Your Brand’s Ultimate Guide to Dominating TikTok

TikTok is the most popular social media platform among Gen Z, and its popularity is expanding. In the U.S. alone, TikTok has 102.3 million users, which is expected to increase to 121.7 million by 2027. If your brand isn't leveraging TikTok, you could be falling behind competitors that are. Whether you're already using TikTok or just getting started, this piece is here to help! We'll begin by briefly breaking down the platform and how it works and then share five ways to create a strong presence on TikTok. Let's get into it!

A Look Into TikTok and How It Works

According to TikTok, it's the leading destination for short-form mobile video. Their mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. TikTok videos can be a minimum of three seconds long and a maximum of ten minutes. In marketing, brands can use TikTok to promote products and services directly through their profiles or user-generated content and influencer marketing. Brands can leverage TikTok both at the corporate level and across business locations. Overall, TikTok provides brands with a platform to showcase their creativity, engage with their audience in new ways, and reach a younger demographic that is increasingly difficult to access through traditional marketing and advertising channels.

5 Ways to Level-Up Your TikTok Strategy

Now that you understand TikTok's importance let's get into ways your brand can use it to get great results.

1. Engage With Trends

On TikTok, new trends are popping up daily. According to TikTok, trends are “nebulous.” They’re often fun short videos that go viral and include certain actions, songs, video effects, or hashtags. Brands can engage with TikTok trends thoughtfully by aligning them with their brand's values and target audience. For instance, while a dance trend might not make sense for brands in the restaurant industry, they might be able to incorporate the very popular food review or cooking trends.

An example of a review of a Jersey Mike's sandwich on TikTok

Brands must choose trends that resonate with their business and creatively integrate them into their content strategy. Keeping up with the latest trends can be difficult, so select a point person or two responsible for identifying TikTok trends and choosing which ones make the most sense for your brand to join. This selective approach ensures relevance and authenticity while maximizing the impact of their TikTok presence.

2. Leverage User-Generated Content

TikTok is also an excellent place for incorporating user-generated content. Eighty percent of consumers say UGC (photos, reviews, comments) highly impacts purchase decisions, 8.7x more than influencer content and 6.6x more than branded content. While your brand can post videos from its account, it also helps to have others post about you. For instance, collaborating with TikTok influencers can help brands reach a larger audience and leverage their credibility to promote their products or services. Additionally, you can look for customers who have shared positive videos about your products or services and re-share their content. Similarly, you can find customers who have left helpful reviews about your brand and see if they'd be willing to co-create a TikTok video or participate in one from your brand's accounts.

3. Develop a Consistent Posting Schedule

Stay active on TikTok by posting consistently. Consistent posting helps maintain audience interest and keeps your brand visible on users' feeds. According to TikTok, you should post between one to four times daily. While that number seems like a lot, you can keep some of your videos simple and to the point. Furthermore, you can start smaller with one post per day or every other day and ramp that number up as you get a process down and know what performs best.

4. Create Short and Snappy Content

The average TikTok user spends 95 minutes on the app daily. TikTok capitalizes on peoples’ short attention spans. So, how will your brand stand out from all the other videos?

A list of what brand's should consider when creating TikToks

Keeping your videos concise, entertaining, and to the point gives your brand a better chance of standing out.

5. Ensure Posts are Authentic

On TikTok, authenticity is vital. As mentioned above, users are scrolling through content for a long time. If your brand isn't true to itself, users can see through this. Embrace your brand's unique voice and personality to connect with users authentically. Remember, not everything on TikTok needs to be super polished. With TikTok, you can loosen brand guidelines. Remain credible, honest, and trustworthy but don’t be afraid to be quirky! Additionally, when selecting UGC and influencers, choose people who make sense for your brand. Don't go after someone just because they have a large following. Again, users will be able to spot the lack of authenticity.

Get Started on Your TikTok Strategy

Now that your brand can leverage TikTok to its fullest potential, it's time to start. As a multi-location brand, managing your social efforts at scale can seem daunting, not to mention developing a comprehensive TikTok strategy. SOCi is here to help! We're thrilled to announce that the SOCi platform now offers a TikTok integration! Our TikTok integration is designed to cater to multi-location brands, offering:

Centralized Publishing: Publish TikTok videos from one central hub down to the local level.
Local Empowerment: Allow local users to publish their TikTok content within brand guidelines.
Comprehensive Insights: Gain valuable insights into performance across every location.

Request a demo today to learn more!