Excerpt from the TikTok Ad Masterclass

Creating effective ad creative is crucial for successful marketing campaigns on different social media platforms. While it may seem convenient to transfer Facebook creative directly to TikTok, this approach often leads to failure.

TikTok requires a unique strategy and tailored content to maximize return on investment (ROI). By understanding and implementing these elements, businesses can optimize their TikTok ad campaigns and connect with their target audience more effectively.

Ad Creative

The biggest mistake taken is when coming from Facebook, people will take their Facebook creative and just copy it over to TikTok, this includes the size ratio and trends – this fails. If you focus your efforts on cracking TikTok ad creative, the ROI on that creative is substantially higher than if we focus just on Facebook creative. It’s a one way street, not a two way street.

Ad Fatigue

Ads on Facebook tend to last longer whereas TikTok creatives fatigue significantly faster. With TikTok you’ll need to dramatically increase your creative output and produce way more ad creative. A way to fail on TikTok is simply by not making enough creative and giving up.

Content Type

It’s important to know the content types that work well and that don’t work for each platform. Where images and animations may work on Facebook, that will not always convert the same success on TikTok. You want to make sure you’re as native as possible with your ad content.

Screen Real-Estate

Many mistakes happen you you don’t leverage the 9:16 ratio on TikTok. Avoid this mistake by taking the extra time to convert the content properly into TikTok as not to keep the black bars on top and bottom of your ad, that’s a missed opportunity for ad space. TikTok is giving you the full screen, use it!

Sound

Sound is not top of mind when scrolling through Facebook, with TikTok, sound is a huge component on connecting with your audience. Audio is part of the culture of the app and can make or break your content.

Length of Content

Understanding the importance of content length will also determine your success with the platform. What may work for Facebook will not always translate and work on TikTok. The culture of content is different on each platform so shooting accordingly will make a difference.

The post TikTok vs. Facebook Advertising: Which One is Right for Your Business? [VIDEO] appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

Excerpt from the TikTok Ad Masterclass

The Ford Method is a strategy for maximizing creative output by breaking the creative process into modular components. Rather than thinking of an ad as a singular entity, the Ford Method breaks it up into smaller parts, such as opening hooks, text overlays, and outros.

Modular Components

The key to the Ford Method is creating modular components that can be shot independently and then connected to tell a cohesive story. For example, instead of shooting 16 unique ads, you can shoot four core ads and then shoot four different opening hooks for each ad. By combining each hook with each ad, you end up with 16 unique combinations.

Creating a Dedicated Workspace

To stay productive while implementing the Ford Method, it is important to create a dedicated workspace. This can be a desk, a table, or any area that is specifically designated for work. Having a dedicated workspace helps to create a sense of structure and routine, which can help to increase focus and productivity.

The Ford Method Tracker

The Ford Method Tracker is a collaborative sheet used by the creative team to prioritize and track their video ideas. The sheet includes fields for video ideas, types of videos, opening hooks, record by date, video status, client approval, notes from the client, and finished creative. The Ford Method Tracker also includes a section for modular components, such as text overlays and headlines.

Consistent Naming Conventions

To make the Ford Method work effectively, it is important to have consistent naming conventions. This can help to keep track of ads and make it easier to optimize them. A consistent naming convention can include information such as the campaign, the media buyer, the objective, the budget type, the start date, the targeting, and the ad content.

What’s Next?

The Ford Method is a game-changing strategy for maximizing creative output. By breaking the creative process into modular components, you can dramatically increase your creative output while minimizing the amount of work required. To implement the Ford Method effectively, it is important to create a dedicated workspace, use the Ford Method Tracker, and have consistent naming conventions.

