Advertising Your Brand on TikTok

Becoming popular during the first lockdown of the Covid-19 pandemic in the summer of 2020, TikTok has become a cultural phenomenon. Consisting of a 300% growth from Q4 2019 to Q4 2020, TikTok has over 100 million monthly active users, 60% of whom are in the Gen Z category.

In-Feed Ads

There are a variety of ways to advertise your brand on TikTok. Most popular among them are in-feed ads. These are ads that will appear in the user’s feed, in between videos. These ads are most similar to the ads you see when tapping through Instagram stories.

Influencer Collaboration

Engagement rates for organic posts on TikTok average 3-9%, while Instagram’s average is around 3-6%. For influencers, this number can be much higher. For an account with 100k-500k followers, engagement can be 17%. Therefore, while it can be more expensive, you can improve your likelihood of conversions. One way to connect with influencers is through branded challenges. Branded challenges are a unique way to promote your brand. These ads ask viewers to share videos of them completing the challenge, and use a certain hashtag in the caption. In order to promote the challenge, most brands buy additional ads.

Additionally, TikTok’s Creator Marketplace can connect you with a variety of creators who have their own unique audience. Not only can you see their average views and follower count, but you can ensure that they will align with your industry, business goals, and budget.

Popular Content Categories

Now that you have an idea of the different ways to advertise your brand on TikTok, it is just as important to recognize the types of content that perform the best. 61% of TikTok users felt that the advertising on the app was unique, and even associated advertisements with being “authentic, fun, genuine, and trustworthy”.  Trending hashtags can change daily, but using hashtags in any of these categories can draw attention to your video. According to Statista, the top three most popular content categories are:

Entertainment- 535 billion hashtag views

This is the largest content category on TikTok, mainly due to the variety of videos it encompasses. Comedy, skits, special effects, and oddly satisfying videos all live here, making it such a broad and diverse category, but also the most popular. Some popular creators in this category include Bella Poarch (88.4M followers), Zach King (67.8M followers), and Dixie D’Amelio (57.1M followers).

Dance- 181 billion hashtag views

What sets TikTok aside from its competitors is its unique use of music. TikTok has deals in place with various distributors and labels which allow artists to upload their discography to TikTok and receive royalties from their music being used on the platform. This in itself creates an environment in which dance trends thrive, and users can learn at home. Charli D’Amelio flourishes in this category, being the most followed person on the app at 138.1 million followers. Behind her in the dance category is Addison Rae (87.1M followers), and the Lopez Brothers (44.9M followers).

Pranks- 79 billion hashtag views

Pranks can often become viral challenges, such as pretending to shave your head, faking a FaceTime call, or texting your significant other song lyrics until they catch on. Former Vine star Brent Rivera succeeds in this category with 42.6 million followers. Behind him are David Dobrik (26M followers) and Gil Croes (35.1M followers).

Curious on how to work with influencers and make your advertising dollars go further on one of the fastest-growing apps? Access to Media can help! Contact us today to see how our team can work with you to meet your needs.