Over the last few years, TikTok has taken the world by storm. It is one of the most downloaded apps today. But many people think that the fact that TikTok is merely an app that allows short looping and lip-synced videos, means its popularity has to be some sort of a passing fad. Isn’t it just meant for peppy teenagers trying to seek attention? Not really.
If you believe that TikTok is just a social media platform for lip-syncing, twerking teenagers, and not an ideal channel for your business, you are likely missing out on a goldmine of an opportunity. In this guide, let us debunk some of the most common misconceptions about TikTok.
Myth #1: TikTok is Only Meant for Young People
TikTok was designed as a visual medium featuring brief video segments that are between 15 and 60 seconds long. It did gain almost overnight popularity among the Gen Z crowd that was tired of watching dull, uninteresting product videos. With that said, in 2021, 36% of users on TikTok were aged between 35 and 54 years old. And 67% of TikTok users are actually over the age of 25. If your business caters to people under the age of 60, TikTok can be a source of massive customer leads and insights for you.
Myth #2: TikTok is Inappropriate for Serious Businesses
While it’s true that a lot of content on TikTok is light-hearted and comedic in nature, its users also have a healthy appetite for educational and serious content. The platform is always expanding its partnerships with business and educational organizations like Kantar, Shopify, and Quizlet to help business owners maximize their digital presence.
Also, TikTok is home to a wide range of users with varying interests, meaning you can find a niche here for almost anything. For example, some of the most popular categories on TikTok include life hacks, fitness routines, beauty tutorials, pet videos, and cooking recipes. This is proof that TikTok works for brands across different industries.
The TikTok algorithm also does all the work for you: your videos are shown to users who already watch the type of content you make. At the end of the day, your goal should be to share valuable content in an engaging way; it doesn’t matter what topic it is pertaining to.
Myth #3: It’s Tough for a Business to Go Viral on TikTok
It’s not easy to go viral on any platform, period. TikTok works on a machine-learning algorithm, which means you need to commit to it. You can’t just create one piece of spectacular content on your TikTok ad account and expect it to drive huge ROI right out of the gate. Play the long game: gather insights, test out new strategies, and optimize the existing ones to see what works and what doesn’t – which is exactly what we do at Next Level Marketing.
We are not making this point to discourage you. The other side of the coin is anyone can go viral; we have clients who only had a handful of followers but they ended up getting millions of views on a profound video. The point is, don’t just expect to go viral within a few days of opening your TikTok business account.
Myth #4: It’s Just a Passing Fad
Many social networks have come and gone (remember Bebo or Google Buzz?) in the last few years, so it’s natural to wonder whether the TikTok app will also fall prey to an untimely demise.
Well, there is always a possibility that could happen but does it really matter? As of today, TikTok has more than 1 billion monthly active users who won’t stop craving short-form video content even if the platform disappears. The popularity of TikTok clearly indicates that its users are not going anywhere.
And even if they do, people have become so hooked to that bite-size, entertaining content format, they will just jump to a new platform that offers the same. Either way, all you need to do is create engaging content. If you’ve built your brand the right way, no rise or fall of a single medium will knock it down.
Myth #5: TikTok Videos are Too Short to be Engaging
How engaged can you become with a business by watching a 15-second video? This is one of the biggest misconceptions surrounding the platform that its users couldn’t possibly be that invested if they are consuming dozens of videos within a matter of minutes.
Okay, first of all, you can now create videos on TikTok up to 10 minutes long. Secondly, there is actually a study that found that in-feed ads on TikTok are far more memorable than those on TV and other social media platforms. Your TikTok audience might be more immersed in your content compared to other audience on other channels.
This study also revealed that you don’t need a huge budget to create a good-performing video. In fact, brands are encouraged to be raw and unfiltered to seem more relatable.
Myth #6: Small Businesses Cannot Generate Sales on TikTok
Again, not true. Thanks to the changes that were recently rolled out, it is now easier than ever to make money from TikTok video marketing. TikTok Business launched its Small Business Resource Center (SMB) in 2020 to help small business owners grow their following, reach new audiences, and generate more sales. You can access multiple case studies through your TikTok Business Center Account showing how some of the most successful small businesses became that way using TikTok ads and creating videos.
Because of the unique style of its content, TikTok also allows you to unleash your creativity and market your offerings in exciting ways that you may not have imagined before.
Ready to Use TikTok to Grow Your Business? Contact Us Today.
We hope this short guide helped you understand that TikTok is a legit competitor to Instagram and Facebook in terms of customer engagement. TikTok mobile app now has more than 2 billion downloads in the app store. The driving factor behind their success is their incredible algorithm, which uses Artificial Intelligence to make video recommendations customized to users’ perceived interests. This tailored content feed self-starts the moment the app opens, keeping the user hooked to it for hours.
At Next Level Marketing, we help you drive sales quickly by leveraging this TikTok algorithm and reaching your target audience at the right time with the most relevant content. New trends are bombarding TikTok every day – unless you have a dedicated team continuously designing and implementing your TikTok ad campaigns, you’re going to burn out.
We have a deep understanding of the current TikTok trends and its algorithm and we work overtime to guarantee you a better presence, faster results, and bigger profits. To get started, call us at 1(844)-736-6398 or send us a message online.