The post How to Maximize Your Content Output on TikTok [VIDEO] appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

As a small business owner, you are probably always looking for new ways to reach potential customers and grow your business. Chances are you’re utilizing one or more of the usual channels to try and attract new customers, but there’s probably 1 channel you’ve overlooked: TikTok. With over 1 billion monthly active users and growing, TikTok is a powerful platform that can help you engage and attract new customers. In this article, we’re going to explain more about how your small business can turn TikTok into a revenue-generating machine! 

What is TikTok?

TikTok is a short-form video app where users can share creative and entertaining videos. Most small business owners think that the only people making money on TikTok are influencers hawking the latest fad products. The reality is that no matter what product or service you offer, there’s real revenue to be generated on TikTok for your small business. 

What makes TikTok unique is its algorithm, which tailors content to each individual user based on their interests. There are numerous virality features that give you the chance to get in front of new audiences at cost-effective rates in comparison to other digital marketing channels such as Google, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. In fact, TikTok ads can be a fraction of the cost of Facebook ads despite being as effective or even more effective. 

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We recently surveyed consumers about their habits when patronizing a small business and found 33% of 18-29-year-olds reported to have supported a small business due to a TikTok ad they saw. 

We also surveyed small business owners to get a better sense for where they distributed content and found that 93% of them posted content to Facebook while only 60% posted to TikTok.

Given this discrepancy it’s clear there is a massive opportunity for small businesses to connect with a new generation of consumers and build a lasting brand as younger demographics enter the workforce and increase their purchasing power by interacting with them on TikTok.

How to Use TikTok

Like virtually every other social network, TikTok gives you an opportunity to engage other users organically and through paid ads. Whether you are selling products or delivering a service, properly utilizing TikTok can be an incredibly powerful channel for your small business.

DOWNLOAD: The TikTok Ad Set Up Guide. Learn how to quickly create 16 TikTok ads in the least amount of time possible. Click Here

Organic Posts

Organic posts are videos you create and post on TikTok without using any paid promotion. These posts can be on any topic within your business’ niche and it’s the best way to get started with using TikTok. You can have a content writer or copywriter script your organic posts or you can choose to do them unscripted if you have a personal brand. With organic posts, you can educate and entertain your audience in the hopes of making them aware your company exists….think of it as a wonderful introduction, where users can get a peek at your personality and interests.

@thefarmersdog

Even Regina George would have to admit that this is SO. FETCH.

♬ original sound – The Farmer’s Dog

In the example above, which has been viewed over 3.5 million times, you’ll notice that the video itself isn’t promotional in any way. The Farmer’s Dog sells healthy dog food, but the video itself has nothing to do with dog food. But if you hope to eventually convince dog owners to buy your dog food, what better way to make them aware you exist than by creating a video watched and loved by millions of dog owners?

Paid Ads

Organic posts are great, but it will likely take months before you build a meaningful audience. Businesses can bypass this by using TikTok’s paid ads. Paid ads on TikTok work similarly to other social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. You create an ad and target a specific audience.

There are three types of paid ads on TikTok:

In-feed ads: In-feed ads appear in between users’ organic content. These ads can be up to 60 seconds long and are the most popular type of ad on TikTok. These ads allow you to add a CTA at the bottom of the ad and they also have a sponsored tag to let users know it’s an ad. These ads are great because they naturally blend in with the content users are already watching.

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Brand Takeovers: Brand takeovers are full-screen ads that appear when someone opens up their TikTok account. It’s the first video they see and it’s usually a 3-second image with a CTA. The CTA is generally something that entices users to follow a certain account or join a TikTok live stream.

Embedded Video Explainer of Brand Takeover

Spark ads: Spark ads enable businesses to promote their existing organic videos instead of creating new videos from scratch. After posting a number of videos, businesses can see which videos are performing best and they can use spark ads to promote those videos.

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Branded hashtag: A branded hashtag is a hashtag that you create and promote to get users to post videos using your hashtag. This is a great way to increase brand awareness and get user-generated content. Many of the top businesses use this and it can compound quickly to bring you thousands of views and clicks.

