TikTok is no longer just a GenZ app where you can get millions of views by learning various trendy choreographies, nowadays it has much more possibilities than that.
But then what is TikTok good for?
It perfectly combines entertainment and education by providing users with a fully customised, bite-sized piece of content as they scroll through the feed, thanks to a perfected algorithm. The more videos a user watches, the better, more personalised content they encounter, which in turn leads to more time spent in the app.
Why is it good for a brand to be present on TikTok?
Let’s start by saying that it’s not enough to be present, you have to be present well. The user base of the application is ruthless, if a brand represents itself poorly on the platform, it can even cause significant damage to the reputation. On the other hand, if we manage to find a common denominator and style with the target audience, then we have a winning case. In order to be able to advertise, it is not even necessary to produce organic content, an advertising account is more than enough, but it is worth acting on the basis of the “Don’t make ads, make tiktoks” principle. A well-structured TikTok channel and imaginative, creative videos can rocket a brand out of the quagmire of mediocrity and onto the ladder of popularity and virality.
How is TikTok better than other social media platforms in terms of branding?
TikTok is currently still a fresh, less saturated advertising market, so we can reach the users that are relevant to us not only effectively, but at a reasonable price. The latter is also becoming more accurate, as like its competitors, TikTok’s targeting capabilities are constantly evolving. One of the most outstanding advantages of the app is the activity and engagement of its users, with an engagement rate of 4.1% per follower, for example, a perfectly average and easily achievable result. This is six times higher than Instagram, and even less than Facebook or Twitter.
How often should you post on TikTok?
As mentioned above, organic content is not essential, but if you want to take advantage of the virality factor of TikTok, it is worth sharing content from time to time. But how much is enough? On average, the top 25% of the most active brands share content no less than five times per week, while 30% of brands across the entire enterprise sector post at least one video per week.
There’s no denying that it takes more time, money and energy to produce a really good TikTok video compared to a static post, and this is reflected in the fact that brands are on average 2.5x less likely to share this type of content.
There is a direct correlation between the frequency of content sharing and the number of followers, the more followers a channel has, the more often it shares new videos. But which came first, the chicken or the egg, more followers, or more frequent posting? Of course, those who share interesting, engaging, value-added content more often will reach more users, which in turn means more new followers based on the law of large numbers.
Which industries are most active on TikTok?
A good reference point for developing our content strategy is to look at the frequency with which competing brands share content. For example, brands interested in media and beauty & health, lead the way, with 4.3 and 2.6 videos per week, followed by trade and fashion, as well as interior design. Non-profit organizations and food & drink brands are in the last places with the same average, with 1.18 videos per week.
What metrics can be used to measure the success of videos?
In addition to examining the traditionally measured reach, engagement rate and video views, really interesting values can also be obtained in terms of the quality and reception of our videos.
An example of this is the “Engagement Rate per View” , which shows how many people took the trouble to like, comment or share our video compared to the number of views. This corresponds to the engagement per impression metric on other platforms.
The higher this number, the more valuable, funnier, thought-provoking, or even more mood-inducing a video we managed to create.
The average engagement rate per view of the brands examined in the Rival IQ research is 5.8%, which is outstanding compared to the results available on other platforms (5.5% on Instagram), however, double-digit percentages are commonplace for the top 20% of the most successful brands.
The engagement rate per view also largely depends on the number of followers, which is obvious, since we can only get many subscribers with interesting and valuable videos, and this also brings with it a high engagement rate. A sharp rise can be observed in the development of this metric, if we examine the channels with more than 50 thousand followers, the largest channels with more than 1 million can boast an average of almost 9%, while those between 10-50 thousand “only” with 5.2%.
Of course, it doesn’t matter what topic the content is made on, because sports associations lead the way with an average of 11% engagement per view, followed by non-profit organizations with 7.5%, and in last place are fashion brands with 3.9%.
It’s also worth paying attention to the “Views per Follower” metric, because although thanks to TikTok’s main “For You Page” and the sophisticated algorithm, our ultimate audience is far from being limited to our followers, there is a relationship between the number of views and the number of followers. However, this relationship is inverted, the more followers a channel has, the lower the ratio will be, as a channel with millions of followers will have a higher number of views.
On average, the number of views per 100 followers is estimated at 17.6, and although the majority of brands do not reach this, 50 views per 100 followers is not uncommon for those in the top 25%. At the other end of the scale, however, more than 35% achieve less than 10 views per 100 followers. Although the essence of the app is the For You Page, where the majority of the followers are not reached, it is still an important metric.
One of the most important metrics is the “Engagement Rate per Follower”, which provides useful feedback on how relevant our brand is to our followers. It shows more than the Engagement Rate per View in that we are looking at the number of likes, comments and shares not in relation to the number of views, but in relation to the number of followers. It is interesting to look at this as well, because although for a channel with a smaller follower base, achieving 500 likes may be a huge success, for a more popular brand it is just a drop in the ocean.
The unstoppable growth of TikTok is undeniable, it has exploded into the public consciousness like a bomb, and since its launch in 2016 this trend has been growing, not surprisingly dominating the download charts of recent years. With a steadily growing user base, brands can take the attention they pay to growing their followers as an excellent feedback on their work. Regardless of channel size, the average monthly follower growth is around 2-3%, while for smaller, emerging brands with less than 50,000 followers, it is around 5%.
The number of hashtags per video is also an easily measurable and important data point, as the determining factor for a video’s trajectory is not only its number but also its relevance. Hashtags can be used to categorise your content into the topics you want to see, and can also play a role in getting your content onto the coveted For You Page. The majority of brands choose the amount of hashtags they use based on the principle of less is sometimes more, with only 34% of brands using more than five hashtags in a video, while 15% only use an average of one hashtag or less.
Who wouldn’t want to be noticed by their favourite brand or an influencer they like? The way to get to the heart of TikTok users is through mentions, and mentioning users in your video description is a great way to increase your reach. Whether it’s an influencer collaboration or an enthusiastic fan, the numbers speak for themselves. It’s an open secret among seasoned TikTokers, and it’s evident from the fact that 14% of brands have a mention in every second video description. However, there are also 20% who never use the feature, so there is plenty of room for improvement in this area, which with a little attention we can easily turn to our advantage.
Of course, the frequency with which we use this simple tool is not the same, and statistics show that the brands with the highest engagement per view rates are those that mention someone in 10-20% of their videos.
Conclusion
As we can see from the above, with some consistency and a proper strategy, and of course with imaginative and unique content, the potential is almost endless, just waiting to be exploited. The huge reach of ads at affordable prices and the willingness of users to engage, if they have the time, manpower and financial resources, make it worthwhile to explore the platform.
If lack of time, ideas or even the right people are holding you back from trying this great app for branding, feel free to contact us!
Article originally posted by Intren as “MIÉRT ELENGEDHETETLEN A MÁRKÁDNAK A TIKTOK 2022-BEN?”