We’re getting scientific today. Well, not really.
Today we’re learning the science behind why you just bought that new mascara after someone on TikTok recommended you buy it.
Our guest is the Wizard of Tok. TikTok that is. And she’s the reason you bought that mascara.
Bestie, meet Savannah Sanchez.
Savannah is a TikTok Media Buying and Ad Creative Expert, who’s worked with ALL of your fav brands (Fabletics, Kate Spade, Pura Vida just to name a few).
Now, let’s dive into the TikTok Advertising GEMS Savannah dropped on The Marketing Millennials Podcast, in her own liiiightly edited words.
1. Why you should advertise on TikTok:
“I’m a big believer in channel diversification for any e-commerce brand (ME. TOO.).
So how can you explore new channels and find cheaper ways to reach a new audience?
Facebook and Instagram are very expensive, but what about TikTok?
TikTok has lower advertiser competition, cheap CPMs, and they’re still growing like a weed.
(My Grandma just got TikTok, that’s how you KNOW it’s taking over – ily grammy.)
If any brand is on Facebook and Instagram, they’re going to realize CPMs are rising and the effectiveness of advertising keeps declining.
Especially after these iOS 14.5 changes, which made tracking and targeting so much worse on Facebook. As a result brands who relied heavily on Facebook are seeing their valuations PLUMMET.
So brands are starting to wake up to the fact that they can’t rely on Facebook forever. It’s not as effective as it used to be.
TikTok is a no-brainer. The CPMs are 4x cheaper.
You’re getting cheap impressions AND traffic. But the most enticing part is people are on TikTok SPECIFICALLY looking for new brands, trying to discover new products.
Level up your marketing game
Zero BS. Just fun, unfiltered, industry insights with the game-changers behind some of the coolest companies from around the globe.
No spam. Unsubscribe any time.
People are watching an ad, clicking shop now, and purchasing. TikTok users are in the shopping and discovery mindset.
2. Facebook vs. TikTok:
On Facebook consolidation, broad audiences, and keeping things as simple as possible in terms of the setup is what WORKS.
Those practices also apply on TikTok.
On TikTok keep audiences broad in terms of your interest targeting, don’t go too niche.
(Btw hot debate: is it niche or niche??)
There’s no need to have hundreds of assets and campaigns. The best performing ad accounts typically have one campaign with a few ad sets.
The difference between Facebook and TikTok is that the creative is priority one for TikTok ads.
Having the right video ads is what’s going to make or break it. You don’t need to be a media buying genius to figure out TikTok.
What you need is:
- An emphasis on the creatives.
- Having videos that don’t look like an ad.
- Videos that can tell the story of the product in 15 seconds and give a compelling reason for someone to purchase right then.
3. What goes into good TikTok creative:
15 and 30 seconds is the sweet spot for TikTok ads.
They need to be vertical to make sure that it looks organic to the platform. Utilize native TikTok texts, native TikTok animations and transitions.
The goal is that when people are scrolling through TikTok, they shouldn’t immediately recognize that they’re being advertised to.
It should be as entertaining and informative as any other video they would organically watch.
Effectively sell your product, but at the same time don’t scream advertisement. That’s what makes the perfect TikTok ad.
In terms of formulas that are working well for brands, is testing the introduction line of, “Things TikTok made me buy.”
(Things TikTok made me buy? Everything. LOL.)
This introduction line works well organically on TikTok, so leveraging those organic trends in your ads can be a promising play.
Other hooks include:
- “Things in my apartment that just make sense.”
- “Things in my bathroom that just make sense.”
- “Stuff I wish I knew about sooner.”
- “Things I found on the internet that I can no longer live without.”
Always experiment with new hooks to capture attention in that first 3 seconds, then compel them to watch the whole video.
4. Building TikTok ads:
You need to find someone who can be the creator in the video. That’s step one.
Go through your for you page, search hashtags to find people who are creating content around a client specific industry.
Let’s say makeup is your targeted industry. Try to find creators that don’t have a big following, so you don’t end up spending a trillion dollars for ad content.
Don’t look for them to post this on their profile.
Instead look at them as actors/actresses that will film the content for you, follow your script, and follow the shot list (interesting, I dig this!).
Then bring in editors to add text overlays.
Look for people who are really comfortable talking to the camera, able to communicate effectively, and seem very natural.
Then prioritize lighting.
For makeup videos, make sure they have bright natural lighting. Do your research. Find their past tutorial videos to see how those look.
Then it comes down to the brief. And that’s on the brand or agency (aka YOU). Spend a huge chunk of your time writing the scripts, briefs, and shot lists.
Where brands fail is they identify a good TikTok creator who makes engaging videos and has a large following.
They send them their product and the creator sends back videos that don’t hit the mark. These creators aren’t e-commerce marketers.
They’re really good at creating TikToks but that doesn’t mean they’re really good at selling a product (say it LOUDER).
The brands or agencies need to have a detailed brief to talk about the value props, the script, the shot list, the flow, and the ad.
The brand needs to know what they want to accomplish, THEN leverage the creator’s expertise in terms of making TikToks.
Making it look organic, the transitions, the way they talk to the camera, that’s all stuff the creators can uniquely do.
Developing those relationships with creators that can consistently make content for you, is the best investment to make for any brand right now.
5. What brands should be advertising on TikTok:
There are brands that are much better suited for Facebook and Instagram than TikTok.
An example would be a brand that sells very high-end furniture, starting at $2,000.
TikTok is great for impulse buys under $150 max. An impulse buy is something like jeans, apparel, or phone cases.
When looking to advertise, first think, is this a good product for TikTok?
You don’t want to invest time and money into a platform that would be difficult to see success on (efficiency>>>)
Then make sure you have a great website. TikTok is perfect for driving cheap traffic, but you need the product and website side to be ready as well.
You need to have everything dialed in so that when you do start getting TikTok traffic, you have the other variables figured out.
If you have a bad website, no matter how great your TikTok ad creatives are, people are ultimately making their purchase decision ON your website!
For the furniture brand, it would be very difficult for them to see success on TikTok because it isn’t an impulse purchase.
That product leans towards an older, more affluent demographic which isn’t TikTok’s main demographic.
The sweet spot for brands on TikTok is impulse buy targeting between ages 18 to 44 (MILLENNIALS).
6. BONUS TIP that you didn’t know you needed:
Design ads with TikTok in mind first.
Use TikTok transitions, TikTok texts, make it look like a TikTok, REGARDLESS of what platform it ends up on.
TikTok style ads work really well on Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram.
