals to Gen Zs.
There are various tools that brands and creators can leverage on the platform. For example, you can add brand messaging and links to an external landing page if you have a business profile. You can monitor and review your content performance with a built-in analytics tool.
You can also use their ad platform to reach a wider audience. Brands can run in-feed adverts, sponsored hashtag challenges, and banner ads on the homepage of the app. One of TikTok’s recent new features is the in-app commerce feature, which now allows brands to directly sell products to users without them having to leave the app. As a brand TikTok is definitely a platform that you should be focusing on.
If you’re interested in finding out more about Tiktok and running ads feel free to reach out to me at subomi@divrsemedia.com. My agency specialises in helping brands reach and engage with their audience online on platforms like Tiktok, Facebook, and Instagram.