TikTok has quickly become a leading social media channel in a very short period of time. With a billion active users as of January 2022 spending about 850 minutes per month on the app it’s clear that capturing an audience on TikTok should be a part of everyone’s social media strategy.
Restaurants and food brands that have entered TikTok early have seen explosive growth due to the virality capabilities TikTok has when compared to its counterparts, Instagram and Facebook. Originally thought of as only dancing trends, TikTok has expanded into many different niches that companies can capitalize on. Let’s look into how you can incorporate TikTok into your strategy.
What Is TikTok?
Let’s first take a step back to look at what TikTok actually is. TikTok is purely a video-based platform with users and brands posting short and engaging videos. TikTok makes use of short form video content, also known as videos less than 3 minutes long. In contrast to YouTube which typically hosts longform video content (anything longer than 3 minutes).
Because there are constraints on video length and other elements like music and effects, food brands need to be laser-focused on the content they are making for the platform. Content needs to be short, engaging, and targeted towards the right demographic, which makes it similar to platforms like Instagram in that there must be a strategy and a creative eye before posting content.
How is TikTok Different From Instagram?
However, the critical difference TikTok has when compared to its counterpart Instagram are the trends.
What is a TikTok Trend?
A TikTok trend can be a sound, hashtag, dance or challenge. For example, a food TikTok trend from 2021 was the at-home quesadilla hack where users sliced a tortilla halfway through and divided the tortilla into four different quadrants where they added their own ingredients.
However, there’s definitely a lot of appetite for food-related content on TikTok, which bodes well for brands. Food brands don’t necessarily need to create their own trend, they just need to piggyback off of it.
TikTok has quickly become a leading social media channel in a very short period of time. With a billion active users as of January 2022 spending about 850 minutes per month on the app it’s clear that capturing an audience on TikTok should be a part of everyone’s social media strategy.
Restaurants and food brands that have entered TikTok early have seen explosive growth due to the virality capabilities TikTok has when compared to its counterparts, Instagram and Facebook. Originally thought of as only dancing trends, TikTok has expanded into many different niches that companies can capitalize on. Let’s look into how you can incorporate TikTok into your strategy.
What Is TikTok?
Let’s first take a step back to look at what TikTok actually is. TikTok is purely a video-based platform with users and brands posting short and engaging videos. TikTok makes use of short form video content, also known as videos less than 3 minutes long. In contrast to YouTube which typically hosts longform video content (anything longer than 3 minutes).
Because there are constraints on video length and other elements like music and effects, food brands need to be laser-focused on the content they are making for the platform. Content needs to be short, engaging, and targeted towards the right demographic, which makes it similar to platforms like Instagram in that there must be a strategy and a creative eye before posting content.
How is TikTok Different From Instagram?
However, the critical difference TikTok has when compared to its counterpart Instagram are the trends.
What is a TikTok Trend?
A TikTok trend can be a sound, hashtag, dance or challenge. For example, a food TikTok trend from 2021 was the at-home quesadilla hack where users sliced a tortilla halfway through and divided the tortilla into four different quadrants where they added their own ingredients.
However, there’s definitely a lot of appetite for food-related content on TikTok, which bodes well for brands. Food brands don’t necessarily need to create their own trend, they just need to piggyback off of it.
Bang Energy
Bang Energy has been using TikTok extensively as part of their marketing, and their analytics highlight just how valuable the platform is for them. As of this article (February 2022) Bang Energy has 1.5 million followers and 4.3 million likes. Bang Energy uses its account to create fun and unique videos with influencers, dancers, entertainers, and more. Bang Energy ties back their products to broader concepts that require a lot of energy, like dancing to show audiences what they are capable of when they have Bang Energy. It’s a subtle way to tie the brand and product together that makes an impact on customers.
While some part of their success is definitely the content itself, Bang Energy doesn’t just rely on that. They also work to foster a community and make followers feel special. Doing this helps the audience feel more connected to the brand and product, and that’s ultimately how they build their loyalty.
#ChipotleLidFlip
TikTok isn’t just about promoting products, it’s about coming up with seamless ways to blend the product and fun together. The best example of this has to be Chipotle’s #ChipotleLidFlip. Inspired by an employee’s impressive lid-flipping skills, Chipotle partnered up with key TikTok influencers to create their own challenge and capitalize on the viral trend.
By challenging users to develop their own versions of the lid flip, The #ChipotleLidFlip is a great example of how using trends on the TikTok platform, like challenges, benefits brands when used creatively.
Convinced that TikTok is worth your efforts? Gourmand Group now offers that as a part of their social media marketing strategy. Get in touch!
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