How to (easily) integrate TikTok into your marketing strategy

TikTok’s just an app for teens who like to dance.

While this isn’t entirely untrue, it should be noted that the platform has evolved a lot since it first started in 2016, both in terms of its diversity of advertising content as well as its wider community of users. In this specific respect, not only is the application no longer used exclusively by Gen Z, but 86 percent of its Canadian audience is over the age of 18, according to data gathered by TikTok in January 2022. Yes, you read that right: 86% of TikTok users are adults, with 37% between 18 and 24, 25% between 25 and 34, and 24% being 35 or older. While most content creators are under 30, it’s no less true that the entertainment platform is highly, and increasingly, used by people over 30, a trend that isn’t about to end any time soon.

In this article we’ll first present the reasons you should be adding TikTok to your set of marketing tools, then tackle the way to effectively integrate it into your strategies, both in terms of media placement and content creation.

Why you should integrate TikTok into your marketing strategy

Unlike Facebook or Instagram, TikTok is an entertainment platform. When compared to the most popular applications in its segment, TikTok remains unique: It has one of the highest engagement rates—almost 6% (Comscore, 2022). At that level, its performance is comparable to the other big players in the sector, such as YouTube, and if its current trendline continues, it might eventually even rival Netflix.

TikTok’s advanced algorithm lets you reach the niche interests of every user. This distinguishes it from Instagram, for example, where suggested content is defined based on the accounts you follow.

So if you’re a fan of pottery, you’ll definitely find a specialized community on that topic on TikTok. You can also increasingly find more specific trends there, such as the popular #BookTok, where users share and comment on what they’re reading.

A few stats showing the popularity of the platform

• In January 2022, the platform was actively used by 12.6 million people in Canada, with 41% living in Ontario and 12% in Quebec
  
• According to a ComScore study conducted in 2022, TikTok reaches 46% of Canadians aged 18 to 34, or over 3.6 million individuals
  
• TikTok reports that the average Canadian user spends 1 day per month on the platform (over 24 hours)
  
• Only 47% to 50% of Facebook and/or Instagram users use TikTok, while 84% of TikTok users also use Facebook and/or Instagram (Hootsuite, January 2022)
  
• On TikTok, content presented by an influencer is 27% more likely to attract users’ attention and remain memorable compared to other kinds of content (Sommet, TikTok, October 2022)
  
• 84% of users were persuaded to purchase a product or service after watching a branded video (State of Video Marketing, 2021)
  
• Amongst Canadians who use TikTok, 44% come from Ontario, 22% from Quebec and 11% from British Columbia (TikTok internal data, October 2022)
• According to an article published this summer by Tech Crunch, 40% of Gen Z prefer using TikTok or Instagram instead of Google to do research online

How to integrate TikTok into your media strategy

1.  You can create a TikTok Ads Manager account in just a few clicks and launch your first campaign. 

2. TikTok users want to be entertained. That’s why it’s important to respect best practices and adapt your advertising content to the platform. While you can reuse an effective story you published on Facebook, it’s highly likely it will work less well on TikTok. Hence the famous line, “Don’t make ads, make TikToks!”

3. With content that’s organic or made with content creators, it’s possible to amplify these posts using the Spark Ads format (similar to Facebook Boost Post), which may significantly simplify the creation of ad content.

4. Plan your content calendar. Since ad fatigue happens faster on TikTok than other platforms, it’s important to plan 2 or 3 videos per campaign, depending on the campaign’s duration. They don’t all need to be completely different from each other—simple variations in terms of music or length, for example, allow you to quickly multiply the number of videos you have available to use. This is an excellent opportunity for putting your creativity to the test! 

5. Use the creative tools you have available. The usual reason people don’t want to get into TikTok is because they’re afraid adding the platform to their array of media will cause them to be overloaded with work, particularly when it comes to content creation. But the truth is that TikTok offers more and more tools to support companies in content creation. In particular, the Creative Center provides free templates for posts.

6. Work with content creators. The Creator Marketplace (available once you’ve signed up for TikTok Ads Manager) will enable you to find creators that suit your particular needs.

7. Benefit from the variety of formats available. Since TikTok is an app that tries to keep users on the application, it’s important to keep this in mind for your strategy. TikTok offers an increasing number of formats that allow you to generate conversion, such as Shopping ads from a product feed. With Instant Form, it’s also possible to develop Lead Ads, which let you create forms that users can fill out while on the TikTok platform, without having to leave the app. This lets you continue the practice of collecting leads without complicating the user journey.

