Tick…Tick…Tick. Is time running out on your opportunity to effectively use TikTok? Not if you make wise investments.
From recent feature rollouts to off the chart viewership numbers, TikTok has eclipsed a number of social platforms in key engagement areas, such as retention rate and active collaboration features like duets and stitches.
Best-in-class brands leverage TikTok’s native tools, editing features, ad formats and ecommerce capabilities to maximize reach and facilitate purchase. In fact, 84% of the top 50 brands ranked in Gartner’s latest Social Media Benchmarks Digital IQ had a TikTok profile as of November 2021.
However, there are still many high-performing brands that are either underinvesting in their brand TikTok pages or ignoring the platform altogether. What does this mean for digital marketing leaders?
Lost Opportunities With Target Audience
First, those that overlook TikTok will miss connecting with key audiences. TikTok commands a large, hyper-engaged user base that demands marketers’ attention. The platform is investing in increasingly sophisticated commercial features, too, such as TikTok Ads Manager and objectives driven Promote feature. TikTok gives brands the ability to invest in a number of different ad formats and influencer partnerships that drive a specific call to action among a highly targeted audience.
Given this, digital marketers should assess the scope of TikTok’s growth and audience, its business tools and the competitive landscape to kick off informed discussions about the merits of investment within the marketing organization and the rest of the C-suite.
Missing Out on Social Commerce Growth
Second, TikTok’s increased investment in social commerce means digital marketing leaders also risk losing out on a major monetization opportunity. According to TikTok, the hashtag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt has more than 6.8 billion views and viral videos regularly translate to direct sales lift. One beauty brand saw more than a 600% increase in daily sales after their watermelon products went viral on the app, too. TikTok has capitalized on the success of viral products by introducing in-app ecommerce capabilities — for example, in-app store and link in bio — to enable a seamless buying experience for consumers.
As a result, digital marketers must track TikTok’s commerce features and gauge alignment with key marketing goals. Monitor ongoing legal concerns and remain transparent with users as personal data privacy remains a growing concern.
How to Leverage TikTok to Improve the Customer Journey Experience
Brands that effectively use TikTok — and other major social media channels for that matter — throughout the customer journey outperform competitors by lifting word of mouth, engaging more prospects and driving more valuable engagement with customers.
Digital marketing leaders have traditionally focused their social media efforts on brand posts, advertising and influencer marketing to improve brand awareness and consideration. However, they often fail to develop and invest in social strategies that lift customer satisfaction, loyalty and brand advocacy, missing out on opportunities to deepen customer relationships.
In order to drive value through social media successfully, brands should focus on the greater context of consumer needs and understanding how and why customers use social channels, not just what channels they use.
