How TikTok is Taking Over and What This Means for Digital Marketing

Social media is constantly changing with new platforms coming in and rising in popularity every year. TikTok is one of these new social media platforms, and it’s one of the most popular networks of 2019. TikTok is currently the world’s most downloaded app, and its popularity is only expected to grow. For those of you still in the dark about this new social platform, TikTok is a video sharing app that allows its users to share 15-second videos that could be funny, artistic, musical in nature, dancing, and more. The app originally gained popularity with high schoolers and middle schoolers. It was originally founded in China, but in 2017 it made its way to the U.S. bringing major changes to the social networking world as well as pop culture. In 2018, TikTok broke records by achieving 100 million downloads just within the first half of the year. 

With every new social platform that gains popularity, digital marketers have to consider the possibility of marketing on that platform. The quicker marketers utilize platforms such as TikTok, the faster they can get ahead of the competition and potentially gain popularity for their company or companies on that network. Some companies like Chipotle have already hopped on the TikTok train by creating “challenges” on the platform for their customers to do. One of these challenges was having people dance for free guacamole in honor of National Avocado Day. To get the free guacamole, customers had to post a video of them dancing on the app with the hashtag #GuacDance. Chipotle was the first restaurant chain to partner with TikTok in the U.S. Its first challenge was in May of 2019, and it resulted in Chipotle’s highest digital sales day. Stephanie Purdue, vp of brand marketing for Chipotle, says about the company’s arrival on Tik Tok, “Our digital sales have grown significantly — we’re up 99% versus last year — and they now represent about 18% of our sales. Half of our customer base is Gen-Z and millennial, so it’s important for us to show up where they are. We really like being in unexpected and uncluttered spaces, and we felt like TikTok was one of them.” Chipotle plans to continue pursuing the market on this platform, and it also plans to significantly increase its digital marketing budget in the hopes of reaching more and more social networking users.

Starting TikTok with your company can help to maintain consistent communication with your customers which can help your company reap social and financial benefits. Almost half of all Gen-Zers are online for more than 10 hours a day which means leaving popular social networks like TikTok out of your marketing plan could be preventing you from reaching an audience that could be an important part of your consumer market. TikTok may not work for all companies depending on what demographic you are trying to reach, but understanding the platforms your customers follow is an essential part of business strategy and digital marketing. Breaking into the market on those platforms can allow greater communication between customers and the company and increase social growth overall.

If you are trying to figure out which social media platforms are best for you, we, at the Ad Leaf, can help. We are proud to say we know all the ins and outs of the digital marketing world. We make it our priority to find the best social networks to fit your business and to fit your customers. Let us help you navigate the difficult world of digital marketing. To schedule your consultation today, please call us at (321) 255-0900.