TikTok has emerged as a global phenomenon, redefining how brands engage with audiences. Its popularity continues to surge in Malaysia, especially among Gen Z and Millennials, making it a prime platform for businesses to build meaningful connections. TikTok’s unique blend of creativity, authenticity, and viral trends provides unparalleled opportunities for brands to captivate users and create memorable experiences. Crafting a TikTok marketing strategy isn’t just about jumping on trends—it’s about understanding the platform’s dynamics and using them to tell your brand’s story.
From identifying your audience’s preferences to mastering tools like Duets, Live Streams, and hashtag challenges, success lies in the details. Whether you’re looking to boost brand awareness foster engagement, or drive conversions, TikTok offers a versatile canvas to achieve your goals. This guide explores seven essential strategies to elevate your TikTok presence, ensuring your brand engages and thrives on this dynamic platform. Let’s dive in and uncover how to connect authentically with TikTok’s vibrant community.
Table of Contents
1. Who is Your TikTok Audience?
Knowing who users are and what content appeals to them is essential for effectively reaching them. TikTok has a diverse user base, but younger audiences dominate, bringing their interests, values, and engagement styles to the platform.
a) Demographics and Interests
TikTok’s audience is dominated by teens and young adults, making it a prime platform for brands targeting Gen Z and Millennials. This group favours content that is:
- Fun and entertaining
- Relatable and authentic
- Visually dynamic, leveraging effects, filters, and engaging music
Example
In Malaysia, Syedot ASMR, a TikTok creator, has gained massive popularity by appealing to younger audiences with his unique mukbang ASMR content. His creative approach to showcasing local foods, like Nasi Lemak, resonates with viewers who value entertainment and cultural relevance.
b) Content Consumption Habits
TikTok users spend hours scrolling through bite-sized, addictive videos that quickly grab attention. The app’s algorithm promotes visually striking content that is engaging and aligns with user interests. In Malaysia, content revolves around food, travel, lifestyle, and humour.
Example
Brands like Tealive Malaysia effectively use TikTok to showcase their products through short, engaging videos featuring trendy music and relatable scenarios, such as ordering bubble tea for a “study break” or celebrating special moments with friends.
c) The Role of Trends and Challenges
Trends and challenges are at the heart of TikTok’s viral culture, making it one of the most dynamic platforms for engagement. TikTok thrives on its rapidly changing trends, where challenges go viral almost overnight. By participating in these challenges or creating their own, brands can engage with a massive audience and boost their visibility. For brands in Malaysia, tapping into local trends and challenges can help them connect authentically with Gen Z and Millennials, two of the platform’s most active groups.
Example
A trend on TikTok, the Ghost Pepper Challenge, saw a surge of Gen Z creators daring to eat one of the spiciest peppers in the world, resulting in hilarious and dramatic reactions. During this time, Mamee, a famous snack brand in Malaysia, took advantage of the trend by incorporating its spicy noodle products into the challenge.
This marketing move helped Mamee gain visibility among the younger audience and encouraged user-generated content, with many TikTok users tagging Mamee in their videos. By tying their product to a viral challenge, Mamee successfully enhanced brand awareness and engagement while aligning with a trend that resonated with their target market.
By understanding the power of TikTok challenges and trends, brands can engage with users in a fun, creative, and authentic way that encourages participation and boosts their presence.
2. Why Defining Your Brand Voice on TikTok is Important
TikTok is all about authenticity, creativity, and raw engagement. For brands to succeed on this platform, they must let go of overly polished or corporate messaging and embrace a more relatable, casual approach. TikTok users value content that feels real and unfiltered, so maintaining a natural tone and connecting with the audience humanly is key.
i) Aligning Brand Values with Platform Culture
To succeed on TikTok, brands must ensure their core message aligns with the platform’s informal, fun, and spontaneous atmosphere. Unlike more formal platforms like LinkedIn or Facebook, TikTok thrives on entertainment and trends, so brands need to adopt a relaxed and engaging approach to connect with users.
This means focusing on the product and engaging with the platform’s culture and community’s values, such as creativity, humour, and self-expression.
ii) 2 Examples of Successful Brand Voices on the TikTok Platform
Look at how brands use humour and current trends to resonate with followers;
Netflix Malaysia
Netflix Malaysia’s TikTok account is an excellent example of a brand keeping its content light-hearted, humorous, and locally relevant to engage the Malaysian audience. Known for keeping up with the latest trends, the account often references popular culture and trending topics.
A standout example is the playful bio, “Abang Sheriff Abang Sheriff,” referring to the new Malaysian film “Sheriff ” and its star, Zul Ariffin, who is well-known for his “abang” (big brother) image and macho appeal. This localised touch helps the brand resonate with Malaysian viewers by blending entertainment with humour tailored to the audience.
