Why your business should be on TikTok

Posted by Sam Cabot

Sam runs Inbound Marketing for Fable Heart Media. She creates content, strategies, and campaigns that speak to the heart of a potential customer and drive measurable action.

The Next Social Media Powerhouse

TikTok is quickly becoming a powerhouse in the world of social media. The app has grown a crazy amount since 2019. It currently ranks #1 in the list of top breakout apps of 2020.

TikTok nearly outpaced the AppStore as the top free application for Apple iOS users. The app will soon be joining the 1 Billion Club as it is on track to have 1.2 billion active users by 2021. The Billion Club consists of elite apps such as Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, Youtube, and China’s WeChat app. In 2019, TikTok ranked number 6 in most-used apps and number 4 in most downloads.

It may have started as a platform to show off dance skills, or lack thereof, but it has grown into an application full of how-to’s, interesting behind the scenes shots (bts), educational videos, advertisements, and still some dancing!

5 Reasons Your Business Needs to be on TikTok

Immersive Content

It’s addicting to watch 30 second to 1-minute clips about people’s days, recipes, or anything; TikTok sucks you in video by video.

The app has made it, so the time between content is very low. From one clip to the next, the videos almost play into each other. They have designed the app to be a full-screen experience, unlike Facebook and Instagram, which have more going on in the background. TikTok has designed their app this way to immerse the user into the content.

Advertising

One unique aspect of TikTok is how they advertise. Ads on the app are different from any other platform because you don’t realize you are watching an ad until it is almost over. Because all content on TikTok is fully immersive and fills the user’s entire screen, ads organically flow into your video stream. The ads are gracefully nested in between user-generated content, making them difficult to identify. Their formula is working. TikTok is ranked #2 in consumer spending for non-gaming apps; they have monetized their ads and have given users the ability to purchase goods directly from the app. Attribution is better, and so is the user experience.

TikTok vs. Instagram Reels

Instagram has created “Instagram Reels” in an attempt to mirror the TikTok experience. While the user interface is similar, content creators aren’t making their content on Instagram. People are exporting TikTok videos and re-posting them to Instagram Reels. Because the TikTok logo is present in the exported clip, this expands the reach of their brand awareness (free advertising). To use Instagram Reels, a user must ignore the engaging content already present in the app and navigate to the Reels section, rather than just opening the app and clicking to record a new video. Additionally, Reels allow for 15-second clips rather than a full minute of content that TikTok enables their users. TikTok wins.

Stitching

Another unique part of TikTok is the ability to “stitch.” According to TikTok, the stitch feature “allows users the ability to clip and integrate scenes from another user’s video into their own. Like Duet, Stitch is a way to reinterpret and add to another user’s content, building on their stories, tutorials, recipes, math lessons, and more.” Each stitch remains linked to the video’s original creator, creating a thread of responses or additions, similar to replies and Twitter threads.

The Algorithm

The algorithm within content apps like Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok is what determines which content is presented to a user.

Algorithms receive regular updates, but all of these apps have variables in common:

Hashtags
Followed Accounts
Preferred Content (based on historical engagements)
@ Mentions
Shares (Stitching in TikTok)
Comments

TikTok introduces one additional variable to their content algorithm – Sounds. Every video uses Sounds (audio), whether it is recorded from the user via their microphone or pre-selected from the Sounds Library.

The sound alone can affect whether or not a user’s account gets attention.

Imagine you post a great Behind The Scenes video of your business, and you select a popular sound from the Sounds Library. Other people who like posts or create posts that also have the sound you selected could see your video. The sound is a core variable that heavily influences the results of TikTok’s algorithm.

While Sounds may seem like one more thing to consider for content creators (as if we didn’t have enough to worry about), it is also a very powerful way to extend all posts’ reach within the platform. TikTok changed the game with this.

The Time is Now

Hopping on the bandwagon of ANOTHER social media platform is a lot of work. Still, the opportunity to seamlessly engage with a completely captive audience like the one we see on TikTok is something you do not want to miss.

So secure your user name, get a plan together, and start posting. Also – make sure to follow @fableheartmedia 🙂