With the platform dominating the attention spans of entire generations it is natural to be thinking should my business be on Tik Tok?
Increasingly getting asked by clients this question as the platform continues to transform user behaviour.
Here are five reasons your business should be on Tik Tok.
Reason 1 – Your Target Audience May Already Be There
With a third of Tik Tok users over the age of 30 and maturing fast. There are signs of a transition from being a wild platform with a growing audience, into a hugely popular platform with a maturing and increasingly powerful audience.
This could include a reasonable amount of people that fall into your target audience and even if they are not it is probably only a matter of time before they are.
Successful social media platforms tend to follow a relatively reliable pattern.
Platforms are launched and become popular in a niche or young demographic. They slowly gain traction with other demographics and types of user, until everyone and their Nan has an account.
This universal adoption creates a new set of challenges maintaining the attention of the original audience, who may start to let their attention wane, leaving the platform vulnerable to more fashionable young upstarts.
A great example of this would be Facebook.
When the platform was launched you had to be an active university student to have an account. Once this rule was relaxed the growth was rapid until literally every man and his uncle (3bn people) had an account.
Younger users started to ignore or leave the platform altogether as the platform became less trendy as people wanted to share their social story somewhere away from the attention of their parents and grandparents.
This helped fuel the rise of Instagram, which was promptly bought by Facebook (now Meta) for £1bn which in hindsight looks like a bargain.
Crisis averted for a short period of time, until the rise of Tik Tok and this time they could not simply buy the platform and the attention of its users.
Key Takeaway
As the audience matures, it becomes more likely your audience is going to be on the platform, making a more powerful case for your business to be on Tik Tok.
This is of course unless you are targeting a younger audience, who by the time of writing this may have already started using an alternative platform those born in a previous millenia will not hear about for 12 – 18 months.
Reason 2 – Tik Tok Is Setting Content Trends
Tik Tok is the king of short form video content, forcing Meta, Twitter and YouTube to scramble to compete for the attention of users in a way they have never had to before
This reaction can be seen in the launch of Reels to the Meta platforms and Shorts on YouTube. There are even rumours that new Twitter owner Elon Musk may bring back the popular but now defunct Vine, the platform solely comprised of 6 second videos.
Tik Tok is setting the trend and the content style that is driving engagement here, can be repurposed on your other channels.
Key Takeaway
The other platforms are copying Tik Tok, get ahead by getting comfortable creating content on the platform
Reason 3 – Tik Tok Is a Powerful Search Engine
Tik Tok is increasingly being used as a primary form of search engine for users looking for answers for things as diverse as how to save money, which puppy to buy or even how to solve complex spreadsheet challenges.
Creating content on the platform that your users are searching for, is an opportunity to build the visibility and awareness of your business quickly and effectively.
Key Takeaway
Your target audience is searching Tik Tok, create content that ensures they find you when faced with problems you can solve.
Reason 4 – Organic (FREE) Reach & Visibility Of Your Brand
The ability to get the attention of your target audience without investing in paid advertising continues to diminish on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
This is because they have shifted their model from attracting people to sign up and engage with the platform to maximising profitability.
As TikTok still has a reasonable distance to go before it fully matures and saturates its market, this shift may still be a distance in the future. Creating a window for businesses to leverage organic reach to grow their businesses.
The search, hashtag and behaviour driven algorithms on TikTok make it easier for your posts to get attention and even “go viral”.
What constitutes “going viral” for your business will depend on your target audience and the scale of your business. We can be sure you will have an easier time reaching new people here than on the majority of other platforms.
Key Takeaway
Organic reach is withering on other platforms, but there is a window on TikTok where this may be achievable for your brand.
Reason 5 – Social Media Is Changing Fast
The one constant in social media marketing is change.
What works today, probably won’t work tomorrow, which creates an impetus to continuously be adapting your marketing approach and the platforms where you are active.
Whilst Tik Tok may not be imperative for your business today, taking action now will have you ready for when it can no longer be left until tomorrow
Key Takeway
Action is more profitable long term than inaction.