Effective Ways to Promote in TikTok in 2023

TikTok is the most popular social network where users create, edit, and view short videos on a wide range of topics. The app is used in 155 countries worldwide, and its current audience consists of over 1 billion active users.

The platform has enormous potential for advertisers. Today, we will discuss whether it’s worth promoting online stores through TikTok and the types of advertising formats available there.

Advantages of Promotion on TikTok

The social network attracts users with its unique algorithm. Thanks to this algorithm, a video can gather hundreds of thousands to millions of views in just a few hours, even if the account has very few followers. The specifics of how the algorithm works are unknown. However, entering the platform with a commercial proposal is highly beneficial at the moment, especially with proper promotion.

On TikTok, brands, online stores, service and app owners, information businesses, and dating sites are advertised.

Being present on the platform offers numerous advantages:

• Access to a multi-million audience;
• Large organic reaches;
• No ad oversaturation;
• Moderate competition;
• Native advertising formats;
• Targeting the desired audience with minimal ad settings;
• E-commerce features that are under development (one of the anticipated features is shopping tags).

Which Business Suits Advertising on the Platform

The largest audience groups on the social network are people aged 25 to 34 and 35 to 44. They are usually the most financially capable buyers. If an online store’s audience aligns with this demographic, it’s worth trying to promote on the platform.

The following products advertise most effectively:

• Low-priced items. Anything targeted at consumers with low to medium income levels. It’s better not to advertise luxury and premium offers here.
• “Addictive”, vibrant trends. Slimes, paintings, pop-its, spinners, etc.
• Mass-market products. Clothing, cosmetics, food products, electronics.

This specifically refers to the B2C segment. Popular brands such as Nike, Pringles, Dolce&Gabbana, Gucci, and others are officially represented on TikTok. The platform is not suitable for wholesale businesses.

Apart from retail, beauty services, business experts, psychology, medicine, fashion, and style professionals also find success in promotion here.

Starting with Promotion

Unlike other similar platforms, TikTok offers a variety of promotion methods. But the starting point should be creating your own channel. In the initial stages, entrepreneurs add several thematic videos about the product and company to their profile. This can include reviews, unboxings, short presentations, mini-clips, or introductions to the team.
The social network’s algorithms will recommend high-quality content. Viral videos, which quickly land in recommendations, spread especially fast.

For effective promotion, these metrics are crucial:

• Comments;
• Likes;
• Shares;
• Watch-through rate.

The higher the audience engagement, the greater the chances of appearing in recommendations. To attract users, you should create videos with useful tips and interesting facts, conduct live broadcasts with reviews. We also recommend tracking and leveraging trends, consistently publishing new content, selecting useful hashtags, launching your own challenges, and collaborating with opinion leaders.

What to Do Before Launching an Advertising Campaign

1. Observe which videos are popular among the target audience, and identify what they frequently comment on and share.

2. Decide on the type of suitable content. You can use reviews with creative effects and catchy music, testimonials, announcements/special offers, clips with concise answers to questions, news, or portfolio/catalog videos.

3. Install the mobile application and create a profile.

4. Add your first videos.

5. Check the website’s responsiveness and loading speed, which will receive the directed traffic.

6. Install and configure a web analytics system to track performance metrics.

7. Verify the business by paying for the advertising account.

8. Choose the goal of the advertising campaign. There are three options: conversion (encouraging purchases on the website), traffic (increasing the number of visits), app installations, or video views.

Available Advertising Formats

Hashtag Challenges

Hashtags play various roles in promotion. The most effective method is branded hashtag challenges.

To launch, you will need:

• An initial audience;
• An engaging idea;
• Suitable audio accompaniment;
• A memorable hashtag;
• A viral movement/action. Within the challenge, the brand asks the audience to perform a specific action and tag it with a certain hashtag.

Before initiating the event, it’s essential to analyze viral challenges, create a company’s branded hashtag (simple, easy to remember, and related to the business), devise your challenge with clear participation rules, and associate it with the brand. For enhanced efficiency, entrepreneurs engage famous bloggers and opinion leaders.
Commercial challenges help enhance audience loyalty, popularize the brand, and motivate the creation of user-generated content.

Examples of Hashtag Challenges

Challenge banners appear in the search section. The terms can be reviewed by clicking on the hashtag.

Brand Takeover

This is an advertisement displayed when launching the TikTok application. The banner display duration is up to 5 seconds. They occupy the full screen and can be accompanied by a hashtag or a direct link leading to the website or brand page. In its category, only one brand occupies the space daily.

Company ad banner for Too Faced, popping up when launching the application. The formats can vary:

• Video;
• Images;
• GIF animations.

