Many large global consumer brands are increasingly looking to short-form video sharing app TikTok to expand their marketing campaigns at a lower price. Brands including Coca Cola, Calvin Klein, FIFA, and Sony all looked to the Chinese social media platform TikTok to run cheaper influencer marketing campaigns. Google Trends data shows that TikTok is gaining momentum and the global interest is already on par with Snapchat, although it still has a lot of work to do to catch up with the likes of Instagram. According to market analysis, TikTok is increasingly seen as a way for brands to reach its existing 120 million active monthly users without having to spend much money. Due to a strong focus on localised content, along with easy content creation, sharing, and viewing, and recent celebrity endorsements, TikTok’s popularity seems to be growing, reaching over four million users in the UK alone. A report from App Annie reveals that TikTok ranked fourth overall in the world’s most downloaded apps across iOS and Google Play stores in Q1, and in January 2019, was reported to be the most downloaded Android app in the US, overtaking Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat.  

“Young people are incredibly hard to reach and brands need to be seen where these people are, to connect with them, form a bond and ultimately want them to buy their products. Given the platform is so new, there isn’t really a set pricing model,” commented James Hacking, founder and head of innovation at Socially Powerful.

“TikTok is substantially more affordable than Instagram. A lot of brands are still learning and understanding TikTok’s potential value,” Tom Peters, head of influencer marketing at Social Chain told The Telegraph.Social Chain told The Telegraph that it estimates that a TikTok influencer with between one million and 2.5 million followers could make in the region of £500 to £800 for a post, whereas an advertiser would expect to pay £8,000 to £10,000 on Instagram.

“Instagram has firmly bedded in, it’s a mature product and currently is an incredibly noisy platform, standing out from the crowd isn’t easy, with a lot of ‘samey’ content and organic reach being stifled, it’s harder than ever before for influencers and brands to talk to their audience,” continued Hacking.

Whereas Hacking believes on TikTok “the hype is real, people have really bought into it; they create user-generated content to take part in trends, and audiences will follow these trends to actively seek out content. It’s far more interactive, visual and engaging right now, especially for younger audiences.”

The app has come under fire within the last year, with a record-breaking US Federal Trade commission fine after being accused of illegally collecting personal information from children under 13. It also recently faced the risk of a ban in India over claims of that the app spread pornography, however, the ban has now been lifted. Nonetheless, the platform is continuing to grow in popularity and has a large outreach for influencers and popular brands looking to connect with their audiences.

“In essence, if you know where to look, who to work with and how to market on the platform, there is a tremendous value to be had – which is the same as every social platform, but the reach and engagement on TikTok is at present far greater value,” concluded Hacking.

Have you looked to Tik Tok for your influencer campaigns? If so, let us know how you got on in the comments section below.

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