How to Target Older Users on TikTok

Most businesses will say that marketing to older users on TikTok simply isn’t an option. We’re constantly being told that this is a platform for the youth and those wanting to advertise to an older audience should reconsider. However, we don’t believe that this is the case, and TikTok agrees.

Recently, the platform published some interesting insights as well as advice on how to target older users.

Read More: Why TikTok Ads are the Future

Older Generations on TikTok

There’s no denying that the majority of TikTok users are younger people; the 18–24 group is one of the biggest. However, the pandemic created an environment that may not have existed otherwise. Older generations want to stay in touch with loved ones and friends, so they’re turning to social media to achieve this.

With more people isolated from the world, both parents and grandparents (with a little help from younger family members!) are investing in mobile devices and signing up to platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and even TikTok.

Many parents are enjoying the community feeling that comes with TikTok while following trends that arise. As a result, we’ve seen the following hashtags on the platform:

• Granniesoftiktok
• Daddycool
• Dadsoftiktok

While some parents seek to embarrass their children (a favorite pastime for many!), others just enjoy browsing content, following trends, and keeping up with friends.

Would this have happened without the pandemic and social distancing? It’s impossible to know, but the industry has started to react to older generations and their presence on TikTok. When the app first entered the minds of marketers, people would have laughed at the suggestion of including older users in a strategy. Now, it’s becoming common practice across the Western world.

If you need a reason to include older users in your TikTok marketing plan, just look towards Apple Music and ESPN, two multinational corporations that have expanded their communications on the platform. Right now, the content they share caters to mature fans as well as younger users.

While ESPN has started to show highlights from older sports events, Apple Music has focused on music from the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s. In a recent campaign, Apple Music paired older music with a newer beat and managed to engage both the older and younger audiences together.

In China, dance-based videos are just as popular as here in the United States. However, those born in the 1960s upload more dance-based videos than any other decade.

The United States TikTok Market

While this stat from China is impressive, you’re more interested in the demographics in the United States. Well, it’s true that 18–24 years of age is still the biggest category on TikTok with just over one-quarter of TikTok users in this age range. Next, just under one-quarter are between 25 and 34. But, these two stats only tell half the story (literally!).

While 20% of users are between 35 and 44, a combined 29% are over 45 years of age. While the 45–54 and 55–64 groups share 13% each, 3% of all users are over 65. Therefore, there are plenty of opportunities to target older users on TikTok, despite what everybody might be telling you.

Advice and Insights from TikTok

Thanks to TikTok, we don’t just know that older people are using the app, we also know how they’re using it. In particular, there’s a focus on family with older users. While most younger users might log into TikTok alone and enjoy a solitary experience, parents and grandparents like to get the whole family involved. When older users encourage them, even teenagers join in.

Remember the days of grandparents and parents trying to get all the children in a photograph to sit still and look at the camera? Just when you thought the routine had been perfected, a silly Uncle pulled a face, and you were back to square one. Well, it seems as though dance routines and challenges are the new family portrait. After tapping into TikTok, it doesn’t take long before you see a grandma join a choreographed routine.

We aren’t saying that TikTok is suddenly the best route to approach grandparents and older generations — there are better options, such as Facebook (a platform that contains around 60% of all internet users over 65). However, you shouldn’t immediately discount TikTok and assume that you can’t reach older audiences at all.

It seems as though every month new data releases, proving the connection between older users, families, and TikTok. In a world of lockdowns and stay-at-home orders, people have rediscovered fun through TikTok, taking them back to a younger age.

We mentioned a couple of hashtags, and TikTok revealed that #family receives 67 billion views on the platform alone. What’s more, #momsoftiktok gets 44 billion views while #dad gets 25 billion views. There’s nothing to say that you can’t enjoy a slice of this action through your own marketing campaign. Elsewhere, #momlife receives 20 billion views while #familytime and #parenting get eight and four billion views respectively.

As well as funny dancing videos, the hashtags above show that there’s also a market for tips and advice. Many parents and grandparents are sharing their life experiences, parenting hacks, and other tips with TikTok audiences.

How to Target Older Users on TikTok

With all of this in mind, how do we put this new information into action? If we look at parents first, there are a few common searches and niches that they are drawn to. For example, this includes snack products and other food items, home appliances, cars, businesses, and groceries. Parents post about these areas and also respond to them when advertised.

Currently, we’re still in the early stages of older users on TikTok. Therefore, you must keep an eye on the trends, hashtags, and what these users consume on the platform. However, what you should know is that there’s an audience crossover that exists. If you make short product recommendation videos, you’re likely to get some attention, especially when these videos appeal to parents, kids, and entire families.

In the future, the whole market seems to expect more and more older users on TikTok, and they will gradually move into all sorts of consumer categories. This is huge news for marketers because it could further open up TikTok as a marketing opportunity — something we bet you thought you would never hear.

To finish, we want to look at some of the best marketing techniques. Regardless of your audience, look into these features and decide which your audience will enjoy the most.

Brand Takeover

Although unlikely to be available to smaller brands, this is where users open the app to find an ad for a few moments. Once these first few seconds are over, it moves into an in-feed video ad where users can scroll past or continue watching.

Read More: Branding Strategy 101: How to Scale Your Brand Quickly

In-Feed Video

Just as we see on Facebook and other platforms, this ad is placed into the feeds of users. One of the biggest benefits is that it has a similar appearance to other videos in the feed. Therefore, it’s produced as high-quality content to further the consumer experience rather than appearing as a blatant (and frustrating!) ad that is interrupting.

As the platform has advanced, it has opened more options for users, including ‘order now’ buttons and website links. If the user likes what they see, they can click through to your website or the order page. As an advertiser, monitor performance by assessing total views, click-through rates, impressions, engagement, and video viewing time.

Read More: TikTok is No Longer Allowing Users to Opt Out of Personalized Ads

Branded AR Content

Want to create a sticker for users to enjoy in their own content? This is now an option, as well as branded lenses and various other pieces of AR content. Unfortunately, this is a single category on the app, meaning that you’ll need a solid reputation and a slice of luck to make it as the single brand for a day.

Hashtag Challenge

Finally, we believe the best way to engage older users is with hashtag challenges. Why? Because we’ve already seen that older users are more likely to get their whole family involved in the experience. Create a fun challenge for families and watch as the responses flood in. Parents will get their own parents and children involved, you’ll use a special hashtag to monitor engagement, and the brand gets the exposure it deserves.

TikTok is changing, and we recommend keeping an eye on how these changes develop if you have an older audience. Previously you would have been right to discount TikTok in your marketing strategy, but this is now a big mistake (and it will only get bigger!).