Are you considering TikTok digital marketing for your business? With the app’s exponential growth in popularity, it’s not surprising that companies are exploring ways to leverage its influence.
But here’s the real question: is it worth hiring a TikTok marketing agency to help you navigate the platform’s advertising options? The answer depends mostly on your audience. But beyond Gen Z, you may be surprised that TikTok continues to grow in popularity among Millennials.
In this blog, we’ll explore:
- The benefits of advertising on the world’s 6th most popular social media platform.
- Point out some pros and cons of working with a TikTok marketing agency.
- The different types of advertising you can do on the platform.
Table of Contents
Why TikTok Marketing Is Important
TikTok has taken the social media world by storm in recent years, with well over 1 billion active users worldwide. The app’s user base skews younger than other social media platforms, with its largest age group ranging between the ages of 16 and 24. This presents a unique opportunity for businesses looking to target younger demographics.
TikTok’s controversial algorithm also makes it a great platform for businesses looking to reach a wider audience. The app’s “For You” page recommends videos to users based on their past interactions with the platform, so even if a user isn’t following your account, there’s a chance they’ll come across your content.
Another benefit of TikTok marketing is that the platform’s advertising options are still relatively new, meaning there’s less competition for ad space compared to other social platforms. This can lead to lower costs per click or impression for businesses running ads on TikTok.
TikTok — By the Numbers
- In Q1 of 2023, TikTok was the most downloaded app, beating Instagram for the top spot of the quarter. It has now been downloaded over 3.5 billion times, making it the fifth most downloaded app of all time and the only one not owned by Meta.
- As of 2023, TikTok has over 1.53 billion users, out of which 1.05 billion are monthly active users. This means that the app is being used by 30.25% of the world’s internet users.
- TikTok has surpassed Twitter, Telegram, Reddit, Pinterest, and Snapchat in terms of monthly average users (MAUs).
- Marketers believe that TikTok and Instagram have the most potential to grow in 2023, and 53% of them plan to increase their investments in the app.
- TikTok’s cost per mille (CPM) is half that of Instagram, a third of the cost of Twitter, and 62% less than Snapchat. This metric calculates what advertisers pay for every thousand views on a post. Mille is Latin for “a thousand.”
- For better or for worse, the average user spends 89 minutes per day on TikTok, according to a leaked deck from the platform. That one’s probably in the better category for marketers.
- TikTok users are 1.3 times more likely to know about products before any of their peers, making the platform a trendsetting tool.
- Call it the new word-of-mouth marketplace! 55% of TikTok users use the app to research new brands or products, indicating that young buyers’ journeys often begin on TikTok.
Types of TikTok Advertising
Before deciding whether to hire a TikTok marketing agency, it’s important to understand the different types of advertising you can do on the platform. Some of the most popular options include:
Influencer Marketing
This involves partnering with popular TikTok users (known as “influencers”) to promote your brand or product. Influencers will typically create content that features your product or service and share it with their followers. An influencer marketing campaign can be effective because it’s often more authentic than traditional advertising methods, and the influencer’s followers are likely to trust their recommendations.
Organic Content
Create your own content to share on your TikTok account. The goal is to create engaging and entertaining videos that will attract followers and potential customers. While this type of advertising is free, it can be time-consuming to create high-quality content that resonates with TikTok’s audience.
Paid Ads
Includes creating and running paid ads on TikTok’s platform. There are several different ad formats available, including in-feed ads, brand takeovers, and others listed in the following section. Paid ads can be effective for reaching a wider audience quickly, but they can also be expensive.
Types of TikTok Advertisements
Currently, there are six (pending) types of paid ads you can utilize through TikTok, including:
- In-Feed ads: Ads that appear in the TikTok feed as users scroll through videos
- TopView ads: Full-screen ads that appear as soon as a user opens the TikTok app
- Brand Takeover ads: Ads that take over the entire screen upon opening the app, often with a clickable link to the advertiser’s website
- Branded Hashtag Challenge ads: Ads that encourage users to create content around a specific branded hashtag
- Branded Effects ads: Ads that add augmented reality filters and effects to a user’s video
- TikTok Collection ads: This is a full-screen ad format that enables users to browse products on their mobile devices, leading to an Instant Gallery Page. Collection ads are not yet available to all users but should be once beta testing is complete.
[Find first-hand TikTok ad examples and a deep(er) TikTok marketing guide.]
