As real-time media continues to grow with new opportunities each day, one question is always constant. How can we stay ahead of the competition? More specifically, how can my organization perform on social media in ways that are positively different from everyone else? While many options are available, one that has been on many people’s minds recently is the video-based platform TikTok.
Although it is still young compared to other social platforms, TikTok has gained a large following that could prove to be beneficial to an organization’s communication strategy. So, what exactly is TikTok?
What is TikTok?
TikTok is the current dominant platform for short-form video sharing. Much like Vine, videos on TikTok are vertical and take up the entire app’s screen. Reactions are to the right side of the screen. Users can be followed, and feeds can be populated by those who follow. Some of the video content that is popular on TikTok includes:
- Trendy, nostalgic dance videos. Many TikTok users enjoy uploading themselves performing the latest dance craze, or a move from back in the day.
- Lip syncing. Much like dance videos, users can create videos with a wide variety of music options.
- Users can “duet” on any TikTok, which stitches the original video with their own as a split-screen. Users will generally either react to a video or supplement it.
- Voice dubbing. People will take snippets from movies or TV shows and dub themselves on camera as if they were speaking the lines.
- Like any other social platform, TikTok has a plethora of content that is based on memes, or socially trending jokes.
Who’s on TikTok?
There are over 500 million active users on TikTok. The audience tends to be slightly younger, with 66% of total users under 30 years old. These users spend an average of 52 minutes per day scrolling through videos.
How does TikTok affect your Brand?
So, what does this mean for your brand? Potentially, it could mean nothing. This platform could be completely opposite of the audience you’re searching for. But, with its growing youth audience and trendiness, this platform has the potential to be a perfect spot for some of your organization’s content.
Though, branded content is in its early stages on TikTok. To be successful and stay authentic, brands need to be smart in their execution of navigating TikTok. It seems that brands are left with two main options for TikTok: partnering with an influencer or paying for one of TikTok’s ad products.
Yes, we agree. TikTok is not on the same level of other top social platforms in terms of content for brands. Though, as organizations are looking to stick out in unique ways, it is a platform that can not be overlooked. It’s important to find something that works before a competitor does it first.