7 Coolest TikTok Marketing Trends For 2022
Launched only five years ago, TikTok, the short video-making app is a blockbuster social media platform today. According to a Forbes report, it had more downloads than any other app in the world in the second quarter of 2021. And when Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, confesses that TikTok is the future of social media, we simply concur.
When it comes to marketing to Gen Z and Millennials, TikTok’s value surpasses that of any other online networking service. But with over 1 billion active users every month and the potential of reaching an enormous audience, it is important to evaluate your brand’s success using TikTok metrics like follower count, likes, comments, total video playtime, viewer data, etc.
More so, recognizing TikTok marketing trends for 2022 is crucial for brands, especially those focusing on organic reach.
- More marketers and influencers will experiment with TikTok
Now that TikTok has a formal advertising network, brands, especially those targeting Gen Z and Millennials, will increasingly market on TikTok in 2022.
TikTok influencer marketing will also see a boom as more people become established as experts in different fields. For instance, Loren Gray, a 17-year-old American influencer and singer, landed partnership deals with Revlon, Skechers, and Hyundai because of her huge following on TikTok.
- Increase in live sessions and episodic content
Live stream sessions have become an important social media tool to keep consumers engaged. TikTok has emphasized the same by introducing the “Live” feature in the app and many innovative ways it can be used by creators to engage with the audience. Examples include TikTok Live Events, co-hosted live videos, a live countdown sticker.
Another trending content format is the creation of episodic content, i.e., a series of related videos flowing in a sequence. In other words, it is splitting a long video into small chunks as the most common video length on TikTok is still 15 seconds.
- Heavy spending on TikTok ads
With its rapidly growing user base, brands are all set to invest and experiment with TikTok ads. TikTok ads can expand your video reach and garner high engagement which in turn can boost your website traffic and leads.
Too Faced, a beauty brand, used in-feed TikTok ads to promote their ‘Lip Injection Extreme’ lip gloss through a compelling 5 second before and after product video. This won them 7.6 million impressions.
- Authenticity will be the key
TikTok is a platform for creators and communities. And that’s because authenticity is vital for success on TikTok. Users are not on TikTok for sales pitches, so TikTok marketing has to be strategized practically with the help of genuine content which includes engaging, raw videos over highly edited, curated posts.
Chipotle, for instance, knows how to be real. Their #GuacDance challenge in celebration of National Avocado Day or #Boorito campaign in honor of Halloween showed that there is no end to creating authentic content if you have the right TikTok marketing strategy.
- Branded hashtag challenges will become more popular
With a branded hashtag challenge, a brand typically creates a doable challenge possibly with their product and invites fans to submit videos in return for something free. The trick is to make the challenge fun enough to lure your followers into doing it.
Fashion brand Guess created the #InMyDenim challenge with the support of popular content creators. It urged its followers to post videos of themselves transforming from a disheveled look to a glamorous look featuring Guess apparel.
- User-generated content will take the center stage
UGC is a type of content that followers create for a brand. These followers are often brand advocates. Here too, the brand hashtag comes into play, thus fueling a brand’s popularity on TikTok.
The advantages of UGC? The content becomes more acceptable than official branded content among users as it is generated by real people. Secondly, brands find it less challenging to keep producing fresh content.
- Native content and TikTok ads will become synchronous
Native ads, i.e., paid content that aligns with the typical style and tonality of regular TikTok videos, are more favored over official TikTok ads that come with a clear signpost. However, irrespective of the type of ad, it has to be entertaining as Gen Z dislikes anything that resembles a promotional ad. Therefore, native ads often also include influencer videos where the sponsored product is placed as subtly as possible.
Marketers cannot ignore the growing popularity of TikTok and its level playing field full of opportunities. All you need is to develop an effective TikTok strategy to capitalize on these TikTok marketing trends for 2022!
