TikTok is one of the most influential social media platforms in history. It’s also one of the most popular platforms, used regularly by more than 1 billion people. TikTok offers something for everyone, including businesses looking to launch a high-impact content strategy. But what does it take to run a successful TikTok Marketing strategy from a 2022 perspective?
When faced with such ferocious competition, what can the average business do to stand out on TikTok? Paid TikTok ads are often the first thing that comes to mind for marketing purposes, which can indeed be effective but is far from the only option available.
On platforms like TikTok, the organic approach is always best. Irrespective of the target audience you’re reaching out to, campaigns built on quality content are where it’s at.
In this introductory guide, we’ll be taking a brief look at the fundamentals of effective TikTok marketing in 2022. We’ll also be touching upon the types of content that work best on TikTok and how to gradually build influence in your niche.
Why do TikTok Marketing Strategies Matter?
TikTok Marketing strategies matter because they can be engineered with almost any objective in mind. Just a few of the things an effective TikTok Marketing strategy could help you achieve are as follows:
1. More Brand Awareness
Your TikTok account is really the only thing you need to boost brand awareness. Every video you publish gives you the opportunity to showcase your brand and tell your story. Not to mention, emphasize the unique personality of your brand and (more importantly) the people behind it.
2. Engaged Communities
Taking full advantage of the social aspect of social media is essential. This isn’t a platform where going for the hard-sell works. On TikTok, it’s all about engagement, interaction, and community. Build strong enough relationships with your target audience, and the rest takes care of itself.
3. Product and Service Sales
TikTok provides the perfect opportunity for businesses to master the art of selling without selling. This is basically where you become such an integral part of the community you’re targeting that your products and services or sell themselves. All without resorting to overpriced paid ads.
4. Customer Loyalty and Trust
Building loyalty and trust with your target audience isn’t about closing one-off sales. It’s about driving the kind of long-term commitment and repeat business that will sustain your brand long-term. The key to which (again) lies in embracing the social side of social media.
Tips to Create a TikTok Marketing Strategy
All is well and good, but where to start with your own TikTok marketing strategy? By its nature, every marketing campaign on TikTok will always be unique. But when it comes to the fundamentals of effective TikTok marketing, the basics are always the same.
Irrespective of who you are targeting and what you are targeting them with, here’s how to lay the groundwork for a successful TikTok Marketing strategy:
1. Get Familiar with TikTok
First up, you need to get to know as much as possible about the platform itself. TikTok is a uniquely vibrant, dynamic, and youthful platform. A place people head with instant gratification in mind, who have no time for anything too formal or stuffy.
High-impact short-form content holds the key to making things work on TikTok, as does leave business talk out of the equation entirely.
2. Define Your Target Audience
You cannot please all of the people all of the time on platforms like TikTok. Nor should you attempt to, as it is far better to define your main target audience with pinpoint precision. The more precisely you define your primary customer, the easier it becomes to reach and influence them with your content.
3. Perform a Competitive Audit
This is basically as simple as taking the time to study your competitors in order to identify their strengths and weaknesses.
Doing so should provide you with plenty of insights into what your target audience expects from a TikTok publisher. Not to mention, how to improve on the output of your closest rivals, in order to gain a competitive edge.
4. Post Regularly
TikTok recommends posting 2 to 4 times per day for optimum results. In practice, sharing as many as 5 to 7 videos per day can be even more effective for some creators. It depends entirely on who you are targeting and the type of content you are putting out. Nevertheless, the importance of posting regularly and avoiding long silent spells cannot be overstated.
5. Use Suitable Hashtags
Trending hashtags can be great if and when they are of genuine relevance to your content. Otherwise, you need to focus exclusively on hashtags that relate to your content and your target audience.
Remember that TikTok uses hashtags to categorize and recommend content based on the subject matter. Hence, the importance of sticking exclusively with relevant and valid hashtags.
6. Catch the Trends
Taking advantage of trends on TikTok isn’t about jumping on the bandwagon with what’s trending at the time. It’s about keeping your ear to the ground for the next big thing.
By the time a trend has hit the mainstream on TikTok, it’s already yesterday’s news. Not to mention, so incredibly saturated that it no longer has any real impact. Set your sights on the trends of tomorrow – not those of last week. This includes actively finding trending musics that align with emerging trends to stay ahead of the curve.
7. Use TikTok Ads
Of course, paid ads on TikTok can be great for an instant exposure boost. Feed ads can ensure your brand or business appears as prominently as possible at exactly the right time in front of the right people. Ideal for kick-starting a campaign or boosting an existing strategy, but only as an accompaniment to a broader organic promotional campaign.
8. Cross-Promote on Other Social Media Platforms
Taking full advantage of all your social media accounts comes highly recommended. Each time you publish new content on TikTok, tell your other social audiences about it.
Promote your work in as many places as possible, include links to your latest videos, and use CTAs for motivation. Encourage them to check you out, spread the word, and follow you on TikTok.
9. Watch the For You Page
Spending at least 20 minutes per day browsing the For You Page is essential. There’s no better place to see what kind of content within your niche is hitting home with its intended target audience at the time.
Not to mention, pick up ideas for future posts, keep an eye on your competitors and come up with creative ideas to stand out from the crowd with your own original content.
10. Encourage User Generated Content
No content is more effective in motivating an audience to take action than user-generated content. UGC covers a variety of content types – tutorials, instructional content, reviews, recommendations, testimonials, and so on.
Basically, any type of content featuring real customers, created and submitted by the customers themselves. UGC can be pure gold and should be encouraged at all times.
11. Collaborate with TikTok Influencers
It’s a similar story with TikTok influencers – established figures who are trusted implicitly by their followers. If you can convince an influencer to say something positive about your products, your services, or your brand, you’re golden.
But as you can’t expect influencers to flock your way of their own accord, you need to put in the effort to contact them and get them on board.
12. Engage with Your Audience
Last up, interacting and engaging with your audience at all times is essential. On TikTok, there’s nothing less inspiring than a creator who doesn’t make an effort to join the conversation. Watch their videos, leave comments, respond to comments, follow them, share their content – all the things you would like them to do in return for you.
Conclusion
Contrary to popular belief, planning and implementing an effective TikTok Marketing strategy doesn’t have to be difficult. In fact, the biggest mistake you can make is to overthink and overcomplicate the whole thing. The simple fact of the matter is that if your content is up to scratch, the rest will take care of itself.
If your products and services are as good as you think they are, there’s no need to resort to the hard sell. Your job is to showcase your brand’s personality and USP as openly, honestly, and authentically as possible. Focus on building meaningful relationships – not closing as many sales as you can.
See the value in each and every person in your community, irrespective of whether or not they buy anything. After all, they could recommend you to their own friends and followers, and they could do likewise.
Take every opportunity to interact and engage with your target audience, keeping the conversation flowing at all times. All while encouraging their contributions, welcoming their feedback, and asking for their suggestions on how you could do things better.
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