Netflix Malaysia’s approach to TikTok leverages relatable cultural references to keep its audience entertained while subtly promoting its content. They continually explore new trends, meme formats, and local phrases, building an approachable and engaging online persona that resonates well within the TikTok community. This has not only increased its reach among Malaysian users but has also cemented Netflix as a culturally aware and adaptable brand in the region.
Hygr
Hygr, a sustainable brand specialising in eco-friendly lip balms, deodorants, and hair oils, has managed to captivate a broader audience by leveraging its founder’s status as an influencer. While the brand initially targeted a more eco-conscious, niche audience, the owner, who is already an influencer, continues to create cool and relatable Gen Z content on TikTok.
This approach has helped Hygr tap into a new, younger demographic that resonates with the brand’s values and playful, authentic content. Instead of just promoting eco-friendly products, the brand uses humour, trendy challenges, and lighthearted moments to connect with a much wider audience, making sustainability feel fresh, fun, and accessible to all.
3. 3 Methods to Consider in Developing Engaging TikTok Content
On TikTok, content reigns supreme, but it’s not just about posting frequently—it’s about posting content that resonates. The key to success is creating content that entertains, educates, or inspires, building a loyal and engaged audience over time.
- Types of Content to Consider
Explore which content formats best suit your brand and appeal to your target audience. For example, tutorials can demonstrate the usefulness of your product, while behind-the-scenes clips offer an exclusive peek into your creative process, giving your followers a sense of connection. You can also experiment with user-generated content, challenges, or unboxing videos that showcase your brand’s personality and authenticity.
- Incorporating Trends and Hashtags
TikTok is built around trends, and hopping on the latest viral challenge or using trending audio effectively increases your content’s discoverability. By adding popular hashtags, you can ensure your posts reach a wider audience actively engaging with those trends, ensuring your brand feels relevant and timely.
Hashtags like #foryoupage or niche-specific ones can also help you connect with your ideal customer segment.
- Storytelling and Value
Each TikTok video should have a clear purpose. Beyond entertaining, every post should offer value—making your audience laugh, inspiring them with a powerful message, or providing valuable tips and insights.
For instance, if you’re a beauty brand, showing how your product solves a common problem could provide valuable content for viewers. Similarly, brands with a strong social or environmental message can tell stories highlighting their impact, weaving in the values that matter to their audience.
4. Utilising TikTok’s Unique Features
TikTok offers an array of unique features that encourage creativity and interaction. These give brands powerful tools to create engaging, dynamic campaigns and establish meaningful connections with their audience.
a) Duets and Stitching
These features allow brands to directly engage users by responding to their content or collaborating on a shared message. Duets enable side-by-side reactions to videos, while Stitching lets you clip and integrate parts of a user’s video into your own.
Using these tools, brands can join viral trends, show appreciation for user-generated content, or create fun collaborations that resonate with TikTok’s community.
b) TikTok Live
Live streaming on TikTok opens the door for real-time interaction, allowing brands to host Q&A sessions, product demonstrations, or even influencer takeovers. It’s an excellent way to engage with followers personally, answer their questions directly, and showcase products or services authentically and unscripted.
TikTok Live builds stronger relationships by offering exclusive behind-the-scenes looks and interactive discussions.
c) Branded Hashtag Challenges
One of TikTok’s most effective marketing tools, branded hashtag challenges encourage users to participate in your campaign by creating and sharing their content. With the power of user-generated content, these challenges can go viral, boosting your brand’s visibility.
Inviting users to participate in fun, themed challenges spreads brand awareness and drives deep engagement from a highly active community.
5. Start Collaborating with TikTok Influencers
Influencer marketing on TikTok can provide social proof and reach large audiences. The key is to find influencers whose values and audience align with your brand.
i) Finding the Right Influencers
Search for influencers whose style and audience match your brand’s goals. It is crucial to partner with individuals who share your brand values and have an authentic connection with their followers.
For example, if you have a cosmetic brand, it would make sense to collaborate with an influencer with a specific background or expertise in makeup. Take @Izwanhs, a makeup & skincare guru from TikTok for instance.
Similarly, if you run a skincare line, partnering with a skincare guru or beauty expert would be ideal, as they can provide valuable insights and build trust with an audience that seeks expert advice on skincare.
Aligning your brand with the right influencer ensures that your message resonates authentically and reaches the right people, enhancing engagement and conversion rates.
ii) Setting Clear Goals for Collaboration
Before partnering with influencers, it is essential to define what you want to achieve from the collaboration. For example, if your goal is brand awareness, you should focus on a large-scale campaign with influencers with broad reach, such as those with millions of followers, such as a TikTok personality, Azfar Heri.