@charlidamelio share what you’re doing to stay positive right now by tagging @aerie and #aerierealpositivity #ad ♬ 100% Real Love – PopUpGirl

Above is a timely example of a hashtag challenge launched by Aerie showcasing users wearing their leggings while sharing something they are grateful for while in the midst of Covid lockdown. Their brand aims to empower all women to love their real selves, and what better way to inject some of that positivity into the TiKTok community than hosting what amounted to a massive gratitude exercise?

It’s worth noting, their challenge wasn’t around their product. They didn’t ask people to say what their favorite thing about their products were. They instead asked people to share in a positive experience, one their brand was able to engender. There’s a massive difference between those approaches, and one you need to understand if you want to effectively engage users on TikTok.

DOWNLOAD: The TikTok Ad Set Up Guide. Learn how to quickly create 16 TikTok ads in the least amount of time possible. Click Here

TikTok Ad Targeting

While TikTok doesn’t quite have the granularity present within Facebook Ads, it does provide you with various targeting methods to ensure you’re able to effectively reach the right audience you’ve identified in your TikTok marketing strategy.

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• Location: You can target ads to users in a specific city, state, country or region. This is great if you’re a brick-and-mortar business or if you’re targeting a specific market.

• Interest: You can target ads to users based on their interests. TikTok has a number of interests you can target including music, fashion, beauty, fitness and more.

• Behavior: You can target ads to users based on their behavior. This includes content they like, accounts they follow and even other ads they’ve interacted with.

Cost of Ads

TikTok ads start at $10 per CPM (per 1,000 views). The cost of ads can vary depending on the type of audience or niche you are targeting. For example, ads for the music niche are have much cheaper CPMs in comparison to ads in the finance niche. There are some minimum spend requirements by TikTok depending on the type of campaign you are running.

For example, TikTok requires a minimum of $50 per day at the campaign level and $20 per day at the ad group level. Ad costs can also vary depending on the type of ads you run. A brand takeover ad will likely cost much more than a branded hashtag. Additionally, TikTok ads are not as simple as just buying the cheapest type of ad. You need to select the best type of ad (e.g. brand takeover, in-feed ad, etc.) for your niche. It’s best to start with one type of ad for one persona and A/B test it against other ad formats.

TikTok Business Case Study: Buccal Fat Removal Chicago

Dr. Benjamin Caughlin runs a buccal fat removal & jawline sculpting clinic in Chicago and has amassed over 270,000 followers on TikTok. When businesses think of successful TikTok brands, a buccal fat removal clinic typically isn’t what comes to mind. Dr. Caughlin has leveraged TikTok’s viral sounds and trends to bring attention to his brand and services. He posts original content, stitched content and videos with popular sounds to garner attention from his audience and to position himself as the authority in his niche.

@manyfacesofchicago Sharpness is in and I have lots of tools #beforeandafter #goodbetterbest #contourtutorial #viral ♬ original sound – Ian Asher

His TikTok audience also drives traffic to his website. In fact, during a particularly active stretch in November and December of 2021, TikTok represented his largest source of appointments and revenue!

From the several thousand visitors who visit his website, roughly 50 of them convert into appointments and paying customers for his clinic. That doesn’t include visitors that submitted their contact form nor picked up the phone and called their office!

With the appointment bookings alone, TikTok generated over $200,000 in revenue for him in December of 2021. Since all of the traffic is organic, the only costs that go into TikTok as a marketing channel is the time spent making videos.

The best part of this is that the traffic from TikTok will only continue to increase as Dr. Caughlin builds his brand on TikTok. This is just one part of his clinic’s marketing strategy to generate organic leads for the business. As you can see below, TikTok continues to remain a large part of his overall TikTok marketing strategy.

TikTok is one of his fastest-growing marketing channels and he has only been publishing content for about 18 months. This is a great example of how you can add TikTok into your marketing strategy and leverage an organic audience to drive significant revenue.

