TikTok & B2B Brands… Oh No

I recently downloaded TikTok, say 3 weeks ago, after my younger sister had me help her make a video over Christmas break.

Considering I am almost 24, I am already considered “old” in the minds of TikTokers across the world. This was literally my first interaction with the application and I already felt out of touch with a whole generation that I am technically a part of (I’m on the border of being both a Millennial & a Gen Z).

It was a pretty fun experience and we were both dying of laughter by the end of it. (If you want to see the video, you can watch it here, it’s pretty dumb).

Getting lost in it is fairly easy.

Since then, I have made a couple of my own videos and scroll through the “For You” page at least once a day.

Being a social media fanatic and actually working in social media as my current profession, I am fascinated by this platform. I have had Snapchat, Instagram, & Twitter pretty much since they were born, yet this app takes the cake for most addicting — and I haven’t even had it for a month.

A user is able to “duet” with others, film a live reaction video, use other peoples’ sounds and lip-sync along to it, add text & special effects, create their own original sounds & videos, use popular songs and make up their own dances to it, and the list goes on and on and on from there.

The sheer amount of effort and creativity put into these videos is insane. Some people film one part of a video on one side of the world, document their entire travel process, and finish the video on the other side at their destination. Others give tips about something they’re an expert in — think fitness, cooking, sports, art, etc.

Brands are catching on.

It was just recently that I saw the first product placement video hit TikTok. I’m sure there are already many, but since I’m still figuring this app out, it was personally the first I have seen.

It was on a popular creator’s page, and it was for CoverGirl. I thought to myself — “wow, millions of teens who are just getting into makeup must be following her, what a genius move by CoverGirl.” It didn’t even feel like an ad.

And an advertisement by a brand like CoverGirl (B2C) makes total sense! It’s their exact target market, they will get millions of eyeballs on their products, and teenagers on TikTok are extremely loyal to the influencers they follow.

When an influencer says jump, Gen Z-ers say how high.

Another example is the NFL. Rather than doing “product placements,” they actually create their own content. They feature their own players doing the popular dances, partner with influencers to create their own dances, show highlights from recent games, and more.

This is an extremely great way for an entity such as the NFL to interact with their fans and, in reality, their “end customer” — the people who buy tickets (or beg their parents to get them tickets).

In short, B2C companies (like consumer brands & sports teams)+ TikTok = a match made in heaven. As long as it doesn’t feel like an advertisement and they really engage with the communities on the app, I can see this being a very successful marketing channel for them.

B2B brands on the other hand…

I work in B2B. I am inundated everyday with B2B content. I know how it sounds, how it looks, how it feels, etc. And I figured that B2B companies would eventually start (trying) to use TikTok as a marketing channel.

For 3 peaceful weeks, TikTok was a safe haven where I could go and not even have a single thought about anything B2B, tech, SaaS, Linkedin, or anything else related to the corporate world.

This peace was short-lived. This morning, for the first time, I saw a B2B company post their own TikTok video… on Linkedin 😩.

It feels a bit like that moment when your Mom sent you a Facebook friend request.

TikTok’s 1 billion+ users are not other businesses. They are not interested in your webinar, your whitepaper, your best practices, or your SaaS software. They are teens, young adults, & real humans looking to be creative, funny, and build communities with other TikTokers.

“But these videos could generate leads for us through brand awareness” or “it gives us exposure to Gen X/Gen Y users that have accounts there.”

No.

I didn’t logon to TikTok this morning to see “Join My Webinar on XYZ Topic” or “The Undeniable Power of a Solid Sales Script” in my For You page.

I get enough of this content on Twitter and Linkedin at my office job with people’s obsession with video content and long-form posts.

So, from one Millennial/Gen Z-er to other Millennials & Boomers, just let the teenagers have this one…

Ok boomer? At least for a while.