Is your business on TikTok yet? Or are you still considering how you’ll use it and whether it’s a good fit for you?

A lot of brands are hesitant to get started on TikTok thinking it's not relevant for their audience. But TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world with over 500 million users in the Asia-Pacific* region alone — an audience base that's highly engaged and still growing rapidly. 

Here’s your quick guide to figuring out whether TikTok is right for your business.

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What audience is on TikTok? 

• Contrary to popular belief, TikTok is not just for Gen Z. There has been a shift in age demographics on the app in recent years and now we’re seeing a much more consistent presence in Millennials and Gen X.
  • 52% of Millennial TikTok users and 35% of Gen X+’s have bought a product because they saw it on TikTok in the past year (Source: TikTok Marketing Science Global Retail Path to Purchase (UK Results) conducted by Material August 2021 (n=1,601))
  • 62% of Millennial and 50% of Gen X+ TikTok users leverage the platform to research to learn more about new products or brands (Source: TikTok Marketing Science Global Retail Path to Purchase (Indonesia Results) conducted by Material August 2021 (n=1,200))
  • 94% of Millennial users take some action following the content they see (Source: TikTok Marketing Science Global Time Well Spent Study (Canada Results) conducted by Kantar March 2021 (n=900))
  • 56% of TikTok Gen X users say TikTok helps them in their purchases because they have found a product that interests them on their For You Page. (Source: Full Funnel Research Study (Mexico Results) 2022 conducted by Ipsos May 2022 (n=643))

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What’s the benefit of advertising on TikTok? 

• TikTok has greater reach and impressions than other social media channels so it can offer you greater brand exposure within a shorter time frame.
• It’s the best social platform for showing off your brand’s personality as TikTok favours a more relaxed and unfiltered approach to engaging with audiences. 
• It’s easier to reach new and relevant audiences with the help of the For you page as TikTok curates content to align with users interests.

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So how do you best use TikTok as a marketer?

• Brand trust building – Each campaign and organic piece of content is an opportunity to share, listen, and learn from your audience. After seeing an ad on TikTok, viewers trust the brand 41% more and are 31% more likely to demonstrate loyalty.
• Keeping up with a constantly evolving culture  – Stay on top of community conversation and create content that aligns with your audience's needs and curiosities.
• Become relatable – Unfiltered, real-life, and Behind the Scenes interactions can foster real-time connection with your audience. 78% of users say they like it when brands interact with ordinary people, not just famous ones. 
• Peak their curiosity – TikTok users love scrolling for new discoveries, hyper-specific interests and peeking behind the curtain. Perfect for engaging, educational content for users to discover your product/services. 

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Organic or paid? Or both? 

• Ideally you’ll want a balance of both.
• It’s possible to run TikTok ads without having a TikTok page, however, the best performing ads will be those that appear native and are not ‘salesy’ in nature. 
• We recommend sharing creative organically and then incorporating top performers into advertising campaigns.  

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What about TikTok Shops? 

• For eCommerce brands, TikTok Shop is definitely worth exploring and can make it easier for your audience to access the products featured in the creative. 

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Our tips for the best TikTok ad performance

• You can use either static images or video content but video performs best. 
• Develop content for the channel - use the right dimensions, incorporate sound 
• Offer Entertainment to drive engagement and avoid being too salesy
• Join the trends by utilising popular music tracks, filming styles or partnering with top creators. 

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Want to discuss how TikTok can work with your marketing strategy? Get in touch with us today.

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*statistic excludes China - who use the mainland Douyin version of TikTok, and India – where the TikTok app was banned.