We come up against the Tik Tok question all the time. The Tik Tok question is very similar to the Instagram question – should you be there? Should you invest there? And if so in what way?
Usually, organizations start thinking about TikTok as a way to tap into the younger demographic. Over the years, other platforms like Snapchat and Pinterest emerged in a similar way. But TikTok changed the game because of the uniqueness of its algorithm and formula for content creators to monetize their content.
When determining if you should invest in marketing on TikTok, the first question to ask yourself is, is your most desired customer? Your most desirable customer is where your budget should be prioritized.
When considering investing in TikTok or even Instagram (creative-driven platforms), you want to consider three key things:
Demographic – for this blog, we looked at the numbers in the US
- 32% of TikTok users are 10-19 years old
- 29.5% are 20 to 29 years old
- That means 61% of TikTok users are under the age of 30
In contrast,
- 25.1% of Instagram users are 18-24 years old
- 27% are aged 25 to 34 years old
- That means there is a higher % of adult-age users, a slightly older demographic
In contrast,
- On LinkedIn, 24.5% are 18 to 24 years old
- 50.6% are between 25 and 35 years old
- A good % of users at an age where they are more likely to be in a decision-making role within an organization
Content and Creative
Unless you have in-house content creators capable of producing video you can stand behind, TikTok and Instagram are cost–prohibitive from an organic standpoint. Algorthmes require 2-3 reels posted daily to have a chance to come up in actual Reels. Video is expensive. Are AI tools an option? Sure, but not at the expense of the brand. It shouldn’t be put out if the quality level is not there.
Is trying to target a very young demographic worth the significant investment in creative? That is a critical consideration, and it turns many mid-market companies off of prioritizing building an organic presence on TikTok.
An alternative to having a massive creative budget is not going the organic route and running paid ads. That will involve some creative, and then budget for ad clicks.
Platform Stability
While expensive from a content perspective, TikTok and Instagram also present stability issues that may mean investing in building an organic following could be like going to the casino—a total gamble.
TikTok—the reason is apparent. It is perceived as a national security threat in many countries, including the US. So, your monthly investment in content, creative, and building an organic following could end up in vain.
There are just other, more stable platforms out there.
Meta platforms like Facebook and Instagram represent stability challenges for different reasons. They have very prohibitive algorithms, and should they pick up content it perceives as against its terms (and it gets it wrong a lot) or, more nefarious, a competitor or angry customer rallies people to report your account… it is boom, bye-bye organic investment.
If this happens to your account, you may find getting your organization’s account back challenging unless you have a considerable investment in paid ads on Meta and the ability to connect to business services. We saw this happen with an international security consulting company with an Instagram video that the algorithm flagged as violent content. They were security training videos. They had thousands of followers and never got their account back. They came to us because they wanted a social strategy that didn’t rely on Meta.
Unless you have tens to hundreds of thousands to throw at social media testing different markets – focus your budget on a stable platform where you can dominate, yield results, and where organic efforts are far more secure.
We are massive LinkedIn fans here at Pulsion, and so are our clients. This is because most of our clients sell B2B (though LinkedIn is also great for B2C) in the technology space, and LinkedIn has proven to be the most stable and consistent revenue producer.
Personal experiences watching TikTok videos and the influence of younger team members at the table may make you feel obligated to invest in TikTok and Instagram.
Like any other aspect of your business, perform a marketing evaluation to determine if it is the right place for those coveted budget dollars that need to drive sales and guide your sales and marketing leadership toward a strategy that will present the best investment and yield the best results for your company.
For more information about social media strategy please visit www.gopulsion.io.