Chances are you have heard of TikTok, the short-form video-sharing app that rose to the top of download charts, now among apps like Facebook and Twitter. As of 2019, the app has 1 billion downloads, 500 million active users worldwide, and 4 million users in Malaysia alone, with a majority of their users being under the age of 30.
The good news is that TikTok recently announced that it will soon open up the platform to advertisers. And since one of the toughest challenges marketers currently face is targeting Millenials and Gen Z, this is a prime opportunity for advertisers.
The four main ad formats available are:
Brand Takeovers
- Includes full-screen exposure when the app is launched. Ads can be in the form of still images, videos, or GIFs.
- Ads can be linked to brand’s landing page or a hashtag challenge* within TikTok.
- Ads are category exclusive: only one advertiser per category is allowed per day, e.g. GrubHub and UberEats cannot advertise on the same day.
- Success of the campaign can be measured in the form of impressions, click, and unique reach.
Hashtag Challenges
- Advertisers can attempt to start their own viral video campaigns
- Hashtag challenges will have a link that directs users to the main challenge page where they can see challenge details and featured instructions.
- *Hashtag challenges are an essential feature on TikTok. Examples of its success is Jimmy Fallon’s #tumbleweedchallenge, that garnered almost 8000 submissions and 10.4 million engagements.
- Success of the campaign can be measured in the form of video interactions, clicks, banner views, and similar user-generated videos.
In-feed Native Content
- Ads will be auto-playing, full screen, in-feed native video in the “For You” page.
- Ads will be 9-15 second skippable videos, similar to Instagram Stories ads.
- Success of the campaign can be measured by impressions, clicks, CTR, views, and engagement.
Branded lenses
- Advertisers can create filters, like on Instagram/Snapchat, that users can apply to TikToks.
At the moment, ads are in beta phase. Interested brands can only advertise via insertion orders directly through TikTok, so why should you invest in TikTok ads?
- Advertisers are more likely to stand out, as TikTok is relatively new to the business world and not saturated with advertisements.
- TikTok’s engagement is extremely high, with the company boasting 37billion views.
- The content on TikTok is less refined, with users preferring spontaneous, quirky videos to elaborate commercialised productions, allowing brands to be more creative with their ads.
TikTok’s expedited growth and popularity with the youth market, along with the rise of video engagement make it a platform to watch. We have definitely got our eyes peeled for what is to come with TikTok.
