TikTok: Is It an Efficient Platform For Marketing?

With over 1.56 billion users worldwide, it is no surprise that TikTok is ranked #5 on the list of the most used social media platforms today. From short, funny videos meant for entertainment to advertising for businesses, TikTok has a video for just about anything you can imagine. Since TikTok is used by a variety of users ranging in age and demographics, more and more businesses have become active on this platform. However, is TikTok the best way to reach targeted audience members and promote products? 

Within the app, there are several features that can help businesses reach individuals and endorse products, such as Brand Takeover ads, Spark ads and Shopping ads, to name a few. A Brand Takeover ad is a three-second image or a three to five-second video that appears as the first thing a user sees when opening the app. Another type of advertisement that can be deemed beneficial to companies is Spark ads. These types of ads leverage organic posts by boosting different types of videos to maximize their impact. Spark ads can be significantly more helpful for smaller or newer businesses because they ensure that content from the business is included in the algorithm and does not have fees, unlike paid posts. Finally, the last type of ad that I would like to note and, in my opinion, is the most successful method to promote products is Shopping ads. There are three categories of these ads which are Catalog Listing ads, Live Shopping ads, and Video Shopping ads. Among these three, Live Shopping and Video Shopping ads are the best at reaching customers because these advertisements allow the customers to view a product in real time, and if they would like to make a purchase, they can just click the link attached to the video and it will take them directly to a company's checkout page on their main website.

Overall, I believe that TikTok is a suitable platform to reach many existing and potential customers for businesses. The algorithm on the app allows companies to create content and advertise their products in an effective way. As TikTok continues to attract more individuals in the future, I expect many businesses to turn to the platform as one of their top marketing resources.