TikTok: It's not just for silly dances anymore

As a marketer, one of the biggest challenges I have faced in my career is the need to stay ahead of new trends and tools. Every day, there are new tactics competing for our attention, and only so many resources to go around.

So, it probably won't surprise you that my first reaction to TikTok wasn't enthusiastic. I mean, didn't they already try this with Vines? What could possibly be the business value of the short-form video platform that brought us the tide pod challenge?

But, no matter how I tried to ignore the platform, the phenomenon of TikTok continued to grow. And then, I started to see the traction brands were getting on TikTok. The stats* around TikTok as a marketing channel are compelling:

Avg revenue per post: $0.71 per 1,000 followers (86% lower than Instagram!)

Average session is 10.85 minutes, twice as much as Pinterest (#2 with 5.06 minutes)

TikTokers are:

1.5x more likely to instantly purchase something they discovered on the platform than other platforms' users

1.7x more likely to be the source for product discovery compared to other social platforms

1.4x more likely to research products/brands they find on the platform

Still not convinced? Check out this real-life example of TikTok as a marketing channel from Tuff.

The Players: Marketing Agency, Tuff, compared ROAS for their client Sabio to grow the number of qualified applications for their online coding bootcamp

The Campaign: Tuff ran ads on 8 different channels: Reddit, Google, Bing, Quora, YouTube, Facebook & Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat

The Outcome:

• CPA on TikTok was 62% lower than the CPA on other paid acquisition channels
• CPAs consistently in the $11-$16 range
• TikTok applications were slightly less qualified compared to Facebook, but the CPA was 62% lower, so it still made sense to continue to run ads on TikTok
• TikTok campaigns generated 448 total applications, 7 enrolled students @$12K, 84K in total revenue, 12X ROAS

Sounds pretty good, doesn't it? Want some more good news? You're not late. In fact, you're just in time. With the right TikTok strategy, you can still:

• Beat your competitors to the punch
• Reap the benefits of short-form video as marketing gold: repurpose, repurpose, repurpose
• Engage Gen Z
• Drive overall sales

This is your chance to overcome your fear of the unknown and jump on board what promises to be a wonderful opportunity to connect with your audience in new ways. Short-form video (of which, TikTok is king) is here to stay and learning how to adapt your messages - even your B2B messages - to fit the format will be key to your success... no silly dances required.

Want to know more? Check out the panel of experts Agorapulse pulled together to discuss why TikTok should be part of your revenue stream. In it, ??? Darryl Praill , Wave Wyld , and timdenning.com give you practical advice on how you can get started today.

Watch it for free here.

P.S. If you are interested in running paid ads on TikTok, check out this conversation I had with Blake Vita from gen.video . In it, we discuss practical tips that will help you get started.

*https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/tiktok-algorithm