THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO TIKTOK MARKETING
Authors
David Tomás Laia Cardona
CEO & Co-Founder Content & Inbound
of Cyberclick Marketing Strategist
at Cyberclick
Berta Ventura Chantal India SofÍa Smolko
Social Ads Specialist Social Ads Specialist Social Ads Specialist
at Cyberclick at Cyberclick at Cyberclick
THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO TIKTOK MARKETING
Index
• TikTok: What Is It and How Does It Work...............................................................5
• How To Develop A TikTok Marketing Strategy For Your Company........11
• How To Create An Ad Campaign on TikTok, Step By Step........................ 20
• 5 Ways To Succeed With Marketing...................................................................... 26
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THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO TIKTOK MARKETING
TikTok: What Is It And How Does It
Work
TikTok is a micro-vlogging social network based on 15 to 60 second videos that
are repeated in a loop, similar to what Vine used to be. This format has the
potential for a wide variety of content, with the most popular being homemade
music videos, often staring the users themselves (for example, a teen singing
or doing a choreographed dance in front of the camera).
TikTok was developed by Bytedance, a Chinese internet company with
several other products. In November of 2017, Bytedance bought Musical.ly, an
American social network, for $1 billion, leading to the creation of TikTok as we
know it today. Interesting to note, $1 billion is the same amount Facebook paid
for Instagram.
And that’s not where the comparison ends. TikTok could very well reach
the same level of success as Instagram. These quick facts show us just how
impactful TikTok has become:
• According to Statista, at the start of 2020 TikTok already had 800 million
users, making it the most popular Chinese application in the western
market.
• During the month of December 2019 alone, TikTok was downloaded 75
million times.
• In 2018, TikTok managed to place itself as the most downloaded application
in the App Store, ahead of giants like YouTube and WhatsApp. Globally, it
was the sixth most downloaded application of the year.
• The app has been downloaded over 96 million times in the United States,
and the average user worldwide spends around 52 minutes per day on the
app.
• TikTok reports high levels of engagement and permanence, indicating that
this app is here to stay.
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THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO TIKTOK MARKETING
How does TikTok work?
As we said, TikTok is a social network based on the creation of short videos
that play in 15 or 60 second loops. Let’s take a look at its other main features:
• Users share videos in which they record themselves or others, often with
background music or sounds accompanying their movements or actions.
• TikTok videos can be edited within the app. They have a wide variety of
fun filters that you can apply to the videos. Not surprisingly, this feature
works well with young audiences.
• Users can easily interact with other videos by using the “duet” or “reaction”
functions in the app. Video creators can also respond to comments using
videos.
• Within the application, there is a chat feature for users to talk to each
other and an exploration tab that allows you to discover the most popular
videos of the moment, in a very similar way to Instagram.
• TikTok has a system of following and followers, like Instagram and
Twitter.
• They also have other functions like friend lists and voting.
When you open the TikTok app, there are two main pages: the Following page,
which shows videos from the accounts you follow, and the For You Page,
which shows videos that the app thinks you would be interested in. The feed
operates similarly to most social networks, like Twitter or Instagram. When
you play a video, it is shown in full screen with a series of icons that offer
different actions: follow the user, like the video, comment, or share.
In the Browse Tab, you can find popular content on the app, or you can
conduct searches, similar to Instagram’s Browse tab. Videos are tagged with
hashtags.
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THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO TIKTOK MARKETING
To record videos, you press and hold the central button. You can release it
and press again to record your video in multiple shots. Also, when editing
the video, you can apply different effects to different shots. In addition to
recording the content directly, you can also create sliding videos from photos
stored on your device.
Is TikTok right for your brand?
It’s easy to want to join the TikTok marketing bandwagon as it’s one of the
top marketing trends of 2020. And although its number of active users is
certainly impressive, TikTok also has a set of peculiar characteristics that
make it unsuitable for some brands. If you’re wondering if TikTok is right for
you, ask yourself the following questions:
Who is your target audience?
