The Definitive Guide to TikTok Marketing
Here's the thing about TikTok marketing that nobody's telling you:
While everyone else is chasing followers, the real money is being made by businesses who understand that TikTok isn't just another social platform—it's an entirely different game with its own rules.
And those who master these rules aren't just winning—they're crushing their competition.
I've spent the last three years dissecting what works on TikTok, analysing hundreds of seven and eight-figure businesses that have built empires on 15-second clips. What I found wasn't just surprising—it completely changed how I approach digital marketing.
In this guide, I will break down the exact framework generating millions in revenue for businesses that most people have never heard of.
Not the surface-level advice you've heard before, but the strategic approach to creating wealth transfers in industries that seemed untouchable just a few years ago.
The opportunity on TikTok isn't just big—it's massive. But only if you act before your competition figures out what I will show you.
What is TikTok marketing?
TikTok is a social media platform designed to share short-form video content that can relate to any topic. Users can share 15-second videos to communities, with content predominantly centred around creative arts, comedy, and music.
The platform has gained huge success and has become one of the biggest social platforms, with 1 billion monthly active users.
TikTok's algorithm is designed to personalise the user experience by recommending content that resonates with individual interests. By analysing user interactions, such as likes, shares, and comments, the algorithm tailors each user's “For You” page to show videos they most likely engage with.
For marketers, understanding this mechanism can aid in crafting videos that maximise engagement. Content that garners quick and substantial interaction is more likely to spread widely.
Therefore, focusing on the initial seconds of the video is key to capturing viewers’ attention and encouraging interaction through engaging hooks and clear calls to action.
Many marketers now use the robust platform to promote brands, services, and products in various forms.
The main types of TikTok marketing are direct advertising, influencer marketing, and creating viral content. Successful campaigns can be highly effective when it comes to increasing brand awareness and developing communities that are based around your product.
- Lu, Cashius (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 165 Pages – 07/25/2024 (Publication Date) – Independently published (Publisher)
Social media marketing campaigns that you can apply to TikTok
There are different ways of launching successful marketing campaigns across major social media platforms, including TikTok, depending on your product, whom you want to reach, and how you want to engage with your target audience.
Below are some of the most successful methods of social media marketing:
- Creating communities for your target audience to encourage regular engagement.
- Using brand advocates to promote your product or service.
- Paying influencers to raise awareness about your product.
The key reasons why your business should be using TikTok marketing
TikTok was the most downloaded app in the first quarter of 2022, beating the likes of Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Telegram to the top spot. Since its launch in 2016, TikTok has reached over 1 billion users.
In 2021, 78.7 million users resided in the United States, which is expected to grow to 84.9 million by the end of 2022. TikTok is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms in the world, with enormous potential for brand exposure!
For now, the largest demographic of TikTok is Gen Z, with most users between 16 and 24 years old. If that’s not your target audience, don’t worry – US users between 20 and 29 make up 22.4% of TikTok’s user base, and people aged 30 to 39 account for another 21.7%.
61% of active TikTok users in the US are female, while China is the country with the most active users.
In terms of marketing, data shows that micro-influencers in the United States achieve almost an 18% engagement rate, which is very impressive when you compare that to Instagram (3.86%) & YouTube (1.63%). Additionally, TikTok ads reach 17.9% of all internet users over 18.
This data shows why TikTok marketing should be a significant consideration for businesses of all types and sizes. A successful campaign can bring a substantial boost in content reach and new followers, which will, in turn, improve conversions and help ensure profitability for years to come.
2025 Stats That’ll Make You Rethink Everything
- 48% of US accounts are permanent lurkers: Nearly half of TikTok’s user base has never posted a single video. These aren’t casual scrollers—they’re rabid consumers spending 96 minutes/day hunting products like hyenas on a savannah. The implications? Brands wasting energy on UGC campaigns are shouting into a void. Passive consumption is the new battleground.
- TikTok steals 40% of Gen Z’s search traffic from Google: Younger users now treat TikTok as a visual Wikipedia, with 40% preferring it over traditional search engines for product research. This isn’t trend-hopping—it’s a full-scale rewiring of how a generation’s brain processes information. Miss the SEO potential in TikTok captions and hashtags? Enjoy bankruptcy by 2026.
- 62% of users trust nano-influencers (<10K followers) over celebrities
- The House of Marketers 2025 Trend Report reveals that audiences now view micro-creators as “one of us” versus polished influencers. A creator with 8K followers driving more sales than a Kardashian isn’t an outlier—it’s the standard.
What These Numbers Mean
- TikTok isn’t social media anymore.
