Should My Brand Be on TikTok? 3 Things to Consider

There’s one social media platform everyone loves to hate – TikTok.

The video sharing app has quite a storied past. But even with a rocky history at its inception and narrowly escaping getting banned by the government, TikTok managed to defy the odds, exploding in popularity over the past few years.

Despite this exponential growth, some brands remain hesitant to join the social platform. For a while, IMGE was one of them. But not anymore.

Here are three compelling reasons why we joined TikTok, and why you should consider it, too.

The first – and most important – reason we took the leap and joined the youthful masses on TikTok was to reach a key demographic.

Every generation has its favorite social platform. Boomers have Facebook. Gen X has Twitter on lock. Millennials spend hours on Instagram.

And Gen Z? They are the driving force behind TikTok’s breakout success.

That means if you aren’t on TikTok, your brand probably isn’t reaching this key demographic – at least not effectively.

TikTok has more than 3 billion downloads and boasts about 69.5 million monthly active users in the United States. And while many of those people may also use the other social media platforms your brand is already active on, they are spending more time on TikTok.

In fact, users average a whopping 95 minutes per day on the app – that’s nearly twice as much time spent on Facebook and Instagram daily, and three times as much time spent on Twitter.

Gen Z will have a growing impact on elections and the economy in the coming years, and brands simply can’t afford to ignore this cohort.

If you want to get your message in front of this generation, TikTok is the best place to do it.

At IMGE, we talk a lot about the importance of an omnichannel approach. It’s the foundation for nearly every digital strategy we craft for our clients, as well as our own branded content.

This is in part to cast a wider net and reach a larger audience on their preferred medium, as we noted in the last section about Gen Z. It also ensures people can see your content in the event you get blocked on a particular platform.

With the recent uptick in shadowbanning, email suppression, increased digital regulations, and Big Tech censorship, it’s harder than ever for brands to share their content online.

Just look at the data: one study found that 1 in 40 Twitter users have been shadowbanned. And it’s not just a Twitter problem – censorship is happening on just about every social network and digital medium.

Censorship isn’t the only reason why it’s crucial for brands to engage on multiple platforms. The digital landscape is constantly evolving, and it’s easier to navigate sweeping changes if you don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

Younger generations aren’t adopting Facebook. Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover could push the company to collapse. Even SMS, which has the fewest rules and sending limitations of any communication channel today, could get regulated out of existence at the drop of a hat.

The more platforms you have a presence on, the better your brand will fare with the algorithms, content moderators, and external shifts in the digital world.

Finding top-tier talent is a struggle for many companies, and sometimes job boards just don’t cut it. That’s especially true for industries like ours where the median age of the workforce is about a decade lower than most other sectors.

These young jobseekers aren’t just looking for a competitive salary and generous benefits, although both are certainly still important. They want to work for companies that offer more flexibility, foster a healthy office culture, and invest in their people.

It isn’t enough to say you have a killer culture, you need to show it.

Posting videos on TikTok is a great way for organizations to highlight all the things that would make potential employees want to come work for them – from office perks like cold brew on tap and impromptu happy hours to fringe benefits like remote opportunities and paid parental leave.

@teamimge The struggle of a #hybridoffice ♬ original sound – Joy / winter

As an added bonus, filming and editing these videos can be a fun passion project for existing staff members!

For us, the answer was yes.

If you think your organization could benefit from joining the platform, IMGE is here to help. Reach out today to find out how our team of creative experts and marketing pros can help you leverage the app to reach your goals.