TikTok is certainly all the rage lately. It’s gaining traction fast on social media. However, before using it, you’ll want to ask yourself, “is it right for my brand?“
Depending on your business, you’re all going to have different answers to that.
For starters, you might not know what TikTok is, and that’s okay. In their own words (from their website) they explain that this app is, “[…] the leading destination for short-form mobile video. Our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy.” Users are making fast-paced creative videos daily right on their phones.
We’re seeing a lot of users make fun recipe videos, or show off sweet dance moves all in a matter of seconds.
Most of the folks who use it are on the younger end of the age spectrum. One website explained, “we estimate that TikTok has about 60 million monthly active users in the United States. 60% are female, 40% are male. 60% are between the ages of 16-24. 26% are between the ages 25-44. 80% are between the ages 16-34. This data comes straight from TikTok.” Overall, 800 million people use TikTok around the world.
While something so suddenly (and widely) popular can be attractive to brands, it’s worth taking a step back before diving in to this app.
It really is so cool to see how people are using this app, and to watch the content that they’re creating. However, the excitement surrounding it just isn’t worth alienating or confusing your target demographic. Facts are facts.
To asses whether or not TikTok is right for you or your business, I think it’s worth asking yourself the following questions:
- Does my target demographic/audience match who is actually using TikTok (teens and adults in their early twenties)?
- Can I invest time into create quality videos for this app? (in other words, do I want to add this to my to-do list?)
- Do I have to time to post to TikTok on a consistent basis?
- Is this platform right for the message I want my business to send? (in other words, does its perception in the community match what I want my own consumers to buy into?
- Does your company believe in making videos? (if so, by all means share those to this app!)
To be honest, TikTok is so new that I think we’re still evaluating whether or not this is an app that everyone needs to be on. Some businesses are finding that their time investing into the app was well worth it, and for others things just didn’t work out. More bluntly, we’re still waiting to see how profitable it really is.
My opinion: watch how this app grows and develops and see who in your community is using it and if its part of their daily life. If the answer is yes, I’d say join it. If the jury is still out on it, I’d say wait and focus your attention (and money) elsewhere.