Should Brands Use TikTok?

Welcome to 2020 where an infamous Kesha song has turned into one of the fastest growing social media apps in the world.

TikTok has quickly grown within the past year to become one of the highest grossing social media sites. The app, which shares similarities to Vine, allows users to publish videos set to music or an original sound. Much of the app consists of dancing, comedy, life stories, and plenty of dogs.

Recently, the app has become the spotlight of national security questions leading to President Trump threatening to ban the app on US app stores. As of the publishing of this article, the president announced a sale of the app to a split purchase between Oracle and Walmart. Trump has said that he will not ban the app now that it is owned by US corporations.

With the threat passed, should brands begin investing their time and energy into using the app?

It is well noted that brands need to be reaching people on social media. Much of the US population is one at least one social media site. However, the demographic that finds itself on TikTok is slightly different than those of Facebook.

According to the Omnicore Agency, as of February of this year, 41 percent of TikTok users were between 16 and 24 years of age. This means the largest segment of the demographic are people who do not have much expendable income.

Another factor to consider is the amount of time people spend using the ‘For You Page’. This page of the app uses an algorithm to promote and display videos that may interest the user. Most of the time, these videos appear from people who the user is not necessarily following.

These two factors make it difficult for brands to validate using the app. As of February, only 4 percent of social media marketers use the platform.

Yet, there is still one major way that brands can get themselves out there by using TikTok. Influencers.

Because of the design of the app, influencers and personal content creators have emerged from all over the United States. The majority of TikTok users have heard the names of Addison Rae, Charli D’Amelio, and David Dobrik. These, among other, creators have set themselves apart and gained a large following.

For brands looking to delve into the app, having one of these creators promote your brand would be more beneficial than creating your own videos. Considering that many of these creators have upwards of a million views on any of their videos, one mention of your brand could help expand your reach.

Creating videos may seem fun to brands, it is not worth investing your money into doing so. Rather, take that money and put your name out there by partnering with a creator and influencer.

Without it, you may not be able to reach the younger generation.