Do’s & Don’ts

There are some guidelines you should follow when posting on TikTok to maximize your organic and paid reach. These guidelines will help you avoid things that can minimize your reach and increase your costs and effort to market to your audience. Most importantly, they’ll help ensure you can be an authentic presence within the TikTok community that other people enjoy engaging with!

Do: Post creative and entertaining videos that are relevant to your business.

Creativity and originality is what sets good TikTok accounts from great ones. Make sure to keep up with the latest trends and sounds on TikTok to maximize your organic reach.

@livportio our biggest video in 2021! thank u for all your support #smallbusiness #jewelry #cheating #relationship #storytime ♬ original sound – LIV PORTIO

Don’t: Post videos that are overtly sales-y or promotional.

Don’t pitch your products and services immediately. Instead, use TikTok as a top of the funnel platform to generate awareness for your brand. The more creative and entertaining your videos are, the more reach you’ll generate.

Do: Use TikTok’s algorithm to your advantage by creating content that your target audience will enjoy.

After you post for a few months on TikTok, revisit the videos that performed well and double down on them. This is what TikTok’s algorithm rewards you for, so do more of it and get more views on your content.

Don’t: Post videos that are not relevant to your business.

You can confuse your audience if you create a ton of non-related content to your niche. Be willing to experiment, but stay within your general niche (e.g. fitness, marketing, health).

Do: Use TikTok to drive traffic to your website or landing pages.

Make sure to add your links in your profile to capture the traffic you’re generating. Add your highest ROI pages in your profile bio and drive your audience to your offer.

Don’t: Post low-quality videos.

The TikTok algorithm favors high-quality videos with good production value. If you’re just starting out, make sure to invest in a decent camera or use your smartphone to make videos. The bar for high-resolution videos on TikTok is very high. Most iPhones are good enough to capture high-quality videos, but don’t use low-quality computers, phones or cameras to do your videos.

Do: Experiment with different types of content to see what works best for your business.

The best TikTok creators are ones who constantly experiment on the platform. There are many brands who’ve generated millions of views simply by riding the latest trends. The more you experiment, the more types of successful content you will find.

Growth marketer Zach Grove has seen that testing different hooks (i.e. the first 3 seconds of your video) is the best way to improve your Tik Tok creatives.

“Testing new attention-grabbing hooks—such as “Hey [your local city], check this out…” or “Tik Tok made me buy it: [your local city] edition”—is the best way to get traction and maximize your views. Make sure you’re always testing hooks to see what works for your niche”

Top TikTok Content…

• Learn how How To Grow Your Small Business On TikTok
• TikTok Ad Set Up Guide
• How To Launch Your First TikTok Ad & Achieve Profitability Within 30 Days
• Why You Should Hire A Full-Time TikTok Manager

Don’t: Be boring.

If you have a new account, you can’t afford to be boring. This doesn’t mean that you have to have the most crazy and engaging videos in the world; it just means you need to capture the audience’s attention. You can use hooks, images and other tactics to get your viewers to watch your videos.

Do: Use hashtags, challenges, and trends to get more views on your videos.

Hashtags, challenges and trends are one of the highest leverage points in your TikTok content marketing. Make sure to leverage these and allow users to promote on your behalf.

Don’t: Be inauthentic.

TikTok has by far the most tech-savvy user base out of all social media platforms. The engagement on the app is high because most users can spot inauthenticity from a mile away. If you’re not being genuine, your videos will perform poorly and you’ll have a hard time building an audience.

These are just a few guidelines you can use as you start your TikTok creator journey. The best way to learn is by experimenting and seeing what works for your business. Get started on TikTok today by posting content in your niche and leveraging TikTok’s features to maximize your organic reach and audience growth. To learn more about how you can use TikTok to grow your business, check out this blog post.

The post How to Grow Your Small Business On TikTok appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

If you’re reading this, you’re most likely seeking some answers on how social media works. I may have found the key to growing a following on TikTok. 

