TikTok advertising allows companies to reach more potential customers through a unique approach. As a fellow TikTok user, I can say first-hand that I have discovered some of my favorite products on the app. Most of them, I was not even looking for. TikTok allows companies to advertise and reach potential customers in a fun and friendly way. So what are TikTok advertising costs? Just how much does it cost to advertise on TikTok? Keep reading to learn more about TikTok advertising.
What is TikTok?
In the most basic terms, TikTok is a video-sharing app. The app allows users to create their own 15-second videos on almost any topic and post them and share them with other users on TikTok, as well as with users on other social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. TikTok users are also allowed to download their own TikTok videos, or videos from other users, onto their personal devices and share them however they want using email, SMS, other messaging apps, etc.
In recent years, TikTok has soared to immense popularity, being one of the most widely used and downloaded apps for both Android and Apple devices. By October of 2020, TikTok had grown to over 732 million active monthly users globally. They are projected to reach more than 1.2-billion users in 2021.
Why has TikTok become so popular? One of the reasons TikTok has become so popular is because they were able to take video content creation and editing and make it easy and accessible to the everyday user. No need for expensive video editing software or high-powered machines to work on video projects. The 15-second videos can be made effortlessly, quickly, and they can easily be shared with anyone in the world in a matter of seconds.
TikTok is also popular because of the localized content it can contain. Although TikTok is a global app, the ability to create local contests and encourage local user participation by the use of geo-specific hashtags has allowed users to create smaller digital communities within the larger global community that is TikTok. Couple localized content with country-specific celebrity use and endorsement and people are genuinely entertained and engaged in the application at all times.
With the popularity and widespread use of TikTok not seeming to go anywhere anytime soon, it is natural that many businesses are trying to figure out a way to advertise and market their products and services within the TikTok platform.
Is TikTok a good social platform for eCommerce sellers?
TikTok has been identified as an excellent platform for many eCommerce sellers to get information out about their brand and their products into the public sphere. However, you must know your audience and demographic. TikTok advertising is best used by brands and products that have identified teenagers and young adults as their target market. For the most part, the TikTok community mainly consists of younger users.
Can you advertise products on TikTok?
Yes, you can advertise almost any product that you would like on TikTok. You can pay to have in-feed video ads displayed to end-users, or you can get creative with brand hash-tag challenges, contests, and brand takeovers. Within these main categories, you are only limited by your imagination.
What type of products can you advertise on TikTok?
Essentially, a business could advertise for almost any product they wanted to on the TikTok platform. The main catch is that, again, you need to know your target market and the main demographic of the TikTok community. For example, you may not want to advertise on TikTok for a product that is designed for people who are 65-years of age or older since the largest portion of the TikTok community is most likely under the age of 30-years old.
How do brands advertise on TikTok?
Currently, TikTok does not allow traditional ad displays, like banners for example, to appear within the application, and when comparing the platform interface to other social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, it may be extremely difficult for TikTok to compete in this realm of digital advertising. That is why TikTok has become more of a platform for companies to market their brand image to users through the creation of brand-related content and the use of celebrity or “influencer” endorsements.
Creating brand-related content could come in the form of a company creating their own content that they then pay TikTok to play intermittently through individual’s content feeds. or it could be a contest or a challenge where users submit their own videos containing a product from the brand. By using a special hash-tag, all the videos uploaded that are related to that particular contest can be easily viewed.
For example, if a new soft drink came out onto the market and they wanted to promote their brand through a TikTok contest, then maybe they could ask users to upload their most entertaining videos of themselves chugging the beverage with the hash-tag #BobSodaChugChallenge. All videos related to the contest could be easily viewed by the hash-tag, and then maybe some prize money would be awarded for the top-3 most liked and shared videos with that hash-tag on TikTok. The prize money creates an incentive for people to create brand-related content on your behalf, and the contest itself creates a buzz around the brand and/or new product being launched.
The use of celebrity or influencer endorsements to promote a brand is pretty straightforward. Companies can pay a celebrity or an influencer with a large following on the TikTok platform to create content showcasing their appreciation for the brand, or content of them simply using a product or service associated with the brand.
What is the cost to advertise on TikTok?
If you are looking for the more traditional route for advertising on the TikTok platform, which includes creating a brand-related TikTok video and paying to have it played to individual users when they are viewing their feed, it can get quite expensive fast depending on the size and scope of your campaign. The most recent figures state that at the lowest tier, TikTok advertising starts at about $10 per 1,000 views. To begin any new campaign, TikTok requires a minimum ad buy of $500.
Tips on using TikTok for eCommerce
The main things to remember for using TikTok for eCommerce include knowing that 63% of TikTok users in the US are between the ages of 10 and 29-years old. Also, the percentage of users decreases exponentially as age increases. If your product is designed for this age group, then TikTok may be an excellent platform for you to explore. If not, then not so much.
Other tips include creating engaging content and following local, region, and national trends to see how you can maximize the effectiveness of your content and reach a wider audience.
How Kickfurther can help eCommerce Sellers
Kickfurther is the world’s first online inventory financing platform that enables companies to access funds that they are unable to acquire through traditional sources. We connect brands to a community of eager buyers who help fund the inventory on consignment and give brands the flexibility to pay that back as they receive cash from their sales. This alleviates the cash-flow pinch that lenders can cause without customized repayment schedules, allowing your brand to scale quickly without impeding your ability to maintain inventory or financial flexibility.