TikTok is king among the youngest social media users: 60% of TikTok users
in the United States are between 16 and 24 years old. If your brand is targeting
Gen Z, you’re in luck! But if your ideal client is over 30, chances are you’ll be
better off continuing to focus on other networks like Instagram or Facebook.
It is also interesting to note that on TikTok there are slightly more men than
women (55.6% and 44.4%, respectively) and that the average user spends 52
minutes a day in the application.
Does your niche fit on TikTok?
Although you can always find creative ways to integrate your brand into
TikTok, it will be much easier to do so if your content is aligned with your
niche’s interests. Music, fashion, humor, video games, food and technology
are some examples of popular topics on TikTok.
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THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO TIKTOK MARKETING
Are you comfortable giving up control over your brand communication?
TikTok has great viral potential, but keep in mind that it is based on user-
created content. That is to say, there is a lot of recreation and borrowing
aspects from one video to another. It is as if the brand or original video put a
“template” and users fill it with their own creations.
Therefore, it must be understood that not all content will be in line with
the brand’s usual way of communicating, and that users often use it in
unexpected ways. If you have very strict communication guidelines, it may
not be a good idea to use this network.
What are your marketing objectives?
TikTok is great for generating viral videos or participate in viraljacking, but
its users do not respond very well to direct sales campaigns.
Therefore, when planning your marketing strategy on TikTok, keep in mind
that it can be very useful to publicize your brand, but it will not be easy for
you directly to link your conversions to your TikTok campaigns.
THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO TIKTOK MARKETING
TikTok for Brands
Based on TikTok’s high impression numbers and their projections for the
future, now is a good time to establish a brand presence on the network.
Fortunately, TikTok has business pages specifically designed for brands to
publish their content and start connecting with their audience. Here are some
of my recommendations for a successful TikTok brand account:
• Create exclusive content for TikTok: Using the same content from other
social networks, like Instagram or Facebook, does not work well in TikTok
since this network’s posting style is so different and unique. Instead, focus
on creating content that is specifically made for TikTok.
• Interact with your audience: Take advantage of TikTok’s unique style to
increase engagement in new ways. TikTok recommends that the best way
for brands to interact with their desired audiences is through Hashtag
Challenges. Hashtag Challenges are when one user starts a challenge, like a
dance challenge, and then encourages their followers to participate, using
the hashtag. This method is extremely popular among TikTok users and is
a great way to create user-generated content.
• Post frequently: According to TikTok’s recommendations, accounts should
post about five times a week. Currently, the best time to post is between 8 to
12 pm.
THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO TIKTOK MARKETING
How To Develop A TikTok Marketing
Strategy For Your Company
If your target market is Gen Z, TikTok can be a very interesting opportunity for
your brand. Whether it’s creating your own content, working with influencers,
or launching a paid advertising campaign, we’ll break down the different ways
you can promote your brand or product on TikTok.
1. Create Organic Content
TikTok works differently than other social media platforms and oftentimes the
videos you use on your other social channels won’t work the same on TikTok. In
order to be truly successful on TikTok and generate engagement, I recommend
creating organic content unique to the app.
Creating your own content on TikTok is a good way to express your brand’s
unique voice. Here are our top three tips for promoting your brand on TikTok
using your own content:
• Do your research. We’ve all seen some brands dive into a new space and
screw up. To avoid this, it is essential that you and your team spend some
time getting acquainted with the platform. TikTok is a very fun and informal
social media platform, which is mainly based on fun videos with popular
songs and sounds. How do you think you could integrate your brand into this
type of content?
• Create fun content. One of the keys to TikTok is spontaneity, so don’t feel like
you need to create super-sophisticated videos. Take note of brands like Lush,
who make fun demos of their products with background music.
• Launch a challenge with a hashtag. “Hashtag challenges” are based on
encouraging TikTok users to create or recreate content using your branded
hashtag. For example, Chipotle had great success with their hashtag
#GuacDance to promote “guacamole day”.