Should You Hire a TikTok Marketing Agency?
Now that you understand the different types of TikTok advertising, let’s explore whether it’s worth hiring a TikTok marketing agency to help you with your marketing efforts.
Long story short, running any social media channel without a strategy leaves a lot of money on the table. Check out the not-so-obvious value social media channels deliver to clients.
Benefits of Hiring a TikTok Marketing Agency
- Expertise: First and foremost, TikTok marketing agencies specialize in creating and executing successful TikTok marketing strategies. They’re experts at creating content that resonates with your audience, and they can also help you navigate the platform’s advertising options to ensure you’re getting the most bang for your buck.
- Time-Saving: Creating and executing a successful TikTok advertising campaign can be time-consuming. By hiring a TikTok marketing agency, you can free up your time to focus on other aspects of your business while the agency takes care of your marketing efforts and full-service campaign management.
- Long-term Value: While hiring a TikTok marketing agency may seem like an added expense, it can actually be cost-effective in the long run. Agencies have access to tools and resources that can help optimize TikTok campaigns and reduce costs, which can lead to a better return on ad spend (ROAS) and return on investment (ROI).
Drawbacks of Hiring a TikTok Marketing Agency
- Cost: Hiring a TikTok marketing agency can be expensive, especially if you don’t have a large marketing budget. It’s important to weigh the potential ROI against the cost of hiring an agency. The answer here will usually depend on your target audience.
- Lack of Control: When you hire a TikTok marketing agency, you’re essentially handing over control of your advertising campaigns to a third party. While this can be beneficial in terms of expertise and time-saving, it also means you’ll have less control over the messaging and TikTok videos being shared on your behalf.
Ultimately, whether you should hire a TikTok marketing agency depends on your specific business goals, target audience, and budget. If you have the resources and want to take advantage of TikTok’s advertising options, working with an agency can be a great investment.
Top TikTok Marketing Agencies to Consider
If you do decide to hire a TikTok marketing agency, there are several top agencies that offer similar but unique social media marketing services. These are a few of the best TikTok marketing agencies:
IMA is a global influencer marketing agency that works with top brands to create successful TikTok influencer marketing campaigns. They have a team of experts that specialize in influencer marketing, and they can help you identify and partner with the right influencers to promote your brand.
Fanbytes is a TikTok advertising agency that specializes in creating engaging and effective TikTok campaigns. They work with brands to create organic content, run paid ads, and partner with influencers to promote products or services.
The agency formerly known as Byte, DEPT is a social media marketing agency that offers TikTok advertising services. They can help you create and execute successful TikTok campaigns that target your desired audience and achieve your business goals.
Now, these are going to be at the tip-top of the pricing tiers. Most brands won’t need their scope of work (or their pricing). However, poking through their portfolios might be a good idea. This gives you a better idea of strategies or campaigns that you think might work well for your brand. You can then discuss those ideas with an agency–if you decide to go that route.
Tying It All Together
TikTok marketing can be a smart investment for businesses looking to reach younger demographics and expand their social media presence.
While hiring a TikTok marketing agency can be expensive, it can also be a cost-effective way to create successful advertising campaigns. Consider the different types of TikTok advertising available and weigh the potential benefits when deciding to agency or not to agency.
Lastly, if you do decide to work with an agency, be sure to choose one that has the expertise and experience to help you achieve your business goals on TikTok.
Find The Best TikTok Ad Agency for Your Business–with Credo
If you’re looking for a TikTok ad agency, it’s important to note that strategies may vary. Success often requires testing different ad formats and combinations.
However, managing campaigns may be time-consuming or overwhelming for those who are new to TikTok. In this case, hiring a social media or paid social agency is usually the way to go.
To that end, Credo has a dedicated network of vetted social media agencies that can help you find the perfect TikTok strategy for your specific business. You can start with those on the list below.
