TikTok is a social media platform that’s gaining traction all over the world. It allows users to share short video clips no longer than 1 minute, with entertaining background music and sound effects. TikTok was launched by a Chinese company called ByteDance in 2016, and has since attracted over 500 million users worldwide.
In Malaysia alone, TikTok has about 4 million users, the majority of whom are under 30 years old and female. An overwhelming number of Malaysian users (about 80%) use TikTok on their Android smartphones.
TikTok has just recently launched their ‘TikTok for Business’ platform, after a short trial period with several brands active on the platform. This means tons of opportunities for TikTok marketing in Malaysia.
Tik Tok for Business functions in an almost similar manner to Facebook Ads, whereby it gives business owners a chance to post and manage ads, post and content to users according to different demographics.
These ads or content will then show up on the user’s feed, and they can find out more by watching the ads and clicking on the links provided.
Why Should Malaysian Brands Start Advertising on TikTok?
TikTok is one of the fastest growing social media platforms out there, with more and more downloads on the Apple app store and Google Play. It has been one of the frontrunners for non-game apps, making it a leading platform for many memes and online viral trends.
1. A Large Domestic and International Audience
With about 500 million users worldwide and 4 million users here in Malaysia alone, this is social media prime real estate. Parking and growing your brand here will put your in the consciousness of the local TikTok community who are young, trendy and will always be open to the next viral trend.
If you can position your brand message in a short and attention grabbing way, you have the potential to reach a market that goes beyond TikTok advertising in Malaysia too. The possibilities are endless.
2. TikTok: Where GenZ Users Gather
With an increasing number of younger users, TikTok is set to overtake many other social media platforms as the years go by. Right now, a significant majority of users are under the age of 30. In fact many of them are within the 16-24 bracket.
However, in a span of 5 years, this demographic will be in their mid-20s to early 30s. Their spending power will be higher too. So in order to establish your brand in their collective consciousness, you should start as soon as possible.
3. GenZ’s Impressive Spending Power
Despite being young, GenZ actually has quite impressive spending power. GenZ are currently defined as those who are about 26 years old and younger, with many of them still studying. This does not stop them from spending online and offline.
In fact, statistics have found that GenZ actually makes up 40% of consumers in the US in the year 2020. They spend up to $44 billion annually, and some of it could definitely be yours.
As marketers, it is wise to start understanding the consumer habits of GenZ social media users, starting with data that suggest that they have a shorter attention span than Millenials. However, they’re willing to spend online much more freely than their older counterparts.
4. A Large and Untapped Digital Marketing Opportunity
To be frank, TikTok has never been the ‘go to’ social media marketing platform for many brands.Many brands would rather target other social media platforms where older consumers gather, such as Instagram or Facebook.
This makes TikTok a large untapped market. Your brand and your ads have a higher potential of standing out and being noticed. This is because TikTok is not saturated with ads, unlike many other social media platforms.
With the new ‘TikTok for Business’ section, you’ll also be able to access data that TikTok has gathered about demographics and the efficacy of your marketing plan, thereby allowing you to improve your strategy in the long run.
What Type of TikTok Content Works Well?
TikTok advertising takes on a whole different form and concept as compared to other social media platforms. For starters, TikTok ads are typically very clear and very brief. It is graphic-centric with very little texts and links interested users to sites with more information, such as a website.
TikTok for Business allows you to create several types of ad contents, each of which have a different approach to the target market. Here are the types of marketing content found on TikTok.
1. Brand Takeover
Brand takeovers are full screen TikTok ads that appear on TikTok immediately after the app is opened.. Brand takeovers last from 3-5 seconds and they’re either static images or very short animations without sound.
They often link to a website or another page. Sometimes, they present another content like a hashtag challenge, which we will see later.
Brand takeovers are very limited, meaning only one brand is allowed per category per day. For example, in Malaysia, Dominos Pizza is allowed to have a brand takeover in the food category for up to 24 hours. No other food brand will appear on TikTok ads in Malaysia for that particular day.
2. TopView Ads
TikTok TopView ads are similar to Brand Takeovers in that they appear when users start the app. The main difference is that they last much longer, from 5-60 seconds.have music in the background.
TopView ads also allow viewers to interact with it more, like leaving comments, likes and follows for the brand’s TikTok page. They also link to the brand’s landing page, on whatever platform the brand chooses.
As they last much longer and usually invite more traffic than brand takeovers, so they also tend to cost more.
3. In-feed Ads
In-feed ads appear while the TikTok user is scrolling through their daily ‘For You’ video feed recommendations. It is usually based on which accounts the user follows.
For example, if the user follows a lot of beauty or cosmetic influencers, much of the in-feed ads would be beauty or cosmetic themed. In-feed ads is the way that many TikTok users discover new pages and personalities to follow, so it has a lot of potential to increase brand consciousness.
4. Branded Effects
Another way that brands can promote themselves on TikTok is by designing their own filters. This filter can be a funny, interactive and even educational filter that users can add to their own videos.
They can carry your brand name outright, or be related to a marketing campaign that you’re running. Filters like this should be made compatible with 2D, 2D Pro pr 3D video formats.
They’re a great way for TikTok users to have fun while spreading the message of your brand through their own content.
5. #Hashtag Challenge
There are several ways to start a hashtag challenge. You can spread the word on your own TikTok page to your own followers, and see it being picked up by others. Alternatively, many brands launch a hashtag challenge via a TopView of Brand Takeover ad.
Hashtag challenges are one of the most common ways for brands to increase awareness. If the challenge is interesting enough, TikTok users would usually pick it up and make their own content based on the challenge.
Hashtag challenges usually take on various creative concepts, such as striking poses, doing certain dances, or making certain crafts.
Pepsi started the #pepsicanchallenge to get TikTokers to balance Pepsi cans successfully. Source: TikTok
Want Successful TikTok Ads? Let Us Help You
TikTok ads that are well-crafted as well researched will greatly benefit your brand. Optimizing your marketing strategy and TikTok advertising will require some expertise. One Search Pro is here to help you with the right data and tools.
We have a dedicated digital marketing team that fully understands the dynamics of TikTok, as well as other social media platforms. We will be able to help you grow your brand digitally so you can stay relevant with consumers of all ages.