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THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO TIKTOK MARKETING
2. Launch A Campaign With Influencers
TikTok influencers are still in their early stages. Because Generation
Z rejects anything that looks like traditional advertising, working with
TikTok influencers can help you connect with this new generation.
As always happens in this type of campaign, promoting your brand with
influencers depends on you being able to find a user whose audience
corresponds to your target audience. To start searching, there are online
tools that allow you to search TikTok bios, search for mentions of brands,
and more.
3. Use Advertising on TikTok
TikTok has an advertising platform. For now, brands that want to advertise
on this network have four types of ad options:
• Infeed Native Content: this format is similar to Instagram and Snapchat
story ads and supports multiple objectives, such as clicks directed to
a web page or downloads of an app.
• Brand takeovers: With this format, a brand takes control of TikTok for
a day, with images, GIFs and videos with integrated links to landing
pages or challenges with hashtags.
• Hashtags challenges: Instead of trying to make one of these challenges
go viral on your own, you can take advantage of promoted hashtags to
generate more engagement.
• Branded lenses: Similar to Snapchat’s 2D and 3D lenses, so users can
add them to their own content.
In addition to expanding your reach with TikTok advertising, you can also
use its targeting options to reach exactly the audience you’re looking for.
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THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO TIKTOK MARKETING
5 Keys For Your Tiktok Marketing Strategy
1. Time-Based Content Is Not As Important Here
On other networks, like Twitter for example, users comment on the news
of the day and brands can take advantage of newsjacking to join the
conversation instantly. But this method doesn’t always work on TikTok
since it is based more on creativity and less on time.
TikTok does not post the publication dates on the videos, unless you go
to the creator’s page. This means users scrolling through the app can find
content from several months ago just as easily as content made 2 minutes
ago.
To stay up on current trends, keep an eye on the musical and sound trends
of the moment, since different sounds and songs go through different ups
and downs in terms of popularity.
2. Humor Wins
Many TikTok posts have a comedic or even absurd tone. This means
in order to take full advantage of this network, you have to be willing to
loosen up and let your brand be different in order to grab users attention
and get them to laugh with you.
A great example of this is The Washington Post. The Washington Post is
a serious and well respected newspaper and newsource in the United
States, but they have completely embraced the absurdity of TikTok in their
videos. While this may seem like a strange strategy in the beginning, it is
actually very wise as it allows a new generation to build trust and identity
with this institution.
3. Quality over Quantity
On TikTok, users can engage with brands on another level. Users are no
longer limited to retweeting or clicking “Like”, but rather they can take the
time and effort to create their own (sometimes very elaborate) content.
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THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO TIKTOK MARKETING
This should encourage you to focus on quality of content rather than
quantity. It is not so much about being seen, but about generating a real
impact and engagement with your audience. Not only does this make
campaigns much more memorable, but it generates closeness and
positivity with your potential customers.
4.The metrics are simpler
TikTok has less information about its users than other networks like
Facebook, at least for now. For marketers, that means that there is far
less data available to segment campaigns and, to some extent, to measure
their impact.
Rather than obsessing over quantifying every detail, think of TikTok as a
way to generate notoriety through creativity. The content of your campaign
will determine what type of users you attract.
5. You have to make it difficult for users
In a certain way, TikTok represents a paradigm shift when it comes to
planning campaigns. On other networks, we’re used to making it as easy
as possible for users to engage as much as possible. But many times those
interactions are limited to a single click and are therefore quickly forgotten.
On the other hand, at TikTok, users are willing to accept challenges, put
their creativity to the test and spend time and effort to create their content.
If a hashtag challenge is too easy, it is more difficult for them to participate,
because what they want is an opportunity to impress the world with their
skills. So don’t be afraid to launch a really challenging campaign. It will help
to elevate your brand while also showing off your audience’s commitment.
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THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO TIKTOK MARKETING
Types Of Advertising On Tiktok
If you decide to go the paid advertising route on TikTok you’ll have a few
options. There are a few different types of advertising campaigns that you
can launch on TikTok.