In 2020, I started my journey as a Dallas Realtor helping locals buy, sell, and lease through the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. The real estate market in Dallas Is HOT and as a realtor, you have to source your own leads. I joined TikTok at the beginning of 2022, in hopes to use this platform to find new clients. Joining a new platform was terrifying and I was very resistant at first. I started posting on January 1st, 2022 and have posted every day since.

TikTok is different for everyone, but here are a few tips that have helped me grow my following. 

1. Consistency is Key

As challenging as consistency is, you have to post every single day. Yes, every day. Ive gained over 5 thousand followers showcasing stunning luxury apartments and homes in just 6 months. It only takes one viral post to change your life. 

2. Timing Matters

When creating content, try to keep your videos under 30 seconds and, when appropriate, add a voice over. This will help your audience engage and get to know who’s behind all the magic. You have 3-5 seconds to hook your followers, SO DON’T FLOP NOW! 

3. Show Off Your Creativity

Get creative, and most importantly be intentional with your hooks and you should have no problem getting some good engagement with your followers. Following the trends is great, but not every audience wants to see you do viral dances. Use the trending sounds and show off your creativity based on your customer avatar. 

After posting daily, keeping your content short and sweet, and utilizing your creativity you’ll have a clear vision of what performs well and what doesn’t. 

Bonus Tip

On top of that, I use the app Splice for all my editing and record all my videos on my iPhone using a Gimble that I purchased from Amazon, which is a hand held stabilizer for smoother content. We all know that video is becoming the number one source of content, so make sure yours is high quality and easy to look at. 

Push yourself because it will be uncomfortable at first, but if you follow these few tips you should see similar success and be on the road to becoming the content boss you are. My business is thriving and 100% of my leads come from social media. I am forever grateful for this platform!

The post 3 Simple TikTok Tips to Grow Your Business appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

The post Trending in Marketing: Content Marketing Trends to Carry You Through 2022 appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

The allure of influencer marketing is STRONG for brands.

When you take inventory of an influencer’s channels, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, LinkedIn, Clubhouse, Pinterest, you realize somebody else has spent hours cultivating a relationship with your customer avatar. They put in years of algorithms, photoshoots, and videos. And they’re happy to share their connection with this niche of people with your brand.

This always leads to brands dreaming up the *perfect* scenario.

“If this campaign converts at 2% for their 3 million person following with a $20 product—I’ll be a millionaire!”.

That’s the allure of influencer marketing. And that’s why you see so many huge brands, like Dunkin, leaning right into this strategy. Dunkin works closely with Charli D’Amelio, one of the biggest influencers in the world (she has 130+ million followers on TikTok).

They’re sharing their hospitality brand with her massive Gen Z audience. I’d venture to guess the partnership cost them a pretty penny…and it was worth it. Dunkin and Charli have been working together since 2020, and we continue to see their relationship grow as they add a Charli-inspired drink to the menu and feature her image in their stores.

For Dunkin, a partnership with Charli was clear (because as a New Englander, she was a huge fan of their brand). But, that doesn’t mean Dunkin could hop right into a partnership with Charli.

First, they had to go through 5 prerequisites to make sure they understood what they were looking for from their campaign, they had to know how to approach Charli’s team with the idea, and they had to confidently go into a contract with the influencer superstar.

Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into influencer marketing so you can get started with your first campaign.

Step #1: The 5 Prerequisites for Influencer Marketing

Before you reach out to any Influencer there are 5 questions you need to answer: 

1. What is your current Customer Acquisition Cost?   
2. What is your budget for the promotion?
3. What’s the offer/ask?
4. Are KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) in place for that product or service?
5. What is your overall goal in teaming up with an Influencer? 

The more you know your numbers the more you can make data-driven decisions for your business when teaming up with influencers. If you’re new to data and analytics, check out the DigitalMarketer Data & Analytics Certification to get a step-by-step plan for building a powerful analytics dashboard.

