As someone smack dab in the middle of the millennial generation, TikTok isn’t something many of my peers use, but its presence in the news and in daily conversations has made it impossible to ignore. If you’re not familiar with the app (no shame!), it’s a video-sharing social network where users can create short videos of themselves to share with their followers, often featuring them lip syncing, dancing, doing comedy sketches or showing off other talents. The Chinese-made app was founded in 2016 and has sky rocketed in popularity over the past two years.
This has many brands asking the titular question: should we be on TikTok? Let’s break it down. TikTok’s user base (around 800 million users) is made up of 60% Gen Zers, ages 16-24. Over 80% is under 34. They skew slightly female (again, 60%) and are extremely engaged with the app. Users average 8 app opens per day and spend around 52 minutes in the app daily (source).
The biggest question you should ask yourself, is: Is Gen Z my primary target demographic? If they are, I’d be recommend considering starting a TikTok profile for your brand, with a few caveats. When adding any new social channel to your repertoire, think about the workload that comes with it. Do you have someone who can be dedicated to creating thoughtful, on-brand content? Consider the time that will be spent engaging with users: responding to comments, following others, gaining followers. Social media is an amazing tool to reach your audience, but depending where you are in your business, you need to consider the opportunity cost.
Set clear goals from the start on what you want to accomplish with the platform, and how you’ll do it. If you have a physical consumer product, you may want to highlight fun, quick clips of people enjoying the product. If you offer a service, you could post behind the scenes videos, or quick tips that provide value or entertainment to users. Gen Zers may be young, but by next year they will be the largest generation in the US, which represents a lot of buying power.
If you want to check out a few brands who do TikTok well, I’d recommend @nba, @nickelodeon and @chipotle.
Well, I officially feel old after writing this post, but I hope you found it helpful. Happy TikToking!