TikTok now has over one billion users and is available in over 150 countries with 8.7% of UK smartphone owners using TikTok; a huge increase from 1.8% in 2017.
But how can the Chinese app be applied to British trends and culture and effectively support your brand aims? Below are my three favourite UK brands who have jumped head-first into the video-sharing platform.
Whilst Superdrug’s Instagram feed is more stylised, their TikTok account shares behind-the-scenes of events and ‘how-to’s’ of products, which don’t appear on their other networks.
Their core content strand is sharing close-ups of new products. Unlike other social platforms, there are clear and drastic differences between their everyday posts (garnering thousands of views) and the ones which resonate well (garnering tens of thousands of views), such as their close-up of a Winky Lux lip tint which includes a real flower.
This stark change offers a clear insight into the interests of their audience, which can be used to influence their marketing strategy as a whole, more directly and clearly. What makes this particularly interesting, is that the post is not complex, or time-consuming to create, highlighting that this is not a requisite to have a successful TikTok channel.
@superdrugThis Winky Lux lip tint contains a REAL FLOWER 🌺😍 ##fyp ##lookofthedecade ##foryoupage ##tiktokuk♬ I’l Bring You Flowers – Prisoners Of Base
Branding an individual on TikTok can be a more difficult task, as you have no products to constantly discuss. One key feature of TikTok which can be used as the basis of your strategy, however, is Soundtracks. These are short audio clips which anyone can upload, such as songs, or cultural moments from movies. Users then film visuals on top, with all clips being grouped together to easily watch in one go.
The audio which becomes popular is unpredictable, depending on the algorithm and the creativity of the user base. Kesha this month has released a lyric video for her song Cannibal (12 years after its release) due to the sudden interest of the track on TikTok.
Broadcaster Alex Scott recreated one humorous and iconic scene with EastEnders star Emma Barton from Pretty Woman, which is a popular soundtrack on the app. By following trends instead of trying to force one to start inorganically, Alex is seen as fun, and likeable.
Had a prettywomen moment yesterday 🤣 How are my acting skills @SamanthaBarks @prettywomanuk
Finally on @tiktok_uk 🙋🏽♀ pic.twitter.com/bZXH6QZLyL
— Alex Scott MBE (@AlexScott) January 28, 2020
Traditionally, social networks do not like users sharing their time on other platforms, and so they will limit sharing functionalities. When Instagram was bought by Facebook for example, Instagram removed the function for their images to be posted on Twitter. However, TikTok is unique in that it makes sharing incredibly easy, with a download function within the app, allowing for viral sharing across platforms.
Movember recently teamed up with TikTok, so the platform will donate £1 for every moustache themed TikTok using #Movember. As sharing videos is such an easy task, this message can have a drastically higher reach compared to posting on just one channel alone, especially when viral TikTok’s are regularly reshared on Twitter and Instagram Stories.
We’re pleased to announce that we have teamed up with @tiktok_uk. For every moustache themed video using #Movember uploaded they’ll donate £1. They have £10,000 to give to Movember – so download TikTok and creative with your Mo’s! pic.twitter.com/OhusGfUEvP
— Movember UK (@MovemberUK) November 22, 2019
As a relatively new channel, TikTok can feel out of place in your existing social strategy. However, it’s not going anywhere anytime soon, and so now is the time to experiment, explore and consider.
Contact our Social team today to discuss how TikTok can become part of your online strategy.