Getting More Performance Out of TikTok Influencer Marketing
What do gas, groceries, and TikTok all have in common? High-value with an increasingly expensive price tag. TikTok is an expensive endeavor both in content and media buy due to its higher cost of advertising for CPM compared to other platforms. Add in content-generating influencers and a brand can quickly be looking at a spend upwards of $50,000 to $100,000. What does this investment buy you? A basic entrance to TikTok advertising, brand awareness, and the possibility of returns – but when these returns do come, they are glorious. The question is – how do we maximize them?
With 3 billion downloads, 1 billion active users, and the second highest amount of user data collected and shared after YouTube, TikTok is certainly taking the social media world by storm. Following the tech feud of the century between Apple and Meta, marketers are looking to the innovative platform more than ever to gain valuable consumer insights.
The (Literal) Age-Old Challenge of TikTok
Let’s go right ahead and address TikTok’s elephant in the room – its users remain outside of the primary consumption target for the majority of brands. With the 40-year-old millennial holding the most purchasing power and representing the economic driving force in America, this falls outside of the under 39 year old age range which comprises 69.1% of TikTok. That is not to say that the 24-year-old Generation Zers, touted as tastemakers and the group with the most influence on consumer behavior, are not important – they will be replacing millennials in 10-years time as the highest spenders in the future, after all; however, they are not the sales-generating powerhouses of today.
Brands want to participate in innovative platforms, however, they demand returns for their advertising beyond just views and impressions. This is where the need for a TikTok influencer remarketing solution comes in – the ability to leverage mass brand awareness by having an influencer generate relevance and content to their large following in an entertaining way, but then be able to follow-up and retarget those that have actually viewed their video or come to site and decided not to purchase. Previously, remarketing was limited to a see video, come to site, retarget on other platforms sequence. Influencer remarketing should be native – with remarketing representing a 10-25% lift in converted-to-cart interactions and completed transactions inside the purchasing funnel, this will help drive returns and bring valuable users back.
TikTok = Brand Awareness
What is TikTok’s true selling point? Brand awareness, talkability, shareability, authenticity. While each plays a role in moving consumers further down the purchasing funnel, conversion likelihood varies by brand type. Take Shein, for example; a $10-billion company investing significantly into influencer marketing, they have found immense success using TikTok because of their low price points that appeal to the generally lower earning Generation Z audience. TikTok can advance e-commerce for fast-moving consumer goods, whether this is an institutional brand’s new spin-off or a completely new brand that needs to gain awareness rapidly. However, the platform alone is not a tool for building sustained brand loyalty. Enter, influencer remarketing.
A Generation Z Influencer Remarketing Strategy
TikTok influencer remarketing is a way for brands to stand out to impressionable youths that are still experiencing the world and have not yet pledged their allegiance to any one brand or product. With 60% Generation Z survey respondents naming price as the most significant factor affecting purchasing decisions and engaging in frequent and sporadic online shopping, Generation Z has been found to be among the most difficult age groups to establish brand loyalty.
Where will influencer remarketing in TikTok excel most? In engendering long-term loyal customers in services – subscriptions, banking, credit cards, financial services, reward/loyalty programs, or travel/tourism-related offerings such as airlines and hotels – as well as certain repeat purchase products such as laundry detergents and deodorants. TikTok influencer remarketing is a long-haul strategy that can drive both short- and long-term gains. Brands that have generally been considered more traditional will be able to extend their awareness campaigns and communicate their value to the inherently finicky Generation Z TikTok user. Through the repeated exposure, such brands can increase their share of voice to drive more engagement, traffic to site, and ultimately conversions. However, the real magic is in the long-term value of influencer remarketing – brands will be more likely to capture the attention of younger audiences and maintain it into the future as these youths grow into their positions as the next high purchasing power, high influence consumer generation.