8. Take a look at what other companies similar to yours are doing. This is the best way to get inspired and stay on top of trends. 

If you’re thinking of using this platform for future campaigns, why not begin building that future today by creating a customized content strategy specifically for the platform?

How to integrate TikTok into your content strategy

It’s possible that users who see your campaigns on TikTok will use the app’s search engine to find you, to see information about your account and/or to watch other content you have produced.

But if you don’t have an account where you offer organic content, you’re missing a great opportunity for connecting with your consumers and enriching your relationship with your audience.

Since authenticity is key on TikTok, your paid campaigns will benefit from being designed to complement your organic content. This is something TikTok already understands, which is why it offers Spark Ads, a native ad format that allows brands to create ad campaigns from organic posts. For brands, this is a way of strengthening their presence in their communities with honesty and transparency.

For content marketing, TikTok offers brands some excellent opportunities to shine. Whether it’s for generating engagement, giving your image a more human face or exploiting video even more in your campaigns, there are many reasons for integrating TikTok into your content strategy.

But where should you start? And more to the point, what should you do?

1. As with the other social platforms you’re already using for your current content strategy, start off with a solid foundation:

• establish clear goals;
• define very specific personas;
• identify themes for the content to be created.

These three main elements, which are the basis for any strategy, will ensure you’re heading in the right direction and creating content that’s relevant and adapted to your target.

2. Guide your strategy using competitive intelligence. Are your competitors on TikTok, and if so, what do they post? You can learn a lot from this type of analysis, including identifying the kinds of content that work best and the different ways you can stack the deck to distinguish yourself from the competition.

3. If you’re new to TikTok, it’s best to focus on the frequency and relevance of the content you post, rather than on quantity. To this end, develop an editorial calendar. This tool enables you to plan the creation and publication of your content in advance, in addition to helping you define and maintain a regular frequency for your posts. However, there’s no need to be overly strict with your initial game plan. Instead, adopt a more flexible approach by giving yourself the freedom to integrate new content adapted to highly topical trends.

4. Be careful about duplicating the same content on several platforms. It might be tempting to take content posted on Facebook or Instagram and use it on your TikTok account without changing it. Unfortunately, such content is not always adapted for this platform. But that doesn’t mean you need to recreate content all over again from scratch. You can simply rework content from other platforms and change it based on TikTok’s particularities using the platform’s own content tools.

5. Don’t be afraid of trying out new content, but don’t forget to track its performance. Over time, you’ll be able to adjust your strategy more efficiently by using the information you collected, which will indicate which pieces of content drove the most engagement amongst your target audience.

6. Ready to get started? Create a Business account for your brand today. This will give you access to analytics data and a library of rights-free music, which is a great asset for creating attractive, dynamic videos.

The importance of search engine optimization (SEO) on TikTok

While TikTok has long been a premier application for entertainment, it’s increasingly becoming a popular search engine. As previously mentioned, we’ve noted a new behaviour: 40% of Gen Z users use TikTok or Instagram to answer questions.

Its algorithm targeting the specific interests of individuals explains, at least in part, why Gen Z are using the platform to find specific information: because the algo is so well trained, the likelihood that the search results will be relevant is very high. TikTok’s search engine is notable for its visual and immersive way of presenting information, as well as for its “Discovery” mode. If handled correctly, there is a great opportunity here for brands to capitalize on this user search behaviour, particularly in segments such as tourism and restaurants.

You should also note that it will soon be possible to generate sales directly on TikTok, which will only serve to increase the reach of the platform and its positive effects on business results, thereby driving companies’ interest to put the platform to good use.

*

If you would like to integrate TikTok into your content creation strategy, be sure not to forget about SEO, since it will improve the likelihood your content will be promoted by the platform’s algorithm and earn greater visibility in its search engine.

Obviously, developing an effective SEO strategy on TikTok goes well beyond simply aligning your content with a few high-volume keywords. Many fussy little details (too many to mention here) must be taken into account for a campaign to be successful on this platform.

Our SEO experts can help you build your strategy and guide your initial steps on TikTok in order to guarantee you start off on the right foot.