TikTok: new advertising medium for Generation Z

TikTok is one of the most successful social networks today and, especially, among Generation Z. For this reason, many brands are betting on TikTok for their advertising campaigns, however, it is important to take into account certain aspects to ensure the achievement of objectives and success of the campaign.

What is TikTok?

Currently TikTok is positioned as the favorite social network among teenagers and “influencers” around the world.. It is an application that allows you to share one-minute videos, which encourage creativity and humor.

TikTok has experienced very rapid growth, the success of this social network is due to the fact that it allows greater involvement and interaction with the user. It was born more oriented towards musical content, but the content and theme is increasingly broader. It is a very intuitive social network that allows you to edit videos without prior knowledge and is becoming the preferred alternative to Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube, especially among adolescent audiences.

Tik Tok Owner

The owner of TikTok is a Chinese company called Bytedance, which has several social networks, but, without a doubt, the most successful and with the most impact is TikTok. In 2017, the company Bytedance bought Musica.ly, a social network that consisted of creating videos that could include effects and different speed rhythms of sound and voice.

In this way, there was merger between Musica.ly and TikTok, in this way the contents were expanded and the themes, from this moment, are more varied and the users have increased exponentially. In addition, a transfer of data was carried out, so no users were lost, since no user had to start from scratch.

How does TikTok work?

As has been explained, TikTok is a very intuitive social network that sharpens the ingenuity of its users and them helps boost your creativity. To watch videos and have a good time, it is not necessary to register or create a user profile. However, if what you want is to publish your own videos, the first thing you have to do is create your user profile.

The operation of TikTok is very similar to that of Instagram, once you access the application you will find an exploration page, where you can search for users or hastags. On the other hand, you will find a camera icon, in that section you will be able to record your own videos and use the effects that you like the most. Videos can be recorded in parts, to be able to record different takes in the same video.

For one year now, TikTok has seen huge growthDue to the pandemic and confinement, thousands of users have signed up for the social network. TikTok has introduced current themes and has a very high capacity for its users' videos to go viral.

TikTok Content

TikTok content is very varied and has been adapting to the times, responding to the search intentions and demand of its users. For this reason, the content that you can find on this social network is broader and more diverse every day, from music videos and montages, to comedy videos and with special effects. In addition, duets and challenges are increasingly popular, which have acquired a special boom during the confinement caused by covid-19.

Generation Z on TikTok

Generation Z is known as those born in the late 90s and early 2000s.. It is characterized by being a generation that was born at the beginning of the digital age and, therefore, is a digitalized and hyperconnected generation, who needs to display their creativity, and be a participant in their own content.

Generation Z uses social networks regularly and they are part of their daily lives.Therefore, it is important to create content that connects with their interests and concerns to get closer to them. For this generation, the “influencer” phenomenon is something very close to home, which is configured as a reference and as an inspiration and source of entertainment.

As explained, this Generation Z is characterized by constant interaction, and among its objectives is to grow on social networks, create content with impact, as well as appear in the top search positions on social networks.

Advertising on TikTok

Launching advertising campaigns on TikTok can bring benefits to companies, since it is currently one of the social networks with the largest number of users and, therefore, the greatest reach, in fact TikTok already surpasses Twitter and Snapchat in number of users.

It has numerous features that can make it invest in advertising on TikTok be a good idea, since each user spends an average of more than 50 minutes a day on the social network. However, when it comes to launching advertising campaigns on TikTok, it is necessary to take into account certain aspects to ensure campaign effectiveness. Firstly, the age of the audience you are targeting, since almost 70% of users are under thirty years old, and since it is a new format, it is important to adapt the campaigns to this format and make unique and attractive advertisements.

Advertising formats on TikTok

When launching your advertising campaign on TikTok you have to assess which format best suits your objectives. Depending on the characteristics of the campaign, There are different advertising formats on TikTok. First of all, the format TopView, which attracts the user's attention through the combination of sound, narrative and visual elements.

On the other hand, another of the most effective formats are in-feed ads, consist of videos with automatic playback, which encourage interaction with the user through comments and “likes”. Unlike this one, the format Brand Takeover, plays when you open the app and is limited to one advertiser per day.

One of the most attractive formats is Hashtag Challenge, through which brands propose challenges to users that must be shared using a specific hashtag. One of those preferred by users is the Gamified Branded Effect, since it has more than twenty filters, through which the user can interact with the brand. Lastly, the Branded Lenses, allows the brand to create personalized augmented reality filters, which users can use and include in their content.

As explained, TikTok is one of the social networks preferred by young people and adolescents today, therefore, it is important to take into account the characteristics of this audience when launching advertising campaigns.