Social media is a continuous game of capture the flag as new apps challenge the landscape to be the top contender. While Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have been steadfast leaders, TikTok, which allows users to post 15-second to three-minute videos, typically dances, comedy and education, has proven its worth among an expanding range of ages. It’s currently the world’s fastest-growing social media app.
TikTok was once the platform for brands selling makeup, fashion and cool consumer goods. Now, companies that sell products and services to businesses have found clever ways to use the platform to drive sales. Digital payment software, Square, targets their B2B audience on TikTok by reposting user-generated content from small businesses who use their product.
TikTok is available in over 150 countries and has more than a billion users. It has been downloaded over 200 million times in the United States alone and racked up more than 620 million downloads globally between January and July 2020. It took Instagram six years to gain that many active users. If your audience is within the range of 13 to 60 years of age, TikTok is worth exploring for business.
Many B2B companies have yet to dip their toe, wary of TikTok’s value. Research from LinkedIn’s B2B Institute noted that marketing strategies that appeal to an audience’s emotions drive 7x more substantial business effects than campaigns that appeal to a rational level. The goal of any marketing and PR campaign, including B2B, is to associate the brand with a positive, relevant feeling. TikTok can help with that.
How can TikTok work for B2B?
- Your customers do the work for you. While companies benefit from posting an ad on social media, credibility skyrockets when someone else recommends the business or product. When customers use TikTok to get the word out about products they like, they are essentially volunteer influencers. For example, a young woman who was pregnant with her first child was treated with device manufacturer Abiomed’s Impella heart pump after suffering from an Amniotic Fluid Embolism. This rare but severe condition occurs when the fluid that surrounds a baby in the uterus during pregnancy enters the mother’s bloodstream, causing organs to shut down and even leading to death. Grateful that the Impella saved her heart from completely failing, the patient wanted to share her experience with other pregnant women. She began posting videos about her recovery and now has more than 3 million views on her page, making her an influencer for women’s health and the medical device that helped save her life. Her TikTok influence became a story for CBS in Philadelphia and was featured in BuzzFeed.
- TikTok humanizes a business. TikTok isn’t just for dancing teens; it also drives trends in health, finance, news, politics and business. Since TikTok videos tend to be less professionally edited, content can seem more authentic. For example, Adobe, the computer software, posted a TikTok of the trend “put a finger down if you…” (a viral trend on TikTok, usually using a voiceover asking the TikToker to hold up their hands and put down a finger when the speaker says something they have done.) Adobe used this trend by naming a list of things that would resonate with their audience, asking them to put a finger down when something on the list applies to them. The TikTok has received 1.3M views and 105.1K likes. Adobe established their TikTok page as a place where creatives can learn, and businesses can make use of their product.
- Ads are more impactful with a low-pressure, organic strategy. TikTok’s algorithms for guiding users to discover new content are designed to allow brands to strategically place ads that feel engaging and not forced. For example, Procter & Gamble, which does not produce its own content, strategically sponsored top TikTok creator Charli D’Amelio to post a #DistanceDance challenge to encourage people to stay home and help stop the spread of COVID-19. For each of the first three million videos posted in response, P&G offered to donate to Feeding America and Matthew 25: Ministries to help families impacted by the pandemic. Charli’s sponsored video received 6.9M likes and 196.6M views, making it the most viewed sponsored TikTok to date.
TikTok attempts to tap into emotion in ways other platforms don’t and believes emotion is at the root of decision-making for many customers today. For example, The Washington Post aimed to build relationships with new and younger audiences while simultaneously remaining one of the nation’s most prominent news sources. It credits part of its growth to 1.1 million followers to lighthearted content from TikTok.
In our opinion, TikTok warrants a close look for every 2022 marketing plan.
Best,
Tracy
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