How to Advertise on TikTok to Expand Your Audience

Tik Tok’s audience is massive and continuously growing. Not only are viewers watching content, but the platform has a big influence on purchasing behaviors. Influencer Marketing Hub shares that consumers spend over 500 million on Tik Tok in a quarter based on findings in Q2 of 2021 alone. 

If you’re a small business, you might be wondering where to start.

1. Create a TikTok Business Manager and Ad Account 
2. Follow the prompts to create a pixel so that TikTok and your website can communicate
3. Create campaigns based on your desired goal and audience targeting parameters. It’s a step by step tool so don’t be afraid to experiment with the various options until you find what works best for your business
4. What type of content do you want to run - static ads or videos? (psst… videos perform best) 
5. Determine what type of ads you want to run - do you want to create them yourself or do you want to leverage the power of influencers/content creators. 

Leveraging influencers/creators on TikTok is the best way to go but that adds another layer of complexity. There are so many options. For smaller/newer brands, we recommend starting with Micro-Influencers. 

What are Micro-Influencers?

A micro-influencer has a following somewhere in the thousands or tens of thousands.

Working with these influencers is a great way to bring awareness to your brand. Influencers with a smaller following are viewed as more relatable and reliable to the general public. Micro-influencer viewers are more likely to take brand recommendations than a large influencer that a viewer might not feel as connected to. Another plus is that Micro Influencers are a lot more affordable than creators with a large following or a celebrity.

Hubspot shares that more than 82% of consumers said they were likely to buy something a micro-influencer recommended.

What to keep in mind when you are searching for micro-influencers:

1. Check to make sure their engagement is as solid as their following. The engagement rate of a creator is a lot more important than the number of followers they have. 
2. Ensure that the videos they post have the same values that your brand does. Forbes advises to choose micro-influencers whose self-created “brand” is aligned with your target customer. 
3. Ensure they post consistently. Stray away from creators who don’t post often, or post inconsistently.

Work with two to three micro-influencer creators per campaign. If you want to reach out to an influencer to collaborate, leave a great first impression where you establish trust.

Once you find a few influencers that are the right fit, make sure they know what is expected of them. 

How to Find a Micro-Influencer

TikTok Creator Marketplace

This platform allows you to search for and connect with influencers. You can find each influencers  key information such as profiles, their audience demographics, engagement metrics, and their previous partnerships. This platform is extremely helpful when finding influencers that match your brand and target audience.

Search on Tik Tok

• Utilize searching through relevant hashtags that are similar to your brand. 
• Search for micro influencers profiles. When viewing their engagements, pay close attention to the number of comments and shares on their videos. This says a lot about a creator's amount of engagement, in comparison to the number of likes and followers.

Vet the Micro-Influencer

• Make your campaign goals and instructions clear. 
• Include a detailed brief with instructions to outline the goals of your campaign. It is important to make your expectations as clear as you can from the start. Take the time to answer any questions, it is worth it in the long run.
• What the detailed brief should include
  
  • What you want them to mention
  • Do’s and Don’ts 
  • Length
  • Examples or inspiration
  • Hashtags you want them to use (optional) 
  • Profile to tag

Organic Content

• Create organic content. Tik Tok reminds brands, “Don’t make ads. Make Tik Toks.” You don’t need a big production to make an impact. Embrace creators' authenticity to create content that speaks to people.

Utilize Popular Trends and Sounds

• Tik Tok always has new trends circling around the app. These trends are often used by popular influencers on the app and are followed by thousands of others taking on the trend, and putting their own spin on it.

Don’t make the video too long

• Tik tok users have a short attention span, it’s what they’re used to on the app. Get the hook, or important message out within the first few seconds of the video. An effective ad time is around 15 seconds.

Let the product be the star of the video

• Have the product be the most important aspect of the video. Make sure there are no text overlays covering it when it is being shown. 

Tips for Successful Content 

Here’s a breakdown of the different elements to making a successful Tik Tok video. Ensuring that your influencers are aware of these tips can be useful in grabbing the viewers attention, and keeping them engaged throughout the video.

Strong Opening

• Have a strong opening shot to hook the viewers. Whether or not the first few seconds of the video grabs the viewer's attention,  makes or breaks whether or not the viewer continues watching or scrolls past it 

Quality

• Make sure your content is bright and visually appealing. This includes high quality and good lighting 

Anticipation

• Use background sound and music to engage the viewer 
• Use captions and text to help get the message across
• Create a video that is light-hearted, high-energy, and fun to leave a memorable impression

Memorable Ending

• Have a strong ending and make the final words count. A unique ending encourages viewers to share the video

Test and Learn

Tik Tok advertising is new for many. Test and learn, see what works for you and what doesn’t. Planning ahead is a key to creating successful Tik Tok ads for your business, and learning about micro influencers is a great start.

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