These five answers will set you apart from all the companies reaching out to these influencers. Unlike the companies who are reaching out asking for a partnership, but not having worked through the details, you’ll be the one who knows what they’re looking for.

• You’ll know if this influencer is a right fit based on their responses to your questions.
• You’ll cut down on back and forth communication because you already know what you’re looking for.
• And, you’ll have benchmarks to measure performance to know if you want to continue working with them.

TIP: If you’re launching a new product or service you’re going to want to know questions 2, 3 & 5 before you reach out.

Once you’ve answered these questions, it’s time to reach out to influencers in your niche.

Step #2: Your First Influencer Outreach Campaign

Before you reach out to influencers, you need a list of the people you’ll be reaching out to. Make a list of 10-20 influencers with an audience of your customer avatar. Look for their email address in their bio or Linktree. If you can’t find it, see if their website has a “Contact Me” page or slide into their DMs.

Your outreach should have 3 things:

1. Introduction to yourself.
2. Link to your product/service.
3. Request for them to share their media kit.

Usually, there’s someone managing outreach for bigger influencers. You’ll hear back from someone on their team within the week, if not sooner. When you get their media kit, here are the KPI’s you’re looking for:

1. Number of downloads
2. Engagement 
3. Audience demographics
4. Reach 

This gives you a picture of if you want to take the conversation further.

Your biggest consideration is if this investment will get you the ROI you’re looking for. If your goal is brand awareness and presence, then influencer paid marketing is your path. Influencers have cultivated a relationship with your target audience—and that relationship speaks volumes in engagement and conversions.

Step #3: Contracting with Your First Influencers

There’s only one more step to creating your first influencer marketing campaign. Getting the official yes from the influencer to work together! This comes after they’ve checked all the boxes that you’re looking for.

Here’s what happens next:

#1: If you’re interested in working together, you’ll schedule a call with the influencer or their team member to get clear on the offer, discuss the budget, and goals of the promotion. Pricing may have already been disclosed in the media kit or it will be disclosed on the call once you’ve both decided it’s a good fit to move forward and what content you’re looking for them to create.

#2: From here, you’ll map out a scope of work for each platform available for advertising and deliverables.

#3: You’ll agree on pricing, signed off on agreements, and send payments.

Now, you’re off to the content creation races!

Influencer Marketing is All About Creation

The beautiful part of paid advertising with influencers is it’s all up for creation!

You can create new types of content, content for different channels, and have a new marketing arm that’s a direct line of communication with your customer avatar (what could be better?). As influencers post content to nurture the relationship they have with your audience, you can focus on your other campaigns, products, offers, and the logistics of running a business.

When you’re ready to have them promote another campaign, influencers have a content-hungry audience completely interested in what they’re up to.

It’s the ultimate symbiotic relationship, between brand and influencer.

If you find an influencer gem to work with, they’ll bring ideas for content to the table based on what they feel their audience will love (they do know their audience best so trust them in that process.) You want them to promote your product or service as authentic as possible.

That’s what makes influencer marketing a win-win-win for all.

Valerie Viramontes

Valerie Viramontes is a purpose-driven entrepreneur, women’s and girls empowerment leader, conscious marketing expert, media strategist, and founder of V2 Solutions & Girl Hacks.

Valerie created her boutique agency specializing in product launches and sponsorships for health conscious podcasters, influencers, and wellness companies. She uses her experience to create win-win-win deals for her clients, brands, and audiences. This has put her behind launches of companies and products with sales into the millions working with brands like Spartan Races, Barbell Shurgged, The Strong Coach, Complete Human and so many more! 

In Valerie’s free time she is a catalyst to remind young women of their inherent wisdom, intuition and power, and guide them to access the confidence within to make healthy choices in their lives. Add in hiking, dancing, reading, exploring new places to eat and she’s in her happy place!

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