TikTok has been helping brands in several ways, including providing a platform for brand promotion, facilitating influencer marketing campaigns, and offering various advertising options.

Their latest advice on how brands can increase their reach and engagement is to connect with related and unrelated communities. By doing so, brands can tap into a broader range of audiences that share common interests or values, expanding their reach beyond their usual target demographic.

As a social media marketing agency in Leicestershire, we have seen the power of TikTok, which lies in its ability to create trends, challenges, and communities that attract users of all ages, genders, and backgrounds.

TikTok on the power communities

On the blog, TikTok wrote:

“[We] serve audiences the content they love, but also [facilitate] discovery of new interests, brands and products. Brands that identify relevant communities on TikTok and craft their creative strategies around them are able to create authentic ads that deliver real impact.”

The concept is that you may make relevant connections with members by matching your marketing strategy with each community. However, you shouldn’t limit your brand to the groups most directly related to your business.

One example of a brand that has successfully leveraged TikTok’s community-driven approach is eBay. The e-commerce giant has connected with sneakerheads, a passionate community of sneaker enthusiasts, by creating content targeting this niche audience.

During March Madness, eBay ran a promotion called #SneakerShowdown, in which sneakerheads could vote on their favourite pairs.

eBay has tapped into the sneakerhead community’s love for unique, hard-to-find, and exclusive sneakers by showcasing rare and vintage sneakers available on their platform through creative and engaging videos.

The brand has also collaborated with TikTok influencers from the sneakerhead community to promote their listings, using influencer marketing to reach a wider audience and increase sales.

TikTok’s advice for brands

To successfully engage with TikTok’s community-driven audience, brands must first identify relevant subcultures within the platform.

TikTok recommends that brands take the time to understand the unique characteristics and interests of these subcultures to create content that resonates with their members. By doing so, brands can establish an authentic connection with their target audience and increase the chances of their content being discovered and shared.

According to TikTok:

“Embrace communities and their subcultures—that’s where true inspiration lives. 76% of users say they like it when brands are a part of special interest groups on TikTok.”

TikTok claims that marketers may use its Keyword Insights Tool to uncover potential crossover groups by researching the top phrases in their sector and determining where else they could apply.

Browsing through the examples can help you discover broader topics of interest, which can guide you towards relevant communities that you may have overlooked, providing more focus for your outreach efforts. This can help you connect with a wider range of audiences and expand your reach on the platform.

The Stay and Play Framework

The Stay and Play Framework Tiktok

TikTok also encourages brands to consider the ‘Stay and Play’ framework for unconnected communities.

Basically, brands should focus on their core communities while exploring and experimenting with less obvious ones to expand their reach and engagement.

By “staying” in their primary communities, brands can maintain their relevance and strengthen their relationships with their target audience. On the other hand, by “playing” in less obvious communities, brands can discover new opportunities to connect with new audiences and experiment with creative approaches to engage with them.

This is where knowing your target audience plays a significant role.

CoSchedule content specialist Sam Tate wrote:

“Does your target audience use TikTok? Or are you targeting a new audience on TikTok? Create personas to determine your target audience. Build your marketing campaign strategy on your target audience’s interests to find the right influencers and create discoverable content.”

As a digital marketing agency in Leicestershire, we urge businesses to deeply understand their target market, which involves identifying and analysing the characteristics, preferences, behaviours, and needs of their ideal customers. Nonetheless, it’s also essential to analyse the characteristics of individuals who are not currently engaging with their brand; they can identify potential new markets or customer segments that may be worth pursuing.

TikTok recommends that brands apply these suggestions across all communities when creating content on the platform:

Use a lo-fi approach and avoid excessive glossiness
Shoot videos in a vertical and high-resolution format
Showcase real people, such as creators, employees, and customers
Incorporate sound into videos
Use TikTok-specific editing techniques
Tell a story
Embrace category and vertical norms

By following these guidelines, brands can create engaging and authentic content that resonates with their target audience and maximises their reach and impact on the platform.

Key Takeaways

Brands can increase their reach and engagement on TikTok by connecting with related and unrelated communities that share common interests or values.
To engage with TikTok’s community-driven audience, brands must first identify relevant subcultures within the platform and create content that resonates with their members.
TikTok recommends that brands apply the “Stay and Play” framework to expand their reach and engagement.
To create engaging and authentic content that resonates with their target audience, brands can follow TikTok’s suggestions.