1. In-feed native ads
In-feed ads are the most conventional form of advertising on TikTok. They
are similar to Instagram Stories, with different creatives and options to
add links and call-to-action buttons. Users can skip these ads.
To measure the performance of these ads, we use metrics such as
clickthrough rate, impressions, total views, viewing time, and interactions
generated.
2. Hashtag Challenge Ads
This type of ad is based on encouraging users to perform a certain action
and tagging their video with the corresponding promoted hashtag. For
example, Guess launched the #inmydenim hashtag, in which users
participated showing their brand looks.
To promote the challenge, users are shown a banner that directs them to
the instructions and rules page. Metrics to measure the results of hashtag
challenges include banner impressions, clicks, user-generated content,
visits to the campaign page, interactions and popularity of the challenge.
If you want to do a hashtag challenge, you don’t necessarily need to launch
an ad campaign on TikTok to create your own brand hashtag challenge.
The promoted hashtag challenges are just a useful tool that will increase
the reach and multiply the chances that your challenge will go viral, but
you can also do a challenge organically.
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THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO TIKTOK MARKETING
3. Brand Takeover Ads
In brand takeovers, a specific brand takes control of the entire TikTok
homepage with images, video clips and GIFs. To achieve this enveloping
effect, brand takeovers are limited to one brand per category and day.
You can use them in combination with the hashtag challenges, to further
draw attention to the challenge you have underway. Brand takeover ads
are measured based on impressions, click-through rate and unique reach.
4. Influencer Package
Despite their youth, TikTok has its own influencers and they are incredibly
popular with their fans. Collaborating with them will help you multiply
the reach of your hashtag challenges and other campaigns.
You will be set up with a TikTok influencer relevant to your brand who
will then create sponsored content. TikTok has their own platform for
partnering with their creators.
For influencer marketing to work on TikTok, keep in mind that authenticity
is essential. Unlike other networks like Instagram, most influencers on
TikTok are not comfortable with direct selling campaigns, so you will have
to find more creative ways to create a relationship with the brand.
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THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO TIKTOK MARKETING
5 Real Examples of TikTok Marketing Campaigns
1. Google
Google launched a campaign that invited users to create their own videos
using the Google Assistant, either through the application or Google Home
products, and tag them with the hashtag #HeyGoogleHelp.
To promote the campaign, they relied on both ads on the TikTok home
page and collaborations with influencers, including @katjaglieson (3.9
million followers) and @mahoganylox (2.5 million followers). Currently,
this campaign has managed to generate more than 159 million visits to
videos.
2. Lil Nas X
When Lil Nas X released his song “Old Town Road”, he set out to make it go
viral. But at first it was difficult to start. The song was not overly popular
on the radio, on Instagram, or on streaming platforms, but it eventually
succeeded on TikTok.
The song Old Town Road gave rise to a meme in which millions of young
people used the song to transform into cowboys and record their own
videos under the hashtag #yeehaw, achieving more than 75 million views.
After going unnoticed on its release, the song managed to rank first on
the iTunes and Apple Music charts and become a cultural phenomenon.
THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO TIKTOK MARKETING
3. Alan Walker
Music producer and DJ Alan Walker used TikTok to support the promotion
of his song “Different World”. Walker asked his fans to record themselves
helping to protect the environment and tag the video with the hashtag
#DifferentWorld.
He managed to promote his song using a very popular value among new
generations such as ecology. Users were encouraged to participate in the
challenge by creating high-quality content. The videos of this challenge
have more than 105 million accumulated visits.
4. Chipotle
Fast food brand Chipotle managed to sweep TikTok with a very simple
challenge. Normally, their food comes in a paper bowl with an aluminum
lid. The restaurant encouraged users to drop the bowl on top of the lid to
get the lid to flip in the air and fall back onto their food.
The campaign resulted in a bunch of videos with the hashtag
#ChipotleLidFlip.The participants boasted of their “achievement” in an
ironic and fun way. In just 6 days, 110,000 videos were posted, resulting in
104 million views.
5. GymShark
The sportswear brand GymShark is well-known for its campaigns with
Instagram influencers. To reach younger users, they decided to do a
challenge with TikTok influencers.
