TikTok has found itself in an inevitable position of being the hottest influencer marketing tool of the year. It is combined with a rapidly growing user base of young millennials. Now brands and influencers are more comfortable creating fun-filled videos. Even top brands have resorted to buy TikTok likes, which will make the video reach many people.
Walmart
Walmart encouraged its users to post their videos, expressing their excitement over Black Friday savings at the store. #DealDropDance was the tag used in the campaign, which has up to date gathered 3.6 billion views on videos that included this hashtag.
With its significant efforts, Walmart reached nearly 17 million followers by tying up with six profound influencers, including Montanatucker.
The tremendous promotion featuring the pair assumingly dancing in a store achieved more than fifty thousand likes from their millions of followers. Walmart is a significant example of the involvement of bigger brands taking TikTok seriously as a marketing tool.
Chipotle
Chipotle is a popular Mexican restaurant chain, with a fan following of 55,000 on TikTok. To highlight the menu items, they published a variety of posts using music, memes, and other references. Here are two examples:
It used the hashtag #oneyearofTikTok, featuring a video displaying tortilla chips propping around a bowl of guac with the Adele song, “Someone Like You,” overlaying the clip. Because the sound bite synchronizes with Adele’s audience singing back to her, it feels like the chips are singing back to the guac.
This is a funny way to show off-menu items and creatively works a well-known song into a video.
Chiptole posted a video in an attempt to celebrate National Avocado Day. It registered a popular meme reference by posting a video under the caption “TFW guac is free.”
Chiptole also encouraged people to post videos of themselves dancing with avocados that got viral and challenging. At the same time, it is hard for advertisers to spread brand awareness by getting their challenge to go viral. Interestingly TikTok also allows them to engage with potential new fans.
People who didn’t know much about the restaurant deals can indirectly learn about brand identity by participating in it. Chipotle has registered an identity by experimenting with the TikTok platform in a creative way.
NBA
The NBA does an incredible job at engaging its audience and reaching nearly 6.5 million followers. They create a wide range of content, rejoicing their brand, and induce fun through sports in impactful ways. They post light-hearted and entertaining videos of halftime show antics.
Significantly the content aims at building a deeper connection with the fans by humanizing the athletes. For example, a video posted on RJ Barrett’s reaction when getting drafted. This offers fans a great experience of following Barrett’s journey emotionally to the pros.
Gymshark
Gymshark is another brand that celebrates TikTok uniquely from other social media platforms. It created engaging content that appeals to TikTok’s user base and also matched the style of content that TikTok’s algorithm tends to favor (such as inspiring fitness feats and challenges). In 2019, Gymshark held its 66 Day Challenge, partnering with six fitness and dance influencers who have a huge fan following on TikTok than Instagram. This ensured the reach of the brand towards the large audience on the platform, monetizing on the existing audiences of the selected influencers. Overall, the campaign acquired 45.5 million views for the hashtag #gymshark66.
Gymshark created a ‘stand up challenge’ in TikTok, continuing its strategy in 2020. It notably partnered with the popular TikToker, Demi Bagby. The hashtag reached 280 million views, which largely emerged from users who recreated the original brand video.
Calvin Klein
Calvin Klein has utilized TikTok as something of an experiment to enhance their online presence as realistically as possible.
Calvin Klein took a high traditional approach to their marketing instead of operating their strategies by reaching out to influencers and enhancing their existing fan bases. It is found that they created an official account, hired top celebrities, and posted their marketing materials for promotion through the account created officially. The brand has so far produced 22 videos and marked a following of 5.1K. They interviewed stars for the brand and posted under the hashtag #MyCalvins
Though the brand had a relatively low view and like counts through the campaign, this approach has marked success in the long run. TikTok thrives better than other social media platforms because of its distinct subcultures. Also, the personalities that dominate them are mostly non-traditional celebrities because of this reason.