Brands are always looking to leverage the “latest thing” in terms of social media trends to help amplify their marketing and advertising, and this holiday season, the latest and greatest thing is TikTok. While many brands have begun to consider ways to make the most of their presence on the video-sharing platform, it’s still such a novel marketing channel, they may not be fully aware of TikTok’s wide-ranging capabilities, much less its most popular trends.
To guide brands and marketing teams working to turn fourth-quarter sales into a windfall for their bottom lines, 17 members of Forbes Agency Council offered up their best insights on how to leverage TikTok this holiday season. See their expert tips below and decide which methods might work best for your brand.
1. Try TikTok’s AR Branded Effects
TikTok’s Branded Effects offer a massive opportunity to influence brand reach across the platform. Creative applications of the channel’s augmented reality offering can transport audiences to another world, deliver fun brand visualizations and take a prominent role in creating unique, memorable moments. – Chris Martin, FlexMR
2. Create A Holiday-Themed #Challenge
TikTok is all about being short, quick and impactful. One thing that thrives on the platform are #challenges. Everyone remembers the “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge” to benefit the ALS Association’s research into Lou Gehrig’s disease from a few years ago, and that spirit lives on still on TikTok. If a brand were to create a holiday-themed challenge—one that similarly tugged on the heartstrings of its users, such as a “Gifts For Those In Need” challenge—it could go viral immediately. – Jason Hall, FiveChannels Marketing
3. Share Relatable Content To Show Authenticity
As the holiday season approaches, what brands need to remember about TikTok is that authenticity is a winning factor, and companies that show a very real and human side to their brands can profit from this. Sharing relatable content about getting in the festive spirit is a great way to demonstrate this authenticity, showing that your brand is excited for the holiday season for the same reasons your customers are. – Lisa Montenegro, Digital Marketing Experts – DMX
4. ‘Embrace The Ridiculous’
Brands can cut through the noise and properly leverage TikTok this holiday season by “embracing the ridiculous.” In other words, become more comfortable with being playful and silly. Adopt a “would this win an ugly sweater contest?” mentality in the type of content you put out there. Doing this will help build relevance and shareability. But start now—that way, the playful voice shines through as authentic. – Rob Fallon, Bluewater
5. Utilize Your Inventory
Give something away to a small number of lucky customers. Say they’ll be entered in a drawing, win a prize or something else if they post a video of themselves wearing and/or using what you gave them. It could even be a dance or something like that. Make sure to give them something that represents your company. – Danny Star, Website Depot
6. Create Colorful Content With Uplifting Music
TikTok content is straightforward, light and cheerful. Brands can leverage TikTok by creating colorful, holiday-themed content with uplifting music. Demonstrate how your product or service will bring joy to the audience. Collaborate with an influencer and showcase them giving your product as a holiday gift or using your services to benefit their holiday season. – Katie Schibler Conn, KSA Marketing
7. Give Users A Glimpse Behind The Scenes
Behind-the-scenes videos are a surefire way to garner attention. Everyone wants to see what it looks like behind closed doors! Sharing insight into your PR packages, how those holiday commercials are created or even some fun shots from a company holiday party with your audience will make your brand seem more human and strengthen the connection between brand and buyer. – Patricia Rioux, Team ODEA
8. Invite Influencers To Generate Content
Brands should take advantage of the many influencer marketing opportunities available on the platform. Your audience is also made up of influencers, so embrace user-generated content as your own. Build a community where people are invited to create. Host product giveaways, create partnerships and foster an environment where users can share their positive experiences about your product or service. – Russ Williams, Archer Malmo
9. Look Into TikTok’s Advertising Capabilities
Most brands are running paid advertising campaigns on Google, Facebook or Instagram but overlook the power of TikTok’s ad platform. Most people on TikTok look to go viral organically. But I believe that brands looking to be more omnipresent in the 2021 holiday season need to look deeper into the potential of TikTok’s advertising capabilities via their ads manager. – Alex Quin, UADV MARKETING
10. Produce Holiday-Oriented Livestreams With Creators
TikTok’s LIVE video streaming feature is a fresh way for brands to interact with audiences. Rather than streaming their own content, brands should team up with TikTok creators to produce holiday-oriented streams and celebrate with viewers. With AI technology, brands can discover which creators best fit their products, ultimately generating experiences where creators authentically showcase the brand. – Ricky Ray Butler, BEN
11. Keep It Short, To The Point And Make A Statement
With TikTok, keeping it short and to the point in a statement-making way is key. Content on this platform is meant to be consumed in bite-sized clips, so I love the idea of breaking a compelling campaign into cliffhanger pieces to be shared each day leading up to the holidays. Think of it as a modern, fun take on “The 12 Days of Christmas.” – Leila Lewis, Be Inspired PR
12. Create Your TikTok Account Now To Be Prepared
If they want to leverage TikTok this holiday season, brands need to create their TikTok presences now—without accounts, they can’t be tagged by creators and consumers or easily linked to. With an account, brands can be ready to capitalize on any organic viral moments that arise and can partner with creators who understand TikTok’s ever-shifting holiday content trends. – Danielle Wiley, Sway Group
13. Keep Your Page Interactive And Friendly
The goal for any user on Tiktok is to “blow up” and get featured on TikTok’s “For You” page. People love when companies take the time to respond to comments on TikTok and joke with their followers in a friendlier way than they do on other social media sites such as LinkedIn or even Facebook. Follow current trends by using songs, dances or video ideas that you’ve seen work for others, and keep your page interactive. – Lori Paikin, NaviStone®
14. Capitalize On Trending Hashtags
Start thinking now about ways you can incorporate the enormously popular hashtag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt into your videos. With TikTok’s Shopify integration and the platform’s unique ability to drive purchase intent, retailers can’t overlook it this holiday season. Dedicate resources to following trending hashtags, which change weekly, and adapt your posts to capitalize on them. – Mary Ann O’Brien, OBI Creative
15. Add Your Own Twist To Existing Trends
A very interesting insight about TikTok is that it’s a platform based on collaboration. Adding your own twist to build on the content that is already there works really well. Because you don’t have to innovate all the time, a great way to engage your audiences this holiday season is to tap into the trends created by other users—think about producing duets, reacting to other users’ content and joining existing challenges. – Emilie Tabor, IMA – Influencer Marketing Agency
16. Do Anti-Unboxing Videos
The holiday season is about giving, so instead of an unboxing video, team up with influencers to do the opposite: Show them talking about and getting excited about your product as a gift and wrapping it up for someone for the holidays. They can point out top product features or brand satisfaction guarantees while showing what this gift will look like “wrapped closed” (as opposed to “ripped open”), boxed up and ready to ship. – Bernard May, National Positions
17. Cultivate UGC Through A Brand Ambassador Program
Prior to the fourth quarter, reach out to your customers with an offer to join a brand ambassador program that provides discounts, free products or monetary awards such as gift cards in exchange for UGC. Brand accounts do not get the most visibility, so by cultivating content on TikTok creators’ account pages, you will be able to gain visibility and drive traffic that can lead to sales. – Christopher Tompkins, The Go! Agency