They launched a 66-day challenge in which users had to choose a personal
objective and publish the results with before and after photos. They
partnered with 6 TikTok influencers who had a combined audience of
nearly 20 million users. The campaign garnered almost 2 million likes,
and the # gymshark66 hashtag garnered 45.5 million impressions.
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How To Create An Ad Campaign On
TikTok, Step By Step
1. Create a TikTok Ads account
Because TikTok’s advertising program is still fairly new, the process isn’t as
autonomous as Instagram or Facebook. Visit the TikTok Ads homepage and
click the “Create an Ad” button.
When you click the button a form will appear asking you for information to
set up your account. Fill it out and submit it, and a TikTok representative will
contact you in 5 business days to let know if your business qualifies.
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2. Create an ad campaign
Once you’re inside the TikTok Ads dashboard, you’ll need to click on the
“Campaign” tab and then on the “Create” button.
TikTok organizes their advertising in three levels: Campaign, Ad Groups, Ads.
A campaign is the overall activity, while ad groups and ads are the functions
within the campaign.
Choose a goal for your ad. Currently, TikTok advertising offers three main
objectives: traffic, conversions, and application installations.
Now you’ll have to choose the budget for the entire campaign. You can choose
between the “Daily Budget” or “Total Budget” options.
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3. Set Up the Ad Group
The next step is to create an ad group within the campaign. This step is when
placements and targeting are decided. Within a campaign you can have
different ad groups intended for different audiences.
Advertising on TikTok gives you access to advertising on the entire family of
related applications, which includes Vigo Video (India only), BuzzVideo (Japan),
TopBuzz (US and BR), Babe (Indonesia), and News Republic (worldwide). You
can choose to limit your ads to TikTok or to the entire network.
TikTok will calculate where it can get the best results with your ad and place
it there.
Once you’ve chosen your preferred placements, follow the instructions to enter
all the assets needed to start running your ad, including URLs, display name,
images, categories, etc.
A very interesting aspect of this step is the keyword section, which allows
you to select up to 20 terms to describe your website or application. These
keywords will be used to show your products to the right audience, so think
carefully about your choice.
Finally, the “Targeting” section allows you to define the target audience for your
ads. You can set parameters such as location, age, gender, languages, devices,
and more.
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If you want to launch your ad to a particular group of people, for example, to run
a remarketing campaign, you can create a custom audience through existing
TikTok user IDs. Simply upload the list of IDs to a CSV, TXT or ZIP file. You will
also need the TikTok pixel in order to run remarketing campaigns and to track
campaign effectiveness.
4) Set The Campaign Details
In the “Budget & Schedule” section, select the ad group budget. Once again, you
can select how much you’re willing to spend per day or the total amount you
want to spend for the duration of the campaign.
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Then select the dates you want the campaign to be active. The “Dayparting”
option allows you to choose specific times of day or days of the week to show
your ads.
You can also choose the pace at which you want the budget to be spent:
“standard” distributes the budget evenly throughout the campaign, while the
“accelerate” option utilizes it as quickly as possible during the fixed period.
You can then select the ad group optimization goal:
• Conversion: Your ad will show to people most likely to make a conversion
action for your product or service. To track actions that involve a conversion
(for example, downloading an app or filling out a form), you can create
conversion events and track it using a pixel. The payment model for
conversion goals is oCPC (optimized cost-per-click), which ensures that
ads are shown to users who are most likely to take a particular action.
• Click: Your ad will be optimized to attract as many clicks as possible and
will be charged based on a cost-per-click (CPC) payment model.
• Impressions: Your ad will be optimized to show as many times as possible
and will be charged based on a cost-per-thousand (CPM) impression
payment model.
Finally, you can turn the “Smart Optimization” option on or off. If enabled, your
bids will be constantly optimized to increase conversions. We recommend
turning off this option if your goals are clicks or impressions.
