With more than one billion monthly active users and three billion downloads, TikTok surpassed other social media platforms such as Twitter, Snapchat and Pinterest in the past two years.
With its growing popularity (especially among Gen Z and millennials) and its global reach – the app is available in over 150 countries and can be accessed in over 75 languages – TikTok has slowly become a fully developed market for the best brands.
Below are some of the best examples of how brands are approaching TikTok advertising with maximum creativity, a key element in attracting Gen Z and Millennials.
1. GYMSHARK’s TikTok strategy
@isabellaakalley1.0 Gym GRUM 👟 #gym #ootd #fyp #2022 @Gymshark
♬ No Idea – 🫐
Gymshark is a leading UK fitness brand, pioneering the adoption of the influencer marketing model, which skyrocketed the brand’s popularity on social platforms, particularly TikTok.
They seemed to have understood the importance of creating a content and advertising strategy on TikTok – they did, mostly by adapting viral videos, hashtags and challenges to their style – all of which resulted in over 3.5 million followers. Another important part of their advertising strategy is relatable content: everyday moments of fitness journeys, like struggling to keep up with friends at the gym or accidentally using gym equipment incorrectly.
2. The NBA stands out on TikTok
@nba The stars showed up and showed up at #TheCrawsOver on Saturday! 🤩 #nba #basketball
♬ original sound – NBA
The NBA joined the TikTok community in 2016 and is followed by 15.6 million users.
In addition to being early adopters of TikTok, showing others How to advertise on TikTok, the NBA’s success on the platform is due to its upbeat, relatable and fun content, such as behind-the-scenes videos or the challenge #hoopsathome.
3. CHIPOTLE’s strategy on TikTok
@daviddobrik #ChipotleLidFlip @chipotle #ad
♬ Flip – Future
After TikTok launched its ad platform, this popular Mexican food chain successfully used its first brand hashtag challenge, the #ChipotleLidFlip, created by a Chipotle employee.
Chipotle currently has over 1.7 million followers, and by advertising on TikTok with the hashtag #Boorito, the chain has received over 4.2 million views.
4. Elf Cosmetics
@elfyeah Better lather up 🧼 Keep your eyes, lips and face safe! 👀👄🤩 #eyeslipsface #elfyeah @illwayno @hollafyesixwun
♬ Eyes. Lips. face Safe-deposit box. elf Cosmetics – elfyeah
Beauty and fashion brands are one of the most successful on TikTok, due to the visual impact and fast-turning videos.
Affordable makeup brand Elf cosmetics has made a big impact with its many successful label challenges.
The original Eyes Lips Face song formed the backing track for the influencer’s makeover tutorials, and the #EyesLipsFace challenge went viral with over 4.5 million users generating videos with the hashtag.
5. NETFLIX’s TikTok approach
@netflix #strangerthings but Dustin is British for some reason
♬ original sound – Netflix
Netflix’s advertising strategy mainly involves partnering with influencers or starting fun series like #whoworeitbest while promoting one of their hit shows, like “Selling Sunset.”
“Guess the Netflix Show” is another popular challenge that helped boost engagement and earned the streaming platform 22.5 million followers.
The above examples show how advertising on Tiktok can be a great tool to sync with Gen Z or millennials and this can be done through valuable and relatable content.