TikTok, launched on the world stage less than three years ago, has become a go-to marketing channel for B2C brands, especially those looking to reach millennials and Gen Z consumers.
“TikTok’s authentic nature has indelibly changed the social media landscape by providing individuals with the opportunity to go viral in a more organic way,” wrote Justin Kline this month in PR Daily.
Known for lip-synching in its early days, TikTok’s estimated 1.1. billion monthly active users enjoy short
The most downloaded app on Apple’s App Store in 2018 and 2019, TikTok was the third fastest growing brand in 2020 behind Zoom and Peacock as the app became a favorite diversion for millions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The engagement on TikTok is unreal,” creator Drea Knowsbest told Vox. “All the creators on the app have very loyal fans.”
In the United States TikTok revealed in court filings last August that it has 100 million active users, up 800 percent since 2018. 50 million Americans were daily users of the app with more than 60 percent of TikTok users in the U.S. under the age 30.
Brands from Revlon to American Eagle have found a way to use TikTok influencers to tell their brand stories.
Brands used to Instagram’s “perfect life” way of content may find TikTok a refreshing change.
“TikTok is the opposite of Instagram in some important ways: Instagram is all about your most polished ‘best life’ that you put out there, and TikTok is so real, it’s so raw,” Evan Horowitz, who helped lead a viral e.l.f. Cosmetics TikTok campaign, told Vox.
Brands looking to build trust on the TikTok platform have relied on a host of influencers, some teenagers who have seen million dollar-plus paydays.
On Forbes’ first-ever list of TikTok’s highest-paid stars:
How much success can brands find on TikTok? Try e.l.f. cosmetics which saw its #eyeslipsface challenge become what Adweek called at the end of 2019 “the most influential campaign on TikTok”.
Using original music, the brand asked consumers to post videos of them singing and dancing and they responded as five million user-generated videos were posted, some from celebrities such as Lizzo and Reese Witherspoon, racking up 6 billion views.
The campaign can lay claim to:
Showing how a viral campaign can snowball, the #eyeslipsface spread to postings on other social media such as Instagram and Twitter. The original music saw more than 20 million streams on Spotify and iTunes and was played by DJs in clubs around the world.
Other brands that have used TikTik include:
In just a few weeks towards the end of 2020, an 18-year-old TikTok influencer (@hannahschlenker) created a buying frenzy for Aerie leggings after she posted a video to her 600,000+ fans.
The $45 leggings, made by an apparel brand owned by American Eagle, were highlighted in a video that quickly amassed 3 million+ views and almost half a million likes.
After the leggings went viral, there was a run on the clothing with almost all shades quickly sold out.
According to Monsters & Critics, “after Hannah Schlenker’s video went viral, many other TikTok users began uploading videos showing them wearing Aerie leggings. The clothing item took over TikTok and generated a lot of excited chatter on multiple social media platforms, including Twitter.”
Also at the end of last year, Revlon saw a product that had been on the shelf already become a sensation with #revlonhairdryerbrush going viral on TikTok.
When Yahoo.com covered the story in November 2020, more than 40 million views had been tabulated under the hashtag and earlier this month that number had doubled to more than 80 million views.
The latest brand to catch fire on TikTok is The Ordinary skin care line which saw 100,000 bottles of $11 serum sold, a whopping $1.1 million worth, in a few weeks after a TikTok user posted a video.
“Gen Z are really showcasing their buying power,” said a spokesperson for the cult brand.
A video posted by @kaelynwhitee to her 385,000 followers using the peeling solution product to treat her acne touched off the buying stampede.
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