On the other hand, if your goal is to drive sales, it’s essential to partner with influencers with a highly engaged audience that trusts their recommendations. For example, Khairul Aming, a popular Malaysian content creator, has built a loyal following with relatable and authentic content, often receiving millions of views on his videos. His audience trusts his opinion and takes action on his product endorsements, making him an ideal influencer for brands looking to boost conversions and drive sales.
If you’re trying to reach a new market segment, choose influencers who appeal to that demographic. For instance, a fitness brand could collaborate with fitness influencers to showcase products while aligning with the audience’s health and wellness values.
iii) Best Practices for Influencer Partnerships
Allow influencers the creative freedom to produce content that feels natural and authentic to their audience. This encourages engagement and ensures that the content doesn’t come across as overly promotional. A great example is when Fenty Beauty collaborated with makeup artists and influencers on TikTok.
The influencers were given creative freedom to showcase the products in ways that felt personal to their style. Still, they were also guided on essential product details like shade range and skin compatibility, ensuring the message remained intact while boosting credibility and engagement.
6. Using TikTok Analytics for Insights
TikTok’s analytics tools are vital for measuring the success of your content and better understanding your audience. Metrics like engagement rate, video views, and demographics can guide your strategy.
- Overview of TikTok Analytics
Familiarise yourself with TikTok’s metrics, including follower demographics and engagement statistics.
- Identifying Trends and Content Success
Analytics show what’s working so you can replicate and improve on high-performing content.
- Adjusting Strategies Based on Data
Use insights to refine your approach, respond to audience preferences, and stay aligned with trends.
7. Make Use of Paid Advertising on TikTok
While organic content is powerful on TikTok, paid ads can amplify reach and target specific demographics. TikTok offers various ad formats that allow brands to advertise seamlessly.
i) Types of TikTok Ads
Options include In-Feed Ads, Branded Effects, and Top View Ads, each suited for different marketing goals.
ii) Targeting Options and Benefits
Effective targeting is key to ensuring your TikTok ads reach the right audience. You can target users based on age, location, interests, and behaviour patterns.
For example, if you’re promoting a product geared toward fitness enthusiasts, targeting users who follow fitness-related content or engage with wellness brands will help you identify the right potential customers.
By fine-tuning your targeting options, you maximise the impact of your ads, ensuring they resonate with the people most likely to engage with your brand.
iii) Creating Ads that Blend with Organic Content
The most successful TikTok ads feel organic and seamless within the user’s feed. To achieve this, incorporate popular sounds, trending hashtags, and engaging storytelling techniques that users are familiar with. Tapping into TikTok’s cultural trends makes your ads feel less like traditional advertisements and more like fun, relatable content that fits naturally within the platform.
For instance, a local fashion brand, Bayu Somerset, is often seen creating a TikTok ad featuring a popular song while showcasing its new collection through a dance challenge, making the ad feel like another fun video rather than a hard-sell promotion.
This approach increases the chances of your ad being shared, commented on, and interacted with, which drives greater engagement and brand recall.
Conclusion
Crafting a successful TikTok marketing strategy revolves around authentic connections with your audience. Understanding the platform’s unique features, trends, and community-driven culture is key to making a lasting impact. Brands that take the time to study their audience, experiment with creative content, and utilise TikTok’s powerful tools can build compelling campaigns that drive engagement and foster brand loyalty.
For businesses aiming to maximise their TikTok marketing efforts, Newnormz, a digital marketing agency, offers expert solutions tailored to your specific needs. Whether you’re looking to enhance your social media marketing or improve your SEO strategy, Newnormz is here to help. Our team specialises in crafting strategies that align with TikTok’s dynamic features, from trending audio and viral challenges. We ensure that your brand engages meaningfully with the TikTok community, building loyalty and increasing visibility. Visit our website to learn more about how Newnormz can help elevate your brand on TikTok and beyond!
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How can TikTok marketing benefit my brand?
TikTok marketing allows brands to reach a broad, engaged audience by leveraging trends, short-form videos, and localised content. This helps increase brand awareness, foster community engagement, and drive conversions, especially among younger demographics. Brands can gain visibility through viral trends, user-generated content, and authentic influencer partnerships.
2. What Types Of Content Perform Best On TikTok?
Authentic, entertaining, and visually engaging content performs well on TikTok. Popular types include challenges, behind-the-scenes videos, tutorials, product demos, and interactive Q&As. Humour, music, and trending challenges also help capture attention and encourage shares.
3. How Can I Measure The Success Of My TikTok Marketing Efforts?
To measure success, monitor metrics such as views, likes, shares, comments, follower growth, and engagement rate. For a more in-depth analysis, TikTok’s analytics tool offers insights into audience demographics, traffic sources, and content performance, helping you refine your strategy over time.
