ChicExecs Co-Founder and Co-President Kailynn Bowling shares how to use TikTok in your marketing strategy on Forbes blog. Here is an excerpt from the piece.
Once you familiarize yourself with TikTok and get comfortable with its video features, use the hottest app of the year to your advantage. It offers a few options as far as paid ads, but if you’re not implementing hashtag challenges, you’re missing out on one of the best ways TikTok can boost your brand awareness.
What is a hashtag challenge?
This unique-to-TikTok content is one of the best ways to increase your engagement and familiarize your brand with this community of users. In a hashtag challenge, users are invited to create their own content around your specific campaign. One example includes an apparel company creating a challenge around users showing how they’re wearing the brand’s denim looks. Many popular challenges utilize song or dance.
How can hashtag challenges help your brand?
TikTok boasts a huge community of content creators. When users decide to participate in a challenge, they will create their own original content and encourage others to do the same. If you’re a small business owner dreaming of your brand going viral, this is your chance. Aside from having the ability to create profound engagement, here are some added benefits:
• You can curate an abundance of user-generated content.
• You can collaborate and grow your influencer marketing profile with TikTok influencers. You’ll elevate your brand awareness as influencers known to the community encourage users to participate in your hashtag challenges.
• You can utilize this additional platform to grow your social media presence, especially with younger generations. You also have the potential to generate more traffic and leads with a new audience.
How can you set your brand up for hashtag challenge success?
Hashtag challenges are generally easy for users to participate in, but they take careful thought and planning on the part of the brand. While your challenge will receive creative and original content, it needs to have clear purpose to determine ROI.
Boost your presence with paid ad options.
Like other social media platforms, TikTok offers paid ads for brands to boost their presence. Paying to sponsor your hashtag challenge puts your message out there on the “Discovery” page. Users can simply click on your ad to be taken to your challenge. You can also select the e-commerce feature Hashtag Challenge Plus, which directs users to shop on your website.
Read Kailynn’s entire blog here.