If you're going to market your CPG brand on TikTok, you want to do it right. As a marketing tool, TikTok can be a powerful way to build brand loyalty and get young people interested in your brand.
If you do it wrong, however, you could end up having your brand mocked or, much worse, relegated to the dust bin of other content considered irrelevant by those on the platform. Here are several mistakes you should avoid when using TikTok for CPG marketing.
1. Videos that look too good.
TikTok is a come-as-you-are platform, and its users value authenticity above just about everything else. Your videos don't need any real production value other than decent lighting and clarity. Save your fancy sets and professional-looking backgrounds for some other venue that will appreciate them.
2. Ignoring influencers and user-generated content.
On TikTok, personalities are king over brands and everything else. If you don't have an influencer ready to put in a good word for your product, chances are you might not be ready for TikTok marketing. To a slightly lesser but still significant extent, user-generated content is also powerful on a platform that is made up mostly of normal people's videos.
3. Videos that aren't fun.
One key truth about TikTok is that users are not on the platform to be sold to. Any marketing message you attempt on TikTok has to be subtle and fun. Humor is great, irony is great, and if anyone says your videos are "a vibe," you know you are on the right track (even if you don't know what they mean).
4. Ignoring hashtags.
A major way people find your content on TikTok is through hashtags, so you should be sure to optimize them on every post. Look for trending topics and capitalize on the ones that have a relationship to your content. Even better, you could create content that fits into hashtag challenges and trending hashtags so that the greatest number of people find your content.
5. Running paid ads without research.
Paid ads work differently on TikTok. For one thing, users can swipe past them and skip them much more easily than on other platforms, and many of them do. For another, there is a minimum of $500 required to run a TikTok ad campaign, so your budget must be adequate to cover these costs. In order to get a return on your investment, your ad content must blend in and have the same fun vibe as the other videos on the site, and this is not an easy thing to do.
Whatever you do, don't write off TikTok as a viable marketing venue without first giving it a shot. If you can crack the TikTok code, you could find yourself with an extremely loyal following that will grow itself with little to no effort on your part other than having fun and sharing it with others. What could be better than that?
Want to learn more about TikTok marketing for your brand? Fill out the form below to Download our free "Roadmap for TikTok Marketing for CPG Brands" now.
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Hangar12 has lots of experience in helping CPG brands market themselves and their products. Subscribe to our blog to stay up to date on all the latest information and marketing trends.
Topics Digital branding, Social Media, CPG Trends