How Brands and Agencies Are Embracing the Hidden Power of TikTok Marketing

Instead of using the “unless you’ve been living under a rock” cliche, we’ll just go ahead and declare that by now, you’ve certainly heard of TikTok and more than likely either used it or, at the very least, enjoyed it over someone else’s shoulder.

If you have not, well, you might be in the minority here. TikTok has enjoyed record-breaking growth after its 2017 release, having since been downloaded nearly 2 billion times and adopted by as much as 1/5th of internet users worldwide. 

Its seemingly universal appeal might have been fostered by the short-form, user-generated videos popularized by the platform and made available to users in an endless, personalized feed. It’s not hard to open the app and find yourself still scrolling through posts hours later. It’s almost hypnotic, but comfortably so. 

But organizations around the world have come to love TikTok because of the unprecedented benefits it offers as an alternative marketing tool. So what kind of advantages can certain organizations expect from advertising on the platform, what’s the best plan of attack, and how can remote production platforms like Cinebody help you accomplish this? Here’s how one Agency used Cinebody to crush the advertising game on TikTok.

The Reach: Unlocking Boundless Potential

Allow us to beat a key reality into the ground. TikTok is the fastest growing social media platform on the planet by some estimates and, as of 2020, it became the most downloaded app in the Apple App Store. It has more daily active users than LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, Snapchat and falls short only to Facebook, which is nothing to be ashamed of. But even so, TikTok’s rate of growth still exceeds that of the original social media giant, making it unclear as to whether or not Facebook will be able to stay ahead much longer.

This should sound the alarm for any brand or agency looking to execute not only relevant marketing campaigns but competitive ones, too. At the very least, it would be counter-productive not to embrace this new marketing channel that gives you access to the eyes of more than one billion active users. Sheer exposure alone necessitates the adoption of TikTok by those looking to make a splash, especially among younger market segments.

New York-based advertising agency, Deustch Inc., recognized this early on and took a unique approach in executing a social ad campaign for their client, Differin, a home acne treatment popular with teens and young adults. Deutsch used external UGC platforms like Cinebody to remotely capture testimonial footage from Differin users and ambassadors. Then, they took that footage, polished it ever-so-slightly so that it mimicked a native TikTok video, and distributed it across the platform organically or using TikTok’s Ad Manager Too. Senior Producer Drea Segura had this to say about their decision to pivot towards this new social media marketing strategy. 

“We created Differin content for TikTok because we see increased engagement with the brand from its target audiences on the platform. We expect this strategy to become increasingly valuable, especially as TikTok expands its advertising offerings and organic content features.”

TikTok separates itself from other social media platforms by being specifically geared towards creating and sharing short-form (15s - 60s), user-generated video. As TikTok continues to dominate the social media landscape as demonstrated above, it’s safe to assume that receptiveness to the type of raw, authentic, user-generated content inherent to the platform will expand and deepen across a key demographic. 

Research on authentic content marketing shows that consumers across the board already prefer user-generated ads over traditionally produced promotional content. Bazaarvoice recently conducted a global survey and found that 62% of shoppers are more likely to buy a product if they can first see customer videos and photos, not fancy-schmancy product shots. That trend is unlikely to dwindle as the younger, TikTok crazed demographic matures. Quite the opposite, in fact. As the years go on and kids turn into adults and so on, you’ll have an entire economy of consumers conditioned by what is currently a trend in its early stages. 

This makes both UGC and TikTok hard to ignore as marketing tools and industry veterans like Deutsch are ahead of the curve. But let’s be real, even as UGC becomes commonplace, brands will always have standards of quality that influencers and ambassadors might not be privy to (at least not yet), and going back and forth with them until they meet those standards is both inauthentic and time-consuming. Luckily, platforms like Cinebody automate the reviewal process and enable you to force aspects of quality, like FPS and resolution without disruption. 

“For the sake of authenticity, we want the content to feel both native to the [TikTok] platform and organic, which means shooting on an iPhone without much polish and turning content around quickly,” Segura explains. “User-generated content platforms like Cinebody enable us to control quality, capture footage, and connect our team with talent so that they could provide live feedback for quick turn content.” 

Empowering the Younger Generation: Targeting Success

You’ve probably picked up on the fact that TikTok users are disproportionately young, with almost half of them being between the ages of 16-24 (roughly half a billion people) and the vast majority being younger than 30. What does that matter? This demographic is arguably the most tech-savvy generation ever and, again, incredibly receptive to video content that is authentic and user-generated.To reach them effectively, you’ll need to venture beyond cleverly worded posts or banner ads with a coupon code. 

This makes TikTok an incredibly valuable tool for brands that market the younger crowd specifically. But even if the younger generations are just one of your targeted segments, TikTok is a nearly sure-fire way to expand your reach to that segment in particular so that you're checking all the boxes (demographically speaking). 

Deutsch, for example, recognized that Differin was naturally more attractive to teens and young adults as they are more likely to have issues with acne than older demographics who prefer other social media platforms such as Facebook. Given the abundance of young consumers on TikTok, the decision to prioritize the platform as a marketing channel for Differin more often was a no-brainer to maximize engagement with the product among a specific demographic.

So don’t let complacency prevent you from opening a door that’s already cracked open for you. If you're looking to launch a user-generated campaign that is far-reaching, competitive, and targeted, TikTok might be the avenue you explore first and with an array of remote production tools at your disposal, it’s easier than ever to make sure you’re capturing the content that you need.