- It’s a hybrid discovery engine/search portal/shopping mall. Brands still using it for “viral challenges” might as well be selling rotary phones.
- Authenticity arbitrage is dead.
- Users smell scripted content from miles away. The TikTok Symphony Assistant (AI tool generating “authentic”-appearing clips) now powers 33% of top-performing ads—proving even “realness” can be automated.
- Platform loyalty is a myth.
- TikTok’s data shows that 78% of its trending audio/styles migrate to Instagram Reels within 72 hours. Win here, and you’re farming attention across every platform.
Four ways to market your brand on TikTok
This section will discuss how your business can use TikTok marketing, looking at the various forms of content, ads, and influencers.
Influencer marketing
Influencer marketing is nothing new and has been a valuable avenue for many marketing departments over the last few years. However, here is a quick run-through for people unaware of what influencer marketing entails and how it can be effective.
Influencers are TikTok users with many followers who regularly engage with their content. Influencers are respected platform members who create content regarding a particular niche, whether travel, fashion, or sports.
You can reach a broad audience with influencer marketing, and a well-planned campaign can deliver amazingly high engagement rates. Influencers are considered a trusted and respected source of information in specific areas, so any product they recommend will likely be well received. It’s kind of like a recommendation from a friend or colleague.
TikTok has an advantage over Instagram and Facebook because the market is not overly saturated, meaning users pay more attention to sponsored posts and promoted content. The daily number of adverts a user may see on platforms like Instagram can be overwhelming, causing them to skip most ads and brand-specific posts.
The personalised nature of TikTok and its freshness means it is considered the best platform for influencer marketing, especially if you are targeting younger audiences.
The main challenge is finding influencers that perfectly suit your brand, as choosing the wrong type of person can not just result in a poor return on investment; it could even damage your brand.
Therefore, you should conduct thorough research across the platform and shortlist potential influencers who may fit your criteria. Even tools can provide valuable statistics, such as the number of followers an influencer has, the number of views or likes they get per video, etc.
Once you find suitable influencers to work with, sign a formal agreement detailing the contract terms. Be specific about things like deadlines, deliverables, payment terms, etc.
For example, some influencers may prefer to get paid in cash, via a bank transfer, or even in crypto, so make sure you have different options setup. Ensure you know how to find people on TikTok, especially those who align with your brand criteria.
Use TikTok ads
TikTok has only recently introduced ads on the platform, helping it to compete with rivals such as Instagram. Ads on TikTok are similar to other social media platforms, but some subtle differences can appeal to different kinds of marketers.
It may also be worth noting that ads on TikTok are generally more expensive than its main competitors, with a minimum ad spend of $50 compared to $20 on Facebook and Instagram.
There are five ad types on TikTok:
- In-Feed Ads
- TopViews
- Brand Takeovers
- Branded Hashtag Challenges
- Branded Effects
Comparing the performance of TikTok's ad formats can guide marketers in choosing the best option for their campaigns. In-feed ads are cost-effective, allowing brands to integrate naturally into the user’s content stream. They provide a balance between visibility and budget.
TopView Ads, while more expensive, guarantee prime visibility since these ads appear prominently upon opening the app. Brand Takeovers offer unmatched reach with exclusive ad placement for a day for brands with larger budgets, maximising exposure.
For those looking to engage users with interactive content, Branded Hashtag Challenges can deliver impressive engagement metrics, although they require a more significant investment.
Let’s take a closer look at each.
In-Feed Ads
In-feed ads are very similar to Instagram stories in that they will show when a user scrolls down their feed, and they are strategically placed in between videos after a certain number of scrolls.
Marketers can be very creative with these kinds of ads, helping to make them stand out from regular videos with call-to-actions, graphics, and more.
TopViews
TopViews are a type of In-Feed Ad. TikTok guarantees this is the first In-Feed Ad shown to users after 3 seconds for an extra charge. TikTok will display these ads on the user’s ‘For you’ suggestion page.
A TopView Ad can support 60 seconds of video that people can watch in full-screen mode.
Brand Takeovers
A Brand Takeover is shown to users when they open TikTok and is suitable for large businesses and organisations. This type of ad is much more expensive than an in-feed ad, sometimes costing around $50,000 daily.
This is because the reach of Brand Takeover Ads is enormous, and you can effectively block out any competition on the platform.
Branded Hashtag Challenges
Another option that is on the pricier side is Branded Hashtag Challenges. This type of ad helps to improve brand awareness with user-generated content. Users are challenged to produce unique and fun videos with the best content and are rewarded with a prize.
When users click the hashtag, they are redirected to your branded page, which details the challenge, a link to your website, and any user-generated content other participants have submitted.
