Can my brand win on TikTok, too?
What a great question. It’s honest, indicating that you wouldn’t invest on TikTok if it wasn’t going to serve your brand objectives in some way. And therein lies the real question. What are your brand objectives? And would TikTok help you reach them?
There is no one metric that points to success on TikTok. Just as the content should reflect your brand’s personality, so too should how you measure success be specific to your brand and your objectives.
I know, it sounds like a basic principle. And that’s because it is. Basics matter.
The algorithm delivers content in line with users’ demonstrated preferences—positioning new videos that are similar to those they’ve watched before. It’s a double-edged sword for sure, but when understood and leveraged appropriately, the algorithm can land your brand’s content squarely in front of the people who would be most interested and will cheer for your success.
For small niche businesses, this is great news. If you make gaming gear, your videos will be watched by gamers. If you run a wool yarn shop, then #knittok is right up your alley. TikTok can be extremely valuable to small businesses serving a specific niche.
On the other hand, for brands that wish to appeal to the general public, TikTok’s algorithm may mean your content gets swallowed up by a plethora of other generic videos.
Brands of all types and sizes can overcome these obstacles by tapping into the right audience at the right time, with the right content, and the right mindset. If the pandemic has shown us anything, stories and movements and brands don’t necessarily need flashy camerawork and CGI to hold people’s attention (although, we won’t lie, it does help).
Being yourself? Now that gets people’s attention. Showing off your creative flair? That’ll garner eyeballs. Connecting your brand story to a rising cultural trend? The internet (remember, it’s made up of individuals) loves that.
Individuals have it “easy”—they are who they are. For brands, these relatively tiny installments of content all have to support the dimensions of your brand personality. And, just like with humans, that takes time and effort to develop. Once you’ve got brand personality down, you can go out and rock it. The particular stage, venue or platform doesn’t shape you—it’s the other way around.
And once you nail the basics, you can move on to swagger. So, what are the cool kids doing on TikTok?
Vladimir Jones is Colorado’s original independent, integrated advertising agency, with offices in Denver and Colorado Springs. We believe in brilliant brands and love making the world love them as much as we do.