Utilising TikTok in Your Brand’s 2023 Marketing Strategy

A platform where brands and creators come together to showcase engaging video content that drives awareness, TikTok is the perfect marketing channel to complement your acquisition strategy in 2023.

With over 672 million downloads as of 2022, the platform has huge global reach for your brand. Learn more about the reasons your business should build a presence on the platform, and how it can bolster your existing digital strategy:

Why Should Your Business Invest in TikTok?

For many brands, a foray into TikTok will be their first and, without understanding what the platform can bring, it may be difficult to get stakeholders to invest – particularly when its native video content can be more expensive to produce than content for other Social Media platforms.

TikTok’s algorithm is a key draw for new companies looking to invest, promising just as much opportunity to reach new audiences as established brands.

With 97% of gen-z audiences now using social platforms for their ecommerce purchasing and 61% interested in watching more video content, TikTok’s format is the perfect place to position your brand. 

But it’s not just ecommerce brands that are benefitting. Organisations including BBC news are placing TikTok at the heart of their 2023 strategy, demonstrating the power that the Social Media platform holds to transform your digital footprint.

Taking Advantage of TikTok for Business

The TikTok for Business hub is essential for brands looking to capitalise on the features which the platform offers. Working similarly to Meta’s business suite, a TikTok business accounts allows you to 
populate your profile with additional information for consumers and get more access to detailed audience insights and metrics that can drive your campaign forward.

Understanding Organic & Paid-For TikTok Marketing

Your TikTok strategy can be split into two core areas – organic and paid activity. Advertising on TikTok is a huge opportunity to target younger audiences, and with a wide variety of interest-based targeting verticals available, brands can refine their ads to reach users who are interested in sport, home improvements, appliances, pets and more.

Get started with setting up your business advertising account, here.

Creating Your TikTok Marketing Strategy

Your TikTok strategy ensures that activity on the channel is aligned with your company’s goals, and helps you deliver consistent messaging to strengthen your brand. This strategy should be made up of core components, including:

#1 Pinpoint your audience

A strong understanding of your target demographic is at the foundation of your TikTok marketing strategy. What kind of content do they enjoy? What are their interests? Their shopping behaviours? Which influencers do they follow?

#2 Carry Out Competitor & Industry Landscape Audits

Which brands are doing well on TikTok? Have there been viral trends that you can picture applying to your brand’s content strategy? Which cultural moments on the platform over the past year have resonated with your audience? 

#3 Define Your Metrics & Goals

What do you want to gain from your marketing activity? Is it brand awareness, or sales? Are you interested in growing followers, or building engagement on your profiles? Understanding the difference between metrics, and having a strong awareness of industry benchmarks, is key to success.

#4 Make Sure Your Results Are Tracked

Tracking is essential to ensure that your campaigns can be analysed and optimised. Without tracking, you’re losing valuable insights and you’ll be unable to attribute the true impact that the platform is bringing to your strategy. Installing the TikTok pixel is relatively simple and you can get started, here.

#5 Produce a Content Calendar 

Don’t miss the key moments that your audience’s calendar is centred around. A content calendar allows you to plan ahead and ensures you can plan for consistent content delivery. Within your calendar, use content pillars to create a variety of assets that will appeal to different audience motivations. 

Managing Your TikTok Campaigns Day-to-Day

Your TikTok presence doesn’t need to command extensive in-house resources. Structure your day-to-day management around some key activities: 

• Creating evergreen/non-time sensitive content. This can be done in a bulk if preferred, before using TikTok’s platform to schedule in advance.
• Review and engagement with profile interactions. Respond to comments, encourage conversation and nurture your community on your profile.
• Track results and insights – recommended weekly. Use your data to understand which content your audience responds best to.
• Leave yourself space to jump on trends. A new challenge which your brand can take part in, or a cultural moment which relates to your audience – all are opportunities to create popular content which resonates.
• Test different posts. Mix up your content formats, and test the response, helping you optimise your delivery strategy over the long-term.

Some Tips for Creating TikTok Content

Experimentation is key when it comes to TikTok but to maximise your presence on the platform, follow some key tips:

• Don’t remove content too often – this signals to the algorithm that your profile it not quality
• Make use of TikTok’s own resources. TikTok is a hub for informative content and their in-house guides, including their annual trends report, are a huge help for brand’s looking to navigate their first few campaigns
• Consistency is key – but don’t sacrifice quality for quantity when posting
• Focus on emotive and lifestyle messaging. With gen-z experience is important, so move away from USP-led product messaging
• Take the time to get a strong understanding of the most popular content for your audiences. Do your research and find out the creators and topics which get the most engagement from your target users
• Creative content isn’t just subjective – with TikTok’s Analytic insights, it’s also measurable. Make sure to take advantage of the data the platform can offer

Establishing TikTok in a Wider, Cross-Channel Strategy

Your TikTok activity doesn’t need to work as a silo. TikTok can compliment, and strengthen, your existing marketing activity. Create an effective cross-channel strategy that maximises digital opportunities with the following tactics:

Explore TikTok as a Search Engine

TikTok is fast-becoming a search engine in its own right and, with almost 40% of young users turning to TikTok instead of Google Maps to find their favourite places to eat, its potential to capture and convert users can’t be underestimated.

With Google also featuring TikTok results in SERPs, the channel is playing into organic visibility more now than ever. 

But what does that mean for your brand? 

It means creating content that answers users’ search queries, and optimising your content to be found with relevant keyword hashtags. Whilst answering commonly-asked questions might already form a key part of your SEO content strategy, TikTok provides a new medium through which to capture and convert users in the awareness and consideration stages of product searches. How To and explainer short-form videos are the perfect way to answer the questions that users may be looking for.

Make it a Core Platform for Your Influencer Marketing Programme 

At its core, TikTok is an influencer hub. Designed for engagement, TikTok brings huge viral opportunities for creators. If your brand is already working with influencers, then these are likely to have a TikTok presence and, if they don’t, there’s a huge pool of creator talent to partner with.

Finding the key influencers for your target audiences is essential. Look at the influencers your target audience are engaging with and find an influencer that fits your brand’s ethos. 

Repurpose Content for Instagram

Instagram and TikTok can go hand-in-hand in your digital marketing strategy. When creating content, you can repurpose content across both channels, maximising your presence. Keep in mind when filming the individual nuances of each platform, to ensure that your videos are fully optimised for each channel.

Design a TikTok Strategy to Move Your Brand Forward Today

Don’t let your brand stand still. TikTok is an opportunity to move your digital strategy forward in 2023, so speak to our experts today to find out how we can supercharge your organic and paid-for marketing activity.