Canal Digital Studio
Canal Digital Studio is a boutique Digital Marketing agency based in New York City. We alleviate the anxiety of digital growth by delivering more traffic, more conversions, better rankings and faster results. We work primarily with DTC, SaaS, Consumer Product and eCommerce brands. Our small team has previously worked at large and small agencies, corporate strategy consultancies and in-house marketing teams … we’ve worn all the hats and can attack your project from any angle. We are marketing insiders who are…
Elevato Digital
Founded in 1986, Elevato is an industry leader in digital-first solutions. What started as a web development company, evolved into a team of digital marketing and engineering experts on a mission to create premium solutions for the client’s digital presence. Through the combination of talented individuals, abundant resources, and in-depth knowledge, we are able to handle any web-based project. From backend development to paid media ads, design, multimedia, and everything in between, Elevato excels at ALL THINGS WEB. At Elevato,…
Zyne Ventures
Zyne Ventures is a full suite technology and digital service provider. We work with companies to solve their unique challenges. Our customized solutions help our clients to lead their industry in innovation, increased operational efficiency, reduced cost and surpass the competitions. From platform development to digital concept creation and from security to cloud operations, we specialize in whatever our clients’ demands. Our team has ample background and expertise in technology, digital marketing, website and application development, UI/UX and graphic designing…
Yoghurt Digital
Yoghurt Digital is a digital marketing agency with offices in Australia and the UK, specialising in conversion optimisation (CRO), user research and user experience design (UX), search engine optimisation (SEO) and paid search / social (PPC). We’ve built our entire agency on intimately understanding our client’s consumers and their online behaviour, balancing smart data insights and digital strategy to increase sales. With everything in the online world trackable and measurable, being “data driven” is no longer a buzz word but…
Cultivating & Marketing Professionals
Cultivating and Marketing Professionals Inc. is a group of creative designers, seasoned developers, marketing professionals and business consultants with a mutual passion to elevate businesses in order to ultimately increase revenues. At Cultivating & Marketing Professionals, our mission is to help clients increase revenue by researching and producing a formula consisting of locating consumers and B2B with a “buyers intent” mindset at the opportune moment. Through our dedication to research, we aim to place our clients’ products and services at…
Zen Anchor
We are a Google and Facebook Partnered agency that provides profitable SEO and PPC marketing solutions for lead generation-focused companies – from insurance, health, SaaS, fast-growing startups, to Fortune 500 organizations Back in 2015, Zen Anchor set off on a journey to redesign how digital marketing agencies helped businesses grow. We believed that marketers had a responsibility to do much better. Zen Anchor began as a murmur on Reddit. Eager to see if other businesses had similar frustrations with bloated,…
Elevato
Founded in 1986, Elevato is an industry leader in digital-first solutions. What started as a web development company, evolved into a team of digital marketing and engineering experts on a mission to create premium solutions for the client’s digital presence. Through the combination of talented individuals, abundant resources, and in-depth knowledge, we are able to handle any web-based project. From backend development to paid media ads, design, multimedia, and everything in between, Elevato excels at ALL THINGS WEB. At Elevato,…
Max Middleweek (Alchemi)
Dear business owner, Growing your business is super, super hard. You’ve got a million things on your plate, figuring out where your next customers are coming from, your next fundraise, hiring or just trying to keep it together… Stressed, tired, burned out, add a massive dose of FOMO. Should I be doing TikTok? What about a podcast? Or… the Metaverse? My competitors are doing X Cue head spinning Then there’s the R word, Recession. We don’t think it’s a scary…
Rank Media Agency
Driven by Data, Fueled by Passion Helping leading brands channel the power of digital is what we do, and we do it best. Regarded as one of the top digital marketing agencies in Montreal, we are just as results-driven as you because when you succeed, so do we. Branding & Identity Our team approaches your brand with a three-sixty strategy, ensuring that everything from your position, visual identity, website, and brand experience unifies into one cohesive voice.
Living Online
Based in Perth, Western Australia, our full service digital agency provides a unique blend of strategic marketing consulting and hands-on digital management to entrepreneurial businesses across Australia. We hire only the brightest and the best to make sure that your results are second to none. Our team works differently from other agencies. We all work together to bring our combined skills to the table and offer our clients a well rounded service that benefits from the expertise of all consultants….
RN01
We’re RNO1. We guide game-changing companies, across platforms & places, through agile design & digital experience. The traditional agency world is broken: As a uniquely positioned (Subscription-based) Experience Design Agency, we’ll become a true team extension and move to scale your brand into the future. Our Client Partners include: Airbnb, Microsoft, Interos, Highline, Spring Labs, Amount, EOS Network Foundation (ENF), Ourglass, Cloud Apartments, CoVenture – alongside other VC-Backed Tech / Web3 Companies working to drive change in their market, through…
