A GUIDE TO MARKETING YOUR

BUSINESS ON TIKTOK
INTRODUCTION

TikTok Marketing: The Ultimate

Guide for South African Businesses

The latest and greatest in social media platforms

that teenagers all over the world pray their parents
don’t discover, TikTok has blown up in popularity in
recent years.

TikTok has 800 million active users as of last year,

eclipsing established platforms like Twitter,
LinkedIn and Snapchat.
Despite this, it’s too often been dismissed as a
serious digital marketing platform for two main
reasons.

Firstly, there’s a preconception that only very young

people use TikTok.
Recent stats show, however, that only 32% of users
are between age 10 and 19, with the rest being
above that. (Source: Statista, 2020)(1).

Their second largest demographic, 20 to 29-year-

olds, is not far behind that at 29,5% of users.
INTRODUCTION

We can see then that you can reach demographics

with some real buying power contrary to popular
belief.

Secondly, the platform can be a little harder to

understand, especially for older marketers who
aren’t “digital natives”.

It’s not as straightforward as sites like Instagram or

Facebook, but we’ll give you the rundown of all you
need to know in this guide.

The TikTok App's Logo

WHAT IS TIKTOK
AND HOW DOES
IT WORK?
So what is TikTok, exactly, and how does it work?

Put simply, it’s a short-form video content app

where users create and share 15-second videos.

The app has a huge number of built-in video and

sound editing effects to help users create
interesting content.

Where it can start to get confusing for some users,

is the kinds of videos that are created and shared
on the platform.

A popular misconception is that TikTok is only for

creating fan-made music videos by lip-synching
and/or dancing to songs featured on the platform.

This is an incredibly popular “lane” or category on

the platform, but it’s grown to become much more
than that.

The misconception comes from the now-defunct

app Musical.ly, which was acquired by TikTok and
then merged with the platform in 2018.
WHAT IS TIKTOK
AND HOW DOES
IT WORK?

Some of the filters and stickers you can use on TikTok

WHAT IS TIKTOK
AND HOW DOES
IT WORK?
The lip-synching and dancing lane can be seen as a
holdout of this app, but it’s far from the only type of
content made and shared on TikTok today.

From short comedy sketches to serious political

commentary, and an absolutely huge number of
niche communities, TikTok has grown to
encompass videos about almost any topic
imaginable.

The Defunct Musical.ly app's logo

WHAT IS TIKTOK
AND HOW DOES
IT WORK?
Most Popular Content Categories on TikTok by
Hashtags:

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300 B

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Most popular lanes/categories of content

*Source: Statista (2020) (2)

CAN/SHOULD YOU
EVEN MARKET
ON TIKTOK?
Yes, and maybe respectively.

That was easy, wasn’t it?

To elaborate, TikTok is still a relatively new platform

so there is limited research on its effectiveness as a
marketing platform.

What little there is, however, is extremely

promising.

An Influencer Marketing Hub study found that

TikTok has higher follower engagement rates than
both Instagram and Twitter.

This is likely because, unlike these other platforms,

TikTok is not yet saturated with advertising and
branded content.

So, if you do it right, it’s

much easier to stand
out from the crowd.
CAN/SHOULD YOU
EVEN MARKET
ON TIKTOK?
The second reason we think it’s worth it as a
marketing platform is that TikTok themselves are
pushing to monetise the platform via the
“Facebook model”.

As of last year, TikTok launched TikTok for business,

a self-service ad platform much like that run by
Facebook and other leading social media sites.

This shows their commitment to making the

platform a viable marketing platform, which
means it will (hopefully) only become more
effective over time.
HOW TO MARKET
YOUR BUSINESS
ON TIKTOK
When you’re considering adding TikTok to your
arsenal of marketing platforms, there are three
main options on how to do that right now.

Firstly, you can run TikTok ads on the platform.

Secondly, you could engage with popular creators

on the platform as part of an influencer marketing
strategy.

