Tiktok is everywhere, advertisements for the growing platform is on our TVs, news sites and competitor apps. There is almost no escape from its scope, and that is due to the success of its interest-based algorithm.
Over 25% of UK smartphone users aged 18-25 have TikTok on their phones, missing out on that potential engagement can limit a brand significantly.
In this blog, we’re going to explore what the platform of TikTok means for consumer interaction, their interests, their habits, and how your business can place its ads to capitalise with the view of creating long-term consumer loyalty.
What is an Interest-based Algorithm and why is it Different?
While Facebook, Instagram and Twitter deal ads to their users that reflect their friend and social spheres directly, TikTok delivers their ads based on their content interests – basing their algorithmic journey purely on the videos they watch and engage with.
What this means for brands is that their content can, in theory, reach a user who would normally never engage with as it would typically be outside of their regular channels.
This interest-based algorithm therefore means that content creation can be aligned with your specific target audience interests and potentially reach a mass audience. Tapping into wide and popular topics such as beauty, fashion, comedy, and sports instantly allows a brand to become highly visible with content that is matched directly to an audience’s interests.
Naturally, successful and engaged content will scale dramatically.
Ads that Blend with Native Content
Advertising on the platform is entirely video based, meaning that ads always align with any user’s native content and, typically, will not break user immersion. Amazingly, the engagement rate for users stands at 29% globally.
Why is TikTok’s Large Young Audience Important for Brands?
The emerging theme of interest-based social media means that there has been a consistent raise in brand lift for brands with high engagement and high visibility. For example, using in-feed video ads, Maybelline’s campaign saw an 80% lift in brand awareness and a 47.9% lift in brand favourability according to a Tiktok brand lift study.
If you are in any doubt, you only have to look at the most recent viral trend to see how a brand can benefit from a chance piece of content.
Why Are Big Brands Drawn to Emerging Platforms?
If the lure of big engagement and huge brand lift was not enough, why are so many brands shifting their focus to TikTok and potentially reducing their spend elsewhere?
In the UK, influencer engagement is through the roof, and larger brands are seeing greater ROI on their investment by creating sponsored content that’s unintrusive and successful at building brand affinity.
With the prevalence of the app and the volume of young users with access to the app, the platform is a powerful tool for building new lifetime customers. Brands are actively creating campaigns that return a favourable emotive response that reinforces their loves and interests, combine this with a large pool of unduplicated users, and it is clear to see potential lifetime value to these brands.
Do These Platforms Matter for Small and Medium Businesses?
This social sphere can seem daunting, especially with the volume of larger brands seeking as much market share as they can. However, the nature of TikTok’s interest-based algorithm means that there’s potential for any campaign to grow well beyond its initial scope and spend.
The right content, targeted at the right niche and interest can strike a chord with an audience with an attention span of 47mins a day in the UK which has the potential to accelerate into new demographics and build brand awareness. With the right execution, your paid social spend can see a massive return on investment.
For more information, and how your business can benefit from TikTok and use emerging social media to its fullest, work with our paid social team at Return digital marketing agency in Manchester.