You've probably heard of the fast-growing app TikTok. Anyone can create a 15-60 second video with background music and get millions of views.

It doesn't really matter how many followers you have – TikTok looks at content quality and puts it in front of relevant users. What makes it extra sticky is that you get in content consumption directly when you log in. The home screen starts rolling the most popular videos, so you get hooked in seconds.

So, do you use TikTok to follow an influencer? Or is it just for entertainment, scrolling through random videos? I guess both, but compared to Instagram, it's a lot more about funny videos and less about following people you care about.

Today, we have such a low attention span that 5-7 second videos are sometimes too long...and there is no way an influencer can build a connection/relationship in that short amount of time. The success in influencer marketing is that people can influence others, and sometimes it's about making them buy a certain product. I call them sales converters.

There are many sales converters on Instagram, and that's what makes it a popular channel for marketers. The question is whether the TikTok format and algorithm will convert sales like Instagram does. I don't think so right now. Here's why:

1. Anyone can get millions of views, so how do you determine an influencer? Is it based on the number of followers, video views, or multiple video views combined? We don't really know that yet.
2. The challenge I see is that you don't really "care" about TikTok profiles. But you can care about an Instagram profile. On Instagram, you can follow her/his life. If you admire the person, you can buy stuff she/he uses and be as cool. But on TikTok, you get entertained for 10 seconds, then you see another random 10-second video.

However, I still see great potential in TikTok, mainly because of three reasons:

1. Organic traffic is crazy at the moment, which means a lot of "free" traffic. As a brand, you must be on TikTok. Create your account now and convert your Instagram followers to TikTok – it's usually an easy start. Start posting on a daily basis to see what type of content works.
2. Sales converters are also using TikTok, and so are their core followers. I see a potential strategy where a brand builds brand awareness on TikTok to entertain and inform, and then converts on Instagram stories.
3. TikTok Live is worth exploring. How can it be used as a shopping live stream for influencers? By taking the followers' attention for a much longer time, there's time to build trust and eventually convert to sales.

To summarize, TikTok is an interesting channel with great potential. But don't expect huge sales and conversion as you see on Instagram. In the end, the number of app downloads or growth won't make it a better sales channel for your brand. The format must be right and your audience must be there. If you want to explore it as an influencer channel, I suggest working with your Instagram influencers on TikTok.

Share with a colleague scopeapp.io/blog/why-tiktok-is-an-overrated-channel

Copy link