Lastly, you could create your own branded content

on the platform as part of your content marketing
strategy.

We’ll explore each option in a bit more detail

below.
 TIKTOK ADS

A very recent development, TikTok ads may lack

some of the more refined features boasted by
competitors like Facebook or Twitter, but they
make up for it in reduced competition.

Since they’re such a new development, many

businesses may not even be aware of them or their
potential yet.

This means you can “Get in on the ground floor”

and benefit from reduced bidding competition.

Currently, TikTok Ads are available in the following

major formats*:

1. In-feed ads
2. Branded takeover ads
3. Top view ads

*There are a few more, which we'll highlight below, but these
are the main transactional ad formats.
 IN-FEED ADS

Ads displayed in the normal TikTok feed. They can

be up to 60-second long video ads followed by an
end card with a CTA attached.

An example of an in-
feed video ad from
Lancaster University (via
TikTok for Business)
 BRANDED
TAKEOVER
ADS
A short full-screen video shown on opening the
app. A relatively expensive ad format that can have
great results because of its high impact.

An example of a
branded takeover by
luxury fashion brand
Balenciaga (via TikTok
for Business)
 TOP VIEW
ADS

A mixture of in-feed and branded takeover ads.

This will be the first in-feed post the user sees after
three seconds.

An example of a top
view ad by makeup
brand Too Faced (via
TikTok for Business)
 INFLUENCER
MARKETING

Relatively self-explanatory if you understand the

concept from other platforms,

influencer marketing involves partnering with

popular creators on the platform to advertise your
brand.

Typically, brands will sponsor certain types of

content made by the creator, in exchange for
exposure to their audience or delivering a CTA.

Since the platform has had such explosive growth,

it’s a great opportunity to target creators within
niches relevant to your brand for influencer
marketing opportunities.

For example, a make-up brand could collaborate

with a popular beauty guru on the platform to
create awareness and interest in their product.

TikTok’s main strength, and what sets it apart from

other platforms, is the variety of ways you can link
your influencer marketing strategy with your
content marketing strategy.
 INFLUENCER
MARKETING

An example of an influencer marketing video starring

celebrity actor The Rock and tequila brand Teremana.
 CONTENT
MARKETING

Branded content

The first, and most obvious, opportunity for content

marketing on the platform is creating your own
business TikTok account and posting content to it.

This can be tricky, however, for a variety of reasons.

Matching the existing tone and intent of the

platform is crucial.

You don’t want to sell too hard, and come across as

“annoying” or “desperate”.
At the same time, you don’t want to pander too
hard to your audience with what you think they
like.

This can come across as out of touch or like you’re

simply trying too hard.

Instead, you want to find a “sweet spot” of branded

content relevant to your niche, where you can
provide real value or real entertainment to your
target market.
 CONTENT
MARKETING

A great place to start for many businesses is

treating TikTok like an extension of your blog or
news feed.

Think of the kinds of helpful content you’d share

there, and adapt it into easily digestible content
that can live on the platform.

There are plenty of businesses focused niches, like

SEO or digital marketing, emerging on the
platform that are ripe for brands to get involved in.
 CONTENT
MARKETING

Fashion brand Guess posts fitness-related content on

their TikTok to promote their line of activewear
 CONTENT
MARKETING

Branded hashtags

Another opportunity on the platform is the use of

branded hashtags.

These work like any other hashtag, allowing people

to take part in a conversation or topic by SSING
your hashtag to the end of their post.
This can be a great way to create community
engagement.

There are paid methods for doing this, but they are
probably prohibitively expensive for most small to
medium-sized businesses.

For instance, you can rent out the top of the TikTok
feed for your hashtag.

