TikTok, the most downloaded social media app and one of the most downloaded apps overall in 2020, is where Gen Z spends their time. Here’s how to reach them there:

 

Gen Z’s consumer preferences

You might have noticed that your Gen Z audience isn’t as interested in buying the latest products or trends. They care about their health and wellness, the environment, sustainability, and the quality of food. This is because Gen Z has grown up hearing about climate change, GMOs, and so many other things that have shaped their worldview. As a result, they are more likely to value experiences over material goods—so when it comes to spending money on something new or different from what they already have, they need proof that it’s worth it.

This means you need to think carefully about how you present yourself online: if your brand doesn’t align with this mindset (or even just look too much like all those other brands out there), then Gen Z will tune you out completely!

 

TikTok’s global reach

TikTok is a global platform that reaches over 1 billion users in more than 200 countries around the world. It’s available in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese (Brazilian), Indonesian, Japanese and Korean.

This means that when you’re creating content for TikTok, it should be relevant to people all over the world — not just one country or region!

 

How companies are bringing their brands to TikTok

As the largest social video platform in China, TikTok has quickly become a major tool for reaching Gen Z. In fact, 60% of TikTok’s users are under 25 years old, and over half of them are between 16 and 24. This makes it an ideal platform for brands that want to reach this demographic. There are a few ways you can use TikTok as part of your social media strategy:

• Create sponsored content that aligns with your brand’s values, like Dunkin’ Donuts did here: https://rb.gy/4nu9bf
• Promote your existing videos on the app by using the hashtag #TikTokSponsoredVideo so people can find and engage with them more easily! As an example, here’s how Vitamin Water used their own channel on TikTok to promote their product line: https://www.tiktok.com/tag/vitaminwaterchallenge?lang=en
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Direct-to-consumer focus

The Gen Z audience is more likely to purchase directly from a brand than through a third-party retailer, according to Nielsen. This means you can’t rely on Amazon or another online marketplace for your sales. You need to get your product in front of Gen Zers where they are: TikTok!

 

Launch your own campaign or partner with influencers

If you have a product or service that Gen Z is interested in, influencers are a great way to reach them. Influencer marketing is when an influencer posts about your brand and uses their social media following to promote your business.

You can also launch your own campaign on TikTok. You’ll want to ensure that it’s relevant to the audience you’re trying to reach and consistent with other content on the platform (which may be difficult for some brands).

 

Have fun with the platform and don’t shy away from humor

• Humor is a powerful tool. It can build trust, sell products and build a brand.
• Humor can also be used as a way of connecting with your audience.

For example, if you’re selling wine bottles on TikTok, we recommend using humor in your caption to build trust with the audience and make them feel more comfortable buying wine from you (in this case).

 

Sell with humor

Humor is a powerful tool for connecting with your audience. Even if you’re not naturally funny, it’s important to remember that Gen Zers are a highly receptive group and will gravitate toward content that makes them laugh.

This is especially true of TikTok, where even the most serious content creators use humor as a way to connect with their audience. Use this to your advantage by selling with humor: sell products that make people laugh or create content that makes people feel good about themselves after watching it (think “It’s Wednesday! Let’s be happy”).

 

Learn how to tap into the power of Gen Z on TikTok

• How to reach Gen Z on TikTok:
• The platform is most popular among younger audiences, with 70% of its users falling between the ages of 13 and 24.
• Users are also likely to be in a relationship (35%), have older siblings (32%), live with their parents (27%) and have multiple social media accounts (26%).
• How to reach other audiences by using TikTok:
• You can use it as part of your social media strategy or as a standalone campaign on its own. You could even try targeting the parents of these users if you want them as customers!
  
  

Conclusion

In this article, I outlined why marketers should be paying attention to TikTok, how it compares to other social media platforms, and what elements of the platform make it unique. Plus, I gave some actionable tips for getting started on TikTok as a marketer.