HOW TO: New TikTok updates to drive your audience through the purchasing funnel

Named one of the fastest growing social media platforms of all time, TikTok defines itself as the “destination for short-form mobile videos”. The platform has evolved from primarily being a space for dance challenges and lip-synching to educating audiences, beginning discussions and campaigning for change. A new study by TikTok claims that 38% of users have discovered a new product or brand through TikTok. Some audiences actively seek product discovery and inspiration, especially during widely celebrated key dates such as Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. With its latest updates, advertising on TikTok is now easier than ever before:

Business Creative Hub

Recently started marketing on TikTok and struggling to create engaging content? A recent update saw the introduction of TikTok’s “Business Creative Hub”, which is freely available to all TikTok Business Accounts.

The hub aims to inspire businesses new to TikTok, with “tips on content strategy, storyline ideation, and video shooting.” It also provides practical tips for getting the most out of your business account – from setting up your profile, to the best times to post, to content moderation and traffic.

The platform has also introduced three feeds dedicated to keeping on top of trending videos so you can always keep track of what’s popular in your country:

• Trending: Business – Videos from other Business Accounts sorted by the total number of likes.
• Engaging: Business – Videos from other Business Accounts sorted by the level of engagement.
• Trending: Community – Videos from all account types sorted by the total number of likes.

Lead Generation

Last week, TikTok introduced Lead Generation to help businesses reach, connect, and engage with their customers in a simple, seamless way. Fully customisable messages can populate the form, allowing for specific audience targeting; Prompting users to fill out their basic information (e.g. Name, Email) on a form indicates their interest in your brand, while reaching out in a respectful way. Leads can then be immediately activated by being manually downloaded or integrated with a business’s CRM.

Advertising on TikTok can place you ahead of competitors as anyone can go viral. You have the potential to reach a large audience at a relatively low cost. Just remember, the key to TikTok marketing is to make a light-hearted, viral-potential short-form video that lightly promotes your products – the platform shouldn’t be used as a sales pitch.

Ready to unlock your potential on TikTok? Get in touch with our expert social media team to discover what we can deliver for you: creative@social.co.uk