- Diana S.
Should you use TikTok to Advertise Your Business in 2023?
Updated: Feb 3
A Starter Guide for TikTok Advertising for Your Business
TikTok has become incredibly widespread in recent years, especially with the younger Millennials and Generation Z. But if you think TikTok is just for youngsters, you might be missing out on an important social media platform for your brand.
Let's Talk Numbers
As of the 3rd quarter of 2021, TikTok has surpassed 1 billion users, reaching an estimated adult audience of 825 million people worldwide.
Worldwide, TikTok has been installed on devices over 2.6 billion times and it must be well on the way to 3 billion by now.
TikTok is available in 75 languages and 150 countries. Looking at the audience by country, more than 60% of the users are based in the United States, while the international reach is distributed across countries in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
A little under 70% of US teenagers are regular TikTok users with 29% of them considering TikTok as their favourite Social Media platform.
TikTok is extremely popular with teenagers across the world, no doubt about that. Interestingly though, there is now enough proof that its user base is ageing. Users are not giving up on TikTok because they believe they have outgrown it. In some regions such as China, Indonesia, the UAE and Saudi Arabia the membership among the age group 25-34 is higher than for the age group 16-24-year-olds.
Which Businesses Are Best Suited for TikTok's Audience?
Best Practices for Advertising on TikTok
How Engaged Are TikTok Users?
According to Statista, TikTok users spend more than 850 minutes per month on the app, while 9 out of 10 TikTok users use the app multiple times per day.
Recent Upfluence data shows a much higher engagement rate across different follower levels compared between Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. TikTok has by far, a much higher engagement across the board. Upfluence found micro-influencers had an engagement rate of 17.96% on TikTok (versus 3.86% on Instagram and 1.63% on YouTube). While mega-influencers had an engagement rate of 4.96% on TikTok (compared to 1.21% on Instagram and 0.37% on YouTube).
Which Businesses Are Best Suited for TikTok's Audience?
The following categories are the ones generating the highest buzz on TikTok these days.
Pranks: 79 billion
Sports: 57 billion
Home reno/DIY: 39 billion
Beauty: 33 billion
Fashion: 27 billion
Cooking: 18 billion
Life hacks: 13 billion
Pets: 10 billion
Outdoors: 2 billion
So, which types of businesses should be advertising on TikTok?
TikTok ads will presumably have the best results for brands who advertise to customers who are
under 35 years of age
women, particularly in the 18 to 25 age group
are located in the US, Asia or the Middle East
That being said, we believe brands with an expansive range of audiences may find it worthwhile to test a TikTok campaign regardless and perhaps integrate it into their overall digital advertising strategy for specific goals.
If you have missed out on Facebook or Instagram organic growth potential, TikTok is your second chance.
Best Practices for Advertising on TikTok
Use Different Creative Styles
TikTok recommends using a diversity of creatives, different from each other. Each video should have varied scenes with either transition footage or B-roll. They also advise updating your creative every seven days to avoid audience fatigue.
Length is Important
While video ads can be up to 60 seconds long, TikTok recommends keeping them short, to 20-34 seconds. Make sure to have particularly engaging content in the first few seconds of the video to avoid views due to them losing interest.
Use Both Sound and Captions
The top-performing TikTok videos use a combination of audio and captions. Fast track audio above 120 beats per minute with overlaid text which highlights your call to action has usually the highest view-through rate.
Be Positive, Authentic & Inspiring
TikTok is the right platform for fun, positive vibes and not heavily edited content. User-generated content is ideal for keeping it real and authentic.