In-Feed Native Video

These are full-screen advertising videos from the feed. Display time is up to 15 seconds.

They can include:

• Links;
• Hashtags;
• Calls to action. All of this is necessary for better user interaction with the content.

TopView

These are full-screen advertisement videos that automatically play with sound upon opening the social network’s mobile application. The main distinction of this format from Brand Takeover is the video’s duration. TopView lasts up to 60 seconds. It can be rewatched or skipped a few seconds after it starts playing.

Branded Effects

This is a way to uniquely represent a brand using memorable branded elements with which users will consistently interact within the network. Options for branded 2D and 3D effects include:

• Filters;
• Masks;
• Stickers;
• Lenses.

In almost all cases of launching official advertising, it’s necessary to contact the administrator beforehand and discuss terms. A contact form is available on the advertiser’s platform.

In-feed Ads can be launched and adjusted independently through the advertising dashboard.

Unofficial Promotion Methods

Native or Direct Advertising with Popular TikTokers

Promotion through influencers is a good option for entrepreneurs who aren’t keen on promoting by themselves. Partnering with bloggers and opinion leaders saves time.
When choosing an influencer, one should focus not only on their popularity but also on:

• The quality/composition of the profile’s audience;
• The ratio of comments to likes;
• The number of reactions to promotional videos (at least 5% of the total number of subscribers).

It’s crucial that the target audience aligns with the online store’s target audience. Many brands promote this way. For instance, in a video by a blogger, an Actimel package might “accidentally” appear. Videos with native advertising on TikTok tend to garner quite a lot of views. Specialized platforms exist to find influencers, such as TikTopers and Perfluence. Moreover, one can also directly contact bloggers.

Cross-Promotion

This promotion format is more suitable for expert accounts and bloggers. However, brands often engage in collaborations too.

The method’s essence is as follows:

• An entrepreneur finds an account with a similar audience and roughly the same number of subscribers/reactions/reach;
• Comes up with an idea;
• Negotiates with the partner;
• Shoots a video and tags the partner;
• Receives an active tag in return. Promotional videos should be different; otherwise, algorithms will deem them as plagiarized and won’t promote them.

Attracting Subscribers from Other Social Networks

If an online store already has many active subscribers on other platforms, it’s a good idea to invite them to TikTok using direct profile links. These links should be mentioned in posts regularly: 1-3 times a month.

TikCode

For a TikTok account, you can generate a special QR code. This is quickly done directly in the profile by clicking the three bars located in the upper right corner of the screen (from there, you should select the “QR code” button). The background color can easily be changed with a click. We recommend adding the generated code to business cards or promotional flyers. When scanned, the user will be redirected to the company’s page.
The primary rule for success across all advertising formats is creative presentation and original content. Boring, dry videos are of interest to no one and rarely yield results. Instead, use dynamic, vibrant, and lively videos. It’s precisely the emotional content that evokes the most significant audience response.

Features of Setting Up an Advertising Campaign

Let’s examine the process of setting up the In-feed Ads format, which is available for independent launch. First, you need to register on the advertising platform, providing a working email, phone number, country/region, company name, and other essential details.

Accessing the Dashboard: You’ll be able to access the dashboard after verification using a code sent to your mobile. Within the dashboard, it’s advisable to add a convenient payment method. This is where you input your card details and top up the balance to launch ads.

All settings are made in the “Dashboard” section. A three-level system includes the following parameters:

1. Campaign. Choose the objective, auction type, and set the overall budget.

2. Group. Here you need to specify where to direct the user and where to display the ad. You also set targeting criteria (demographics, audience interests). In the “Active” tab, you can create a lookalike audience using lookalike technology (you’ll need a file with original customer information for this). The last step is setting a daily or overall group budget, with a minimum of 2,000 rubles. It’s better to start with small amounts to test the campaign without significant losses.

3. Ad. Ad settings depend on the advertising goal. You can design visual creatives using templates in built-in specialized services (using the “Create” button). Then, you need to add a pixel – an HTML code that’s installed on the site and tracks the necessary metrics. Once all settings are done, you only need to accept the terms and click “Submit.”

To enhance advertising efficiency, keep it simple and remember that TikTok is primarily a platform for fun and procrastination. People come here to relax and laugh; your content should align with this. Avoid being mundane and dull; apply situational marketing focusing on positive emotions.

Conclusion

TikTok is still an untapped social network with an active young audience. Its algorithms often facilitate instant trending with virtually no advertising costs. This presents an excellent opportunity for many retail online stores, especially those not in the premium niches. Create a business profile, fill it with viral content, and test various advertising formats. With the right approach, this will attract additional customers and aid in increasing conversion rates.

Many businesses are promoted in TikTok together with WGG Agency and you can try it!