5. Design Your Ad
TikTok ads consist of images and videos in horizontal, vertical and square
format. To make it easier for advertisers to work, this network offers a tool
called Video Creation Kit, which includes video templates and images that you
can customize with your own images. In addition, it also has more than 300
free background music options.
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THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO TIKTOK MARKETING
Another useful tool is Automated Creative Optimization, which allows you to
upload up to 10 images, 5 videos, 5 ad texts, and one call to action. The system
will then combine them with each other to create multiple ads. Afterwards, the
tool will test these ads and use the most effective combinations.
Finally, you can also use the Landing Page to Video tool, which captures high-
quality images from any landing page URL you give it, and then automatically
combines these images with music to create video ads.
6. Optimize your ad
You’re finally ready to start your TikTok advertising! Here are some final tips
for optimizing your ads and making them even more effective:
• Take a look at TikTok’s own Inspiration section within their website to see
how other brands have managed to find success on the platform
• When launching an ad in the Brand Takeover format, it’s especially
important to use high-resolution images. Be sure to follow TikTok’s ad
specifications.
• Note that text space is limited to 80 characters. But, because you only have
a split second to grab your audience’s attention, we recommend including
the most important text straight into the video itself.
• Focus on only one call to action at a time, such as downloading your app or
using a coupon on your website, but not both at the same time.
• And as always, don’t forget to test different creative elements and targeting
to improve your advertising in TikTok more and more. A/B testing is the
best way to ensure whether or not your different tactics and assets are
working.
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THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO TIKTOK MARKETING
5 Ways to Succeed With TikTok
Marketing
1. Authenticity
For years, marketers have focused on producing flawless content for Instagram,
a network where everything seems to be perfect and no detail goes unoticed.
TikTok, on the other hand, has a much more informal, imperfect and natural
feel. Users are fo with the flow and show themselves as they are. So, to connect
with them, brands also have to be willing to show their most human side and
give up being perfect all the time.
The brands who find success on TikTok are the brands who do away with the
stuffy corporate feel, and embrace the wackiness and casualty of TikTok. You
must adapt to the platform, this is the only way audiences, especially Gen Z,
will be open to you.
2. A New Style of Influencer Collaborations
Despite only being around for a couple of years, TikTok already has its own
influencers that are beginning to collaborate with brands. We expect this
marketing trend to continue to advance in 2020 and beyond.
Collaborations with influencers can help make content viral, especially if our
brand doesn’t have a big audience yet. The key is to create fun, relaxed videos
that reflect TikTok’s authenticity.
3. Viral Challenges
“Challenges” or viral challenges are one of the most significant features of
TikTok. Although it is possible to follow people on TikTok, the focus on “creating
community” is not as strong as on Facebook or Instagram. Instead, users jump
from community to community to participate in challenges.
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TikTok challenges can be literally anything from dance challenges to dressing
up like a cowboy. Many of them have a musical background or an associated
sound.
Creating a viral challenge or participating in existing challenges is a great
opportunity for brands looking to increase their visibility and connect with a
younger generation.
4. Duets
This TikTok trend is based on another unique format of this network: The split
screen videos with two people at once. Users use duets to shoot videos with
celebrities, friends, or even strangers.
This function is a great way brands can engage with their audience, and it is
completely unique to TikTok. Duets split the screen with two videos so that
there are two videos playing at once. Often, users use duets to shoot videos to
either respond to the orginal video or contribute to it in a unique way.
5. Memes
More than a TikTok trend, memes are a global trend on today’s internet. Within
TikTok, video memes are ramping up, from dances gone wrong to people
playing songs for their dogs.
As a brand, you can leverage the power of memes to make your content viewed
millions of times. The challenge is to ensure that you use the right tone for
users to get them to laugh with you, not at you.
27
¿Qué nuevas técnicas OOH podemos inventar los marketers para que la
gente preste atención a nuestros mensajes?
Las imágenes holográficas 3D empezarán a estar a la orden del día en Digital
Signage a partir de 2020.
La empresa Hypervsn, por ejemplo, ha creado imágenes holográficas en 3D a
World Trade Center (Barcelona)
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