Are You Thinking About TikTok?

Post, reel, retweet, scroll, like, match… All of these terms are part of our day to day and they exist, symbiotically, together with us. But, some decades ago, no one thought that these words would have a functional meaning in our lives. 

In recent years, all these terms have caused a revolution, not only for social network consumers, but for the corporate world as well. To a greater or lesser extent and more or less professionally, companies use these tools to promote themselves or sell their products directly to users, opening up more benefit channels.

It’s logical for people to associate Instagram, Facebook or Twitter as the main promotion channels in social networks. But, what if TikTok was also a good way for companies to advertise themselves and to reach a broader audience? TikTok is peaking and it seems to be destined to last.

A Few Notes on TikTok

• Video is Master: TikTok was born as a tool to create, edit and share musical videos, integrating users at every step of the way, as if user’s were part of the platform itself. Just like on Instagram, visuals come first: make it eyecandy and appealing at first sight.
• From Flashes to Tutorials: The duration of videos has been gradually increasing. In 2016, videos couldn’t last more than 15 seconds. Then it went up to a minute. This year, they have decided to allow up to 10-minute videos. A longer duration that has opened the door for more elaborate content development, such as tutorials.
• GenZ Rules: On TikTok, the youngest rule. It’s considered to be the platform with the greatest projection for Centennials. Their target audience is mostly between 16 and 25 years old.
• A Search Engine on the Rise: One of the most interesting commercial characteristics of this app is that it’s taking Google’s place as the king of search engines, precisely among the youngest. According to information that the Californian company presented in July, the Chinese platform is where 40% of the GenZ users carry out their searches.

So, Does My Company Need to Be on TikTok?

“Don’t bite off more than you can chew”. When it comes to a company’s social media strategy, it’s not about being present in every single social network. It’s better to focus on those that can produce value, distinguish us and effectively get us closer to our buyer persona.

The sectors with greatest acceptance on TikTok are beauty, fashion and jewellery; life-style in general. Others, such as art, travelling and cuisine, in general, are also well positioned; especially videos that give us tips and recommendations.

Other businesses that may seem less glamorous for the platform are also welcomed. There is a wide range of options in this social network.

There’s no particular reason to believe that a company shouldn’t be on TikTok, but you must be aware of the characteristics mentioned above and of the content we want to produce; and, most importantly, to know to which audience our content will be aimed for.