TikTok trends that are shaping the future of digital advertising
What started as a channel for quirky lip-syncing videos and dance crazes has quickly become an effective tool for brands to market products and services. Since taking social media by storm in 2016, users have flocked to the TikTok platform, making it the fastest-growing social media app today.
As the app continues to grow and expand its advertising potential, TikTok is proving to be the go-to place for brands – even B2B brands. Agriculture has found its way into the realm of TikTok as well, developing its own niche for ag-centric creators to share their expertise.
If you're wondering if your brand should join the TikTok world, we’re here to offer some guidance.
TikTok by the numbers
Looking at the numbers, there’s no denying TikTok’s potential. TikTok boasts an enormous and growing user base, gaining ground with people of all ages. With 99 million downloads, TikTok is the most popular app in the United States. With this much exposure, it is a great platform to reach and connect with target audiences. Here are a few more TikTok facts to consider:
- Users: TikTok boasts over one billion global monthly active users, more than 100 million in the United States alone. For some context, it took Facebook and Instagram nearly 10 years to grow a user base that size. According to a 2022 Successful Farming study on farmer’s use of media, 21% of the farmer respondents reported they use TikTok at least on a monthly basis, with 11% of them using it daily and 7% weekly.
- Growth: TikTok is currently the number two social app in total minutes spent on the app. US adults already spend more total daily time on TikTok than on Instagram. According to eMarketer, all indications point to TikTok becoming the top social network in daily minutes by 2025.
- Engagement: The average session lasts 10.85 minutes. That’s double the session duration for Pinterest, which ranks number two with an average session of 5.06 minutes.
- Reach: Data published in TikTok’s self-service advertising tools show that marketers could reach 1.092 billion users 18 and older. TikTok also promotes that potential advertising reach has grown steadily over the past three months.
- Search potential: TikTok is also rising in popularity as a search platform, especially among younger audiences. According to a survey from Her Campus Media, 51% of survey respondents said they prefer TikTok over Google for searches, saying short-form video formats is what made them choose it over Google.
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Good-by marketing funnel, hello infinite loop
TikTok ditched the traditional marketing funnel, saying consumers don’t follow a linear path to purchase, favoring instead the model of the infinite loop. Unlike the traditional sales funnel with a defined start and end point, in the infinite loop, TikTok users enter, exit and re-enter the buying journey stage that best matches their needs and wants. TikTok contends that the infinite loop “empowers brands to establish more meaningful relationships with consumers that result in communities of brand loyalists, repeat