Author: Steffen Meyer, Mobile Marketing Content Specialist
TikTok? Isn’t this the video platform with all these hashtag challenges and trends that make users watch video after video without ever leaving the platform? Why should I as an app marketer care about it? I want to acquire users, not just advertise my brand.
Well, if you think that way, you missed quite the development in the last two years. At our Berlin Mobile Marketing & Growth Meetup, Nadia Khafajova busted the myth that TikTok is mainly used for brand building and gave an introduction to the basic principles of app marketing on this platform.
A video platform you can’t ignore
Nadia is Client Solutions Lead for Apps at TikTok and knows that some still perceive TikTok as a sole network for entertainment that doesn’t lead to conversions. But according to Nadia, this isn’t true. A lot of app marketers used TikTok to drive their installs and it works very well for them.
TikTok has more than one billion monthly active users worldwide and was the most downloaded app in the first quarter of 2022. Many online trends originate on this very platform, sometimes affecting real-world revenue.
For example, in midst-2021 lots and lots of TikTok users mixed a special drink and posted videos about it under the hashtag #pinkdrink. One of the components was Hibiscus tea and most hobby mixers used the Hibiscus Bio Tea by the Volvic company, resulting in a boost in sales of about 150 percent.
Not all trends have these massive effects, though still there are many videos showcasing products that people bought because they’ve seen them on the platform. In a study by TikTok during Christmas time, 71 percent of respondents said they made unplanned purchases while using the platform.
So as a marketer you can’t ignore this platform behemoth whose users actually are willing to go shopping based on the network’s content.
Jump on trends and create TikTok-style videos
Of course, you shouldn’t bet on being the next brand featured in a viral trend but you can use these trends to your advantage. Nadia cites the example of the 2021 ‘Put a finger down’ trend which could be easily adapted. Here, people made statements and put one finger down when the statement applied to them.
“As a brand, you can use this trend to make video ads”, says Nadia. “This way your advertisement blends into the other content on TikTok and users are more likely to engage with it.”
This advice confirms our own experience at Customlytics that so-called user-generated content (UGC) performs way better than glossy agency creatives. In fact, our client WeShare saw a plus of 30% in App installs with videos that have the look-and-feel of usual TikTok videos.
At our Berlin Mobile Marketing & Growth Meetup, Khafajova explained what to look out for when shooting your ads. Here are the key points:
- 720P+ – Higher resolution for higher performance
- Sound – Capture more attention with audio
- UGC & Creators – Show real people in the ads
- 21-34 seconds – Keep your video short and sweet
- No border – Make video a perfect fit for the screen
- Vertical – Think mobile-first format
Of course, this is only the tip of the iceberg. In one of our next blog posts, we will dive in deeper and give an overview of the right bidding strategies and advanced tips, especially for app marketing.
Until then, you may reach out to our consultants who are always happy to help.
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