In 2021, more than one billion people used TikTok to be entertained, find and share joy, learn new things, and create and celebrate the year's moments and movements. It was a landmark year for brands on TikTok, with outstanding small to medium-sized business owners using TikTok as part of their community engagement and daily life, as well as creating authentic and amusing TikToks to announce new products and services. The daily active users on the platform easily rival the numbers on Facebook and Instagram.
The world's most popular short-form mobile video destination is not only the most downloaded app in Southeast Asia but also the world. TikTok is a powerful tool for marketers to reach a vast community of people who appreciate authenticity and spontaneity, with nearly half of Southeast Asia's population using it. Even Gov.sg and Singapore’s NUS Business School are using TikTok for their branding and marketing efforts.
How Can Brands Leverage TikTok?
TikTok's virality provides an unexpected opportunity to swiftly establish relevance with viewers.
On TikTok, a brand's purpose should be to persuade viewers and cultivate a community of followers and admirers that go beyond simply viewing material and also commenting and sharing it.
TikTok has the potential when it comes to engaging with customers, but it's not a natural fit for many brands. A brand's need for a flawlessly curated feed will not translate to success on the platform, especially with an emphasis on authentic content. Let us look at some famous and inspiring brand campaigns on TikTok that appealed to their audiences:
Kraft Mac & Cheese
This Kraft Mac & Cheese TikTok post is a simple yet powerful illustration to establish relevance with their audiences. A video as simple as an animated running skeleton with text saying, "Thinking about all the folks who forget to add water to their Kraft Mac & Cheese and start Maccidents," received over 1 million likes. Who says it has to be complicated? Adding a little humour to your post always works.
CPF Board Singapore
The CPFB was one of Singapore's first government agencies to employ TikTok's Live package solutions. The campaign on TikTok was centred on a 45-minute Livestream featuring notable Key Opinion Leaders grilling a CPF expert with questions submitted by consumers regarding CPF or life planning in an informal and organic conversation setting.
The engagement was high with nearly 5,000 unique individuals tuned in on the day of the broadcast to hear the answers to their questions.
The Countdown Sticker was an important part of creating anticipation for the Livestream. With the addition of the Countdown Sticker to the In-Feed Ads, the overall click-through rate increased 1.5x. The average ad click-through rate was 0.49%, while the average Countdown Sticker click-through rate was 0.70%. CPF received over 8.1 million total views and over 1 million reach using Traffic Ads.
See the TikTok video here.
UOB Singapore
UOB launched the #UOBMightyHappyDance Branded Hashtag Challenge to raise brand awareness. Participants were urged to dance to the catchy branded track, with the best five contributions being able to win up to $1,000 in cash!
From the Hashtag Challenge to retargeting audiences, the entire campaign was a huge success. With a reach of over 517,000, the TopView advertisements they placed offered a good start to the campaign. The video views for the Brand Premium and Reach & Frequency In-Feed Ads that followed were 682,000 and 609,000. The Hashtag Challenge received a staggering 809,000 views. In terms of the retargeting campaign, UOB observed a 77% increase in clicks and a 30% increase in click-through rate. Even better, the brand's cost per click dropped by a factor of two. Overall, UOB accomplished what it set out to do, and TikTok played a key role in the success of its payment solution promotion.
See the TikTok video here.
Gymshark
With 3.5 million followers on TikTok alone, Gymshark is one of TikTok's most popular fitness brands. Gymshark caters to fitness enthusiasts by presenting training challenges, inspiring health journeys, and relevant fitness comedy that makes going to the gym less frightening.
Here’s an example of their relatable #GymNightmare TiktTok video with over half a million videos. Gymshark’s top-performing video categories include fitness humour, workout challenges, and fitness inspiration.
TikTok partnered up with macro-influencers who had more than 1 million followers in categories spanning fitness, health, and dance to generate hype and raise brand awareness:
A brand's success indicates the broad impact TikTok users may have inside their main niches. Working with these influencers may help brands expand their reach while also bringing joy to their communities.
Vessi
Vessi is the world’s first waterproof footwear brand based in Canada. They took customer engagement to the next level. Investing in customer connections has a direct impact on revenue and increases customer loyalty. More than half of customers who feel valued and connected to a brand will increase their spending and choose to buy from them over a competitor. They also conduct giveaways often.
The Future of Tiktok for Brands
TikTok has taken video making and sharing to the next level by simplifying it. All brands have to do is record and publish anything from their regular activities. Because of the brief format, neither creating the video nor watching it takes much time or effort.
When a user launches the app, this short-form video material is automatically played. And the user becomes immersed in a sea of amusing, entertaining, and addictive video content. People are highly addicted to watching random videos for hours due to the nature of the type of content and presentation.
To help understand and identify how TikTok will continue to break the boundaries of entertainment 2022, TikTok has launched the What's Next Report. The report takes a deep dive into top-performing products and emerging trends. Get case studies to identify top tactics for unlocking success on TikTok, and tips for brands looking for further inspiration.
Conclusion
TikTok is an amazing platform to engage and get to know your target audience. If you do decide to use a video marketing strategy, why not engage a video production company? At En3, we’re a Singapore video production that offers a suite of services to meet your marketing needs:
- Interview videos
- Production Demo videos
- Tutorial videos
- Event highlights
- Announcement videos
- Behind the scenes videos
If you’re interested, drop us an email or message to find out how En3 can help you!