This strategy can also work organically, however, if

you can give people a compelling reason to take
part.
You want to either give people an incentive to take
part, like a competition or create a compelling
content campaign.
 CONTENT
MARKETING

Beauty brand L'Oréal uses the hashtag

"LorealParisFamily" to engage with influencers and
consumers associated with the brand.
 CONTENT
MARKETING

Branded effects

Similar to Snapchat, brands can also have their

own “branded effects”; 2d or AR filters people can
apply over their TikTok videos that incorporate your
brand.
Right now these are also incredibly expensive, but
over time could be added to the ad auction system
and become more affordable.

An example of a branded
hashtag for a fast-food company
DEVELOPING A
TIKTOK
STRATEGY
Developing a TikTok marketing strategy isn’t that
different from any other digital marketing
platform.

There are just a few things you want to keep in

mind, which we’ll outline below.

1. Consider Your Audience

Before you start advertising on TikTok, you must

know your audience.

Not the people you think you want to reach, but

the people who are your real customers.
The people who are really most likely to engage
with your brand.

One of the downsides of TikTok right now is that

their demographic and analytical data isn’t as
comprehensive as a platform like Facebook.

This means if you’re not one hundred percent sure

who your audience is, you might be better off
starting your marketing strategy elsewhere.
DEVELOPING A
TIKTOK
STRATEGY
If you do, though, and you’re certain they’re on
TikTok, great.

Make sure you align your content and marketing

material with their interests, so they want to
engage with your brand.

Consider the types of content they’re already

engaging in, and how you can add value or fun to
their lives.
DEVELOPING A
TIKTOK
STRATEGY
2. Establish Your Goals, Timeframe
and Budget

The second thing you want to consider is your

overall goals, timeframe and budget for the
campaign.

This is going to heavily inform the strategies you

pursue, so it’s important to consider upfront.

If you want short-term sales, you’re probably best

off running ads with attached promotional
strategies.

If you want long-term growth or brand exposure, a

content strategy incorporating TikTok is probably
better for your brand.

Think about what you want to achieve with the

platform, that you can’t do elsewhere, and that’ll
guide which strategy you pursue.
DEVELOPING A
TIKTOK
STRATEGY
3. Choose the Right Message and
Medium

Once you know who you’re targeting, and what you

want to achieve, the next thing you need to
consider is your message.

This should come somewhat naturally because you

should know who you’re talking to and what you
want them to do.

What you always want to consider, however, is how

you’re adding value to their lives.

Like we’ve said before, hard-sells on the platform

almost certainly won’t work.

You want to craft your message around showing off

the benefits or features of your products in an
engaging way.

A secondary consideration is also which medium

you use within TikTok.
DEVELOPING A
TIKTOK
STRATEGY
4. Measure and Optimise

Lastly, as with all marketing strategies, you must

measure the tangible results of your campaign and
optimise them on the fly.

Measuring results is the best way to ensure you

learn from your mistakes and continue to improve,
as well as being able to prove the tangible
marketing ROI.

Continual optimisation means looking at what’s

working and adjusting on the fly.

Not sure if something is going to work?

Try it out with a tiny budget, and scale it up if it

works.

That’s the strength of digital marketing, you’re not

tied to one strategy.
 CONCLUSION

We hope this helped you decipher the developing

world of TikTok marketing.

We think it’s a platform with a lot of potential, and

we’re excited to see where it goes.

If you want more e-commerce marketing content,

stay tuned to our inSyte Blog or inSyte Podcast,
both of which can be found on our website
(www.syte.co.za).
 REFERENCES

1. Statisa, 2020 " Distribution of TikTok users in the United

States as of June 2020, by age group",
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1095186/tiktok-us-
users-age/
2. Statista, 2020 "Most popular content categories on TikTok
worldwide as of June 2020, by number of hashtag views",
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1130988/most-popular-
categories-tiktok-worldwide-hashtag-views/
3. Influencer Marketing Hub, 2020 "TikTok Statistics –
Revenue, Users & Engagement Stats (2021)"
https://influencermarketinghub.com/tiktok-stats/
4. TikTok for Business 2021, "Advertising solutions",
https://www.tiktokforbusinesseurope.com/solutions#topV
iew