Date: December 14, 2022
Author: Christopher Spann
TikTok has taken the spotlight in social media marketing and helped make 2022 the “Year of the Video.” With TikTok content being a wellspring of information and entertainment, its several hundred million viewers are a valuable target audience. TikTok ads are expected to bring in $8.75 billion in revenue in 2023, up 47% from the previous year. That reflects the flood of in-feed ads and digital marketing focused on TikTok users.
All of this highlights the ripe opportunities for a new channel marketing strategy: TikTok short-form video content. StructuredWeb already leads the TCMA market with a great tool for producing relevant videos: the video syndication tool “Videocate.” We believe more B2B marketers will adopt TikTok for brand marketing in 2023, employing multiple tools to support channel partners. Social network marketing efforts should include automation, focused content ideas, personalized customization, and TikTok marketing syndication tools.
And there’s even further indication of TikTok’s growing importance in channel partner marketing. The growing number of channel marketing jobs TikTok looks to fill shows recognition of the business opportunities.
Let’s look at how a TikTok presence fits into partner channel marketing, and how it helps drive greater revenues.
It’s not just for GenZers: B2B Channel Marketing on TikTok
Tik Tok is no longer just for funny videos and dance routines. Countless popular videos share life hacks, tips, tricks and other instructional material. TikTok has become a major force in spreading brand awareness, both directly and indirectly. Promoting a brand, product or service is the main intent, of course, and can be accomplished in several ways. Straight TikTok advertising offers a simple way to reach a wide variety of younger audiences.
But don’t make the mistake of believing all users are “just kids.” Approximately 47% of users are under 30, and 42% are between 30 and 49. Users 50 and older make up 11%. That’s a wide audience of monthly active users to reach through marketing efforts. Social media platforms like Facebook/Meta also offer strong follower counts. But the viral nature of TikTok, and its appeal to today’s fast lifestyle, might offer a better path than other social media platforms.
- Be Present and Active: The first thing vendors need to do is create a TikTok business account. A TikTok business account is different than a standard-user TikTok account. Business accounts add built-in tools, advertising methods, metrics, and TikTok analytics. You can place ads, track responses, understand audience insights, and promote your products. With a business account, TikTok offers any small business a great marketing tool set. Actually, a business of any size could use TikTok’s content strategy ideas to distribute its targeted content through social media channels.
- After vendors sign up (or switch), they can create and post video content. That content might be a demo of a product, demonstrating value or how to use it to the greatest advantage. Or perhaps you might create some exciting content that shows the product in action, in real-world scenarios.
- The TikTok app for businesses makes many types of ads available. You could create in-feed ads, such as image ads, video ads, and spark ads. Managed-brand ads are available for those who work with a TikTok sales rep, and they offer additional formatting. The extra formats include TopView ads that can’t be skipped, and branded effects like stickers and filters.
- TikTok analytics are established and thorough. They verify that ads are being viewed by real people in a fraud-free environment. Web and app conversions can be monitored and measured, making ROI easier to calculate. Brand lift studies provide insights into audience reactions to ads. Marketers can analyze campaign impacts and optimize campaign performance based on real data. A comprehensive TikTok algorithm helps you gauge the value of ads and understand the viability of various media investments.
TikTok Influencers Aren’t Just Celebrities – They’re B2B Influencers Too
The TikTok platform can also be used to directly sell products and services. By creating a TikTok tie-in with an established “influencer,” your product might be introduced to tens of millions of users. Data points to longer-term effects from this path. Later viewing (or re-viewing) of the video adds another marketing opportunity. That helps increase ROI, and can boost sales in the future.
If you’re lucky enough to become part of a popular TikTok trend, your relevant video might “go viral.” Trending hashtags bring those videos to other users as well, aside from the original poster, further increasing ROI and visibility.
TikTok and TCMA – A Match Made in Heaven
It’s not about throwing everything at the platform and seeing what will stick. In a survey of most-annoying digital ads, the majority response was for pop-up ads that disrupt web experiences (58%). These ads are a club, hitting the user with unfocused, untargeted content. The trick to reduce the annoyance is to create video content advertising that’s relevant to users.
People process complex messages much faster and completely by viewing a video. And video can be placed in more and more ad pathways: emails, webpages, and other social platforms. Creating a well-produced and effective video might be beyond some partner’s skillsets. But that’s okay, because TCMA offers a good solution to create personalized and authentic content.
It’s easy for vendors to create personalized video content for partners using StructuredWeb’s TCMA portal. Vendors can easily scan the available videos for a better way to communicate a more sophisticated product or solution. Those videos can be customized and personalized for specific marketing applications. Plus, there are sharable direct links for emails or other applications, and embedding codes for websites and lead generating forms. If needed, there’s a download option as well.
In StructuredWeb’s self-serve portal, a fully-customizable UI lets you read a synopsis for the videos and preview each one. Once the appropriate video is selected, you can customize the intro and outro dialog, select music, and choose branding colors.
Perhaps you’re wondering: “Is it worth the trouble?” The simple answer is yes. 84% of businesses say video helped generate more leads, and 78% say video directly helped increase sales. And combining video with personalization drives conversion rates 8x higher, while increasing engagement rates by 5x.
StructuredWeb brings easy-to-use customized videos to partners and vendors. That drives greater brand integrity, personalized messaging, co-branding, and amplified reach.
Perhaps the real question isn’t, “if you should have a B2B TikTok Strategy,” but rather, “why don’t you have a B2B TikTok Strategy?” For those who aren’t already planning and executing on short-from video to enhance their TCMA programs, you may find yourself behind the eight ball.
