As long as big businesses can make the right content and have the best possible influencer in front of the camera, they can rake in bigger and better profit than ever.For the last few years, this has been the trend amongst social media influencers and big brands. The rise of social media has allowed businesses to target and reach more of their desired audience more than ever before.

With creative and entertaining marketing gambits, the big brands are raking in more money while spreading their influence. One of the biggest social media platforms that have been integral in spreading their influence is TikTok.

Brief History of TikTok

TikTok started as an app where users could share short lip-sync videos in 2014 with the name Musical.ly. But in 2016, a Chinese tech company named Bytedance released a similar version called Douyin in the Chinese market and as TikTok in the international market. Having understood how popular Musical.ly might be with the younger audiences, Bytedance bought and incorporated it with TikTok in 2017 which is the mainstream version of TikTok we know and use.

TikTok operates in the international market while Douyin operates in the Chinese market and Bytedance owns both apps. Currently, TikTok stands as the seventh most popular social app in the market, among others such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, and Snapchat. Also, TikTok’s valuations are at 50 billion according to Reuters, while Bytedance is at 180 billion, but it could be as high as 350 billion according to some analysts.

How TikTok Works?

The main purpose of TikTok is for its users to find themselves short and informative or entertaining videos on a whole host of subjects. To find these interesting videos for the user, they have to employ hashtags. TikTok uses a unique and curated algorithm to help users find new and interesting videos to entertain their users. While we might not know the specific workings of the algorithm, we can still make an educated guess on how it works.

All social media algorithms work with a set of variables or factors, if you will. For example:

• It uses users’ settings such as country, selected language, and type of device used
• It makes use of videos’ details like hashtags, captions, music, sounds, and genre
• It takes into accounts users’ preference of video, followed accounts, comments, etc

TikTok presents the most interesting and engaging content to its users on their For You page by mixing and matching other such variables. Each user gets their own For You page, and videos that do well have their accounts made viral. Content creators that make prank, dance, and challenge videos have a better chance of going viral since these are the types of videos that do well in TikTok. Also, using proper hashtags makes it easier to turn a video viral, allowing more users to see it.

Big Businesses using TikTok

During the time of covid has seen a massive increase in popularity and user number. For instance, in Q1 2020, the social media platform saw the most downloads, at 315 million, in a single quarter for a social media app. Currently, the platform has over a billion active users, of which a large amount consists of small and big businesses. Such a large number of businesses being active in TikTok is that it helps them collaborate with a younger audience and allows them to be creative.

According to BusinessofApps, on average, a user spends about 60 minutes per day on TikTok. With its small video duration and ease of use, users are shown diverse content, of which a percentage comes from big brands and businesses.

Based on a report from GlobalWebIndex, in 2019, 68% of TikTok users watched other creators’ content, and 55% made their own. GlobalWebIndex also states that 18% of the global population between the ages 16 and 64 use TikTok. This indicates that user interactions and collaborations are high, which means big businesses will have an easier time getting to their target audience.

For a better idea of how well big brands can interact and entice their potential client, we have here some of the biggest brands in the US and EU and how they are using TikTok to attract their specific targeted audience. We have some examples of their work to understand better how the big brands use TikTok to entice their target audience. Here are some of the biggest names in the US and EU with their TikTok marketing.

Amazon

As the biggest delivery business globally with over 40 other subsidiaries and brands under their company umbrella, they have reported over 120 billion in revenue last year. Due to their immense size and circle of influence, Amazon is always looking for new and innovative ways to better connect with their customers. One way they managed this is with TikTok video trends such as “Things TikTok Made Me Buy” and “Things You Didn’t Know You Needed Off Of Amazon.” While their official channel doesn’t have that many viewers and influence, Amazon does have a good relationship with TikTok’s top channels and influencers. Through strategic partnerships with these influencers, Amazon brings in millions of sales each quarter.

BBC Education

One of the BBC’s sun channels, BBC Bitesize, uses TikTok to better engage with school-aged audiences. They are releasing all sorts of video content ranging from exams, revisions, and on subjects such as STEM. These contents have hosts of the same or similar age to interest the young viewers directly.

The Washington Post

The US newspaper company has over one million followers who are all entertained with the latest news and educational skits. Their point person is Dave Jorgenson, also known as the TikTok Guy. He is often mentioned in other media and has amassed a sizable follower base on his own.

World Health Organization

To better prepare people during the pandemic, the WHO released a TikTok account where they regularly shared vital and often life-saving information. This information included trustworthy research results, tips for staying safe, and highlighting false information. During 2020 and 2021, these videos proved to be very helpful since they kept people safe and connected WHO with a wide range of audiences, including youths of the world.

Chipotle

In terms of recognition and praise of TikTok use, Chipotle is a common name. For example, in 2019, they held a GuacDance Challenge here; they asked their fans and customers to dance and show love for avocados. They received 250,000 videos and 430 million video starts in 6 days. Again in 2020, amid the Covid crisis, Chipotle held a “Chipotle Royalty” challenge where customers could win $10,000 if they could prove why their unique order was the best. All videos were released with the #ChipotleRoyaltly, and it featured three winning combinations in their official menu.

Future of TikTok in 2022

TikTok is looking for areas to improve themselves and venture into new areas they haven’t looked at previously. While you might not know where TikTok might be heading, some speculations have merit.

Shopping in TikTok

Currently, in-app shopping isn’t available for most TikTok users like other social apps, but that might change soon. TikTok themselves have partnered with Shopify’s leading eCommerce platform. This pilot program is available only in the US and EU, but if the reports are satisfactory, we might be using it in other countries soon. The program, in essence, allows Shopify merchants to reach customers in TikTok directly and boost their sales. In addition, the whole process will work through TikTok and allow for in-app shopping.

Longer Videos

This is the common and legitimate idea that might be implemented by TikTok, which is a longer video duration. There have been reports that TikTok is working to increase its video duration. This will allow big and small brands to keep their audiences’ attention longer, leading them to entice better. In addition, longer videos mean they can also include multiple products and services in their videos for greater impact.

Conclusion

All social apps can increase big businesses sales, but with TikTok, there is a greater chance of targeting and hooking to a broader range of people. With the chance of getting more customers through TikTok, big businesses are doing better than ever. TikTok’s influence over the business has reached 14% of all marketers encouraging using it for effective social media marketing.

Written by Syed Hossian