A 6-day Branded Hashtag Challenge costs $150,000, taking a significant chunk of the company’s budget, hence why massive businesses mostly use this ad.
Branded Effects
Taking inspiration from Snapchat, Branded Effects are augmented reality overlays that you can embed in a user’s video. This type of advertising usually costs around $100,000 for each effect.
Create viral content
Every brand has the ambition of ‘going viral,’ and TikTok is one of the best platforms to make this happen. That’s because TikTok does not give preferential treatment to users with many followers like other social media apps – someone utterly new to the platform has just as much chance of publishing a viral video as a global celebrity.
Marketers with innovative campaign ideas can create a new trend even if they have only used TikTok briefly. TikTok’s most viral video so far is a homage to Harry Potter by a user named Zach King, gaining 2.2 billion views.
Keep your content diversified.
TikTok is more than just another social media platform; it aims to allow people, especially younger generations, to express themselves online and build communities of like-minded people.
The popularity of short, easy-to-digest videos shows no sign of slowing; however, that is not to say that experimentation is not worthwhile. Marketers should always look at the different ways they can diversify their content.
The content you post on Instagram or Twitter may not be well received on TikTok, which can be challenging. TikTok is built around video and audio, whereas other platforms might be more text or image-based.
Considering all multimedia when creating your social media campaigns would be best.
Most content on TikTok is informal; therefore, your ad campaigns should follow suit. People do not use TikTok to be greeted with sales campaigns and professional, business-orientated content… save that for LinkedIn.
When creating your content, ensure you are up-to-date with the latest TikTok trends and pay close attention to your competitors. Jumping on the bandwagon may be good if a particular song or effect is viral that week.
Popular brands on TikTok
Many top companies have embraced TikTok as a marketing tool, although there is still a baffling number of well-known brands who have neglected the platform.
Some of the top brands currently on TikTok are:
- Real Madrid FC
- WWE
- Nickelodeon
- Duolingo
- Gymshark
Several brands have achieved notable success on TikTok by leveraging creative content strategies. Chipotle, for example, tapped into viral challenges with its #GuacDance campaign, encouraging users to dance to a catchy tune while celebrating National Avocado Day.
This campaign generated over 250,000 video submissions and over 430 million video views.
Another example is Fenty Beauty, which harnesses TikTok to showcase user-generated content, inviting fans to share their makeup looks.
This approach has driven significant engagement and built a sense of community around the brand. These case studies demonstrate the power of engaging and interactive content in driving reach and brand loyalty.
For example, The Washington Post was one of the first top US brands to take to TikTok and has since launched several stand-out campaigns. Known for more serious journalism, the Washington Post has instead opted for a more comedic approach to TikTok, collecting 1.4 million fans.
TikTok is perfect for small businesses.
The best thing about TikTok, especially from a marketing perspective, is that the platform is still very new.
It was launched only in 2016, hitting the headlines in 2018, and it then added business functionality in 2020.
Many well-known brands and global organisations still have yet to take advantage of TikTok, opening the door for forward-thinking smaller, upcoming businesses.
Even fashion giants such as Gucci are yet to take off on TikTok despite pumping millions into their marketing campaigns every month and having a strong presence on other social media platforms.
This is why getting involved with TikTok marketing is recommended before the market becomes saturated and competition becomes too strong, with multiple businesses fighting over the same audiences.
Success is not guaranteed, and marketing is never easy, but utilising TikTok marketing before your competitors can give your brand a significant edge.
So, get innovative and pay close attention to trends to deliver powerful marketing campaigns that can achieve unrivalled levels of engagement.
TikTok Marketing – What Works?
Focusing on just one marketing channel or social media platform is never a good idea.
Successful marketing strategies incorporate a range of tactics and reach different audiences, using analytics to determine what is effective and what isn’t so you can better use your budget in the future.
If you are not exploring TikTok marketing, you risk leaving your brand behind.
As a relatively new platform, TikTik allows businesses to tap into their target audience before competitors enter. Many brands, even household names, still fail to see the platform’s potential.
TikTok is mighty in marketing to younger people, with 39% of users aged 16-24. Of course, this doesn’t mean you cannot reach older audiences interested in certain products and niches.
Some of the advertising options on TikTok, like Brand Takeovers and Branded Hashtag Challenges, may be way out of your price range.
However, smaller businesses can still achieve extraordinary results with clever In-Feed Ads that are in touch with the latest trends.
And considering anyone can go viral, regardless of their followers, TikTok offers many marketing options for small businesses without a budget.
Last update on 2025-04-18 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
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Make the best content possible, then make it viral by using memes to get your audience talking about it.