How to Use TikTok to Reach Gen Z
TikTok’s explosive success is surprisingly paired with a target audience that, until recently, has gone largely untapped. Much of this can be attributed to the underestimation and misunderstanding of Generation Z by businesses. Brands have found them to be an incredibly difficult demographic to connect with, but TikTok seems to be the potential foot in the door that brands need to successfully market their products to Gen Z. So exactly how is this done?
- Meet them on their level.
As consumers, Gen Z values creativity, authenticity, engagement and consistency. They care about relatability and trends, which means that brands have to stay current. Influencers are the best way to do that.
TikTok influencers aren’t like traditional influencers on other platforms. Despite its “social media app” classification, TikTok’s primary draw is entertainment. Being funny, innovative and relevant is social currency, not beauty and money. TikTok influencers are trendsetters for the everyman of Gen Z rather than the “elite” influencers we typically find on the Instagram popular page.
This means that consumers aren’t interested in traditional advertising. Users want to see new memes and funny content when they open the app, and ads can encumber that experience, making them resentful. Therefore subtle product placement and creative marketing is a must: For example, E.L.F. commissioned an original song about their products, using influencers as the face — and the associated hashtag soon amassed over 3.8 billion uses (Doyle, 2020). It resonated with Gen Z more than traditional beauty product commercials.
Influencers already understand the app’s culture and are aware of the latest trends, thus partnerships with them can be extremely effective. According to Influencer MarketingHub, influencers charge anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000 to partner with brands; a single video promotion averages between $200 to $20,000 depending on their follower count. Compare this to Youtube, where influencers charge similar prices — sometimes twice that if they’re extremely popular — and TikTok influencers are a very cost-effective way to raise brand awareness (WebFX, 2020).
As of February 2020, 60% of TikTok users are Generation Z (Doyle, 2020). That’s 480 million monthly active users. TikTok sets the trend for a generation. If you want your brand name associated with the next trending hashtag, it’s time to ask influencers for help getting creative.
2. Trust a different ROI metric than you might be used to.
What do you strive for as a brand? Bettering consumers’ lives, sure, but the main way to measure that is through sales. However, when it comes to TikTok, you’ll have to look at engagement — views, hearts and user-generated content — to determine success.
In some cases, brands see a measurable profit after going viral on TikTok. In the spring of 2019, Marc Anthony True Professional experienced a 60% surge in sales on their Strictly Curls Curl Defining Lotion and a “significant increase” in other products in the same product line. How? They had unwittingly become a TikTok meme that gained over 4 million views (Graham, 2019).
Most of the time, though, the correlation between views and sales isn’t as clear-cut as it was for Marc Anthony True Professional. Chipotle, for example, used influencer marketing to start a TikTok challenge that got 104 million video starts, and the associated hashtag was used over 100,000 times. Despite the popularity, their Chief Marketing Officer, Chris Brandt, said the challenge facilitated “building the brand for the future versus driving sales overnight.”
Still, building the brand is critical with a tough target audience like Gen Z. TikTok gives you access to a market that few other brands know how to reach, and many ignore completely. TikTok’s metrics show follower counts, total likes and comments, average engagement rate, total shares, and more. When advertising on TikTok, brands should focus on these statistics that measure brand affinity and brand loyalty. This will ultimately correlate to more sales — but when it comes to your short term ROI, be prepared to track user engagement instead. It’s your best marker of success.
References:
[1] Doyle, Brandon. “19 Inspiring Brands on TikTok.” Wallaroo Media, Wallaroo, 30 January 2020, https://wallaroomedia.com/blog/social-media/tiktok-brands-examples-strategy.
[2] “How much does influencer marketing cost?” WebFX, WebFX, 2020, https://www.webfx.com/influencer-marketing-pricing.
[3] Doyle, Brandon. “TikTok Statistics.” Wallaroo Media, Wallaroo, February 2020, https://wallaroomedia.com/blog/social-media/tiktok-statistics.
[4] Graham, Megan. “Gen-Z’s favorite app TikTok is turning weird memes into money.” CNBC, CNBC, 8 June 2019, https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/07/ tiktok-prepares-to-court-advertisers-after-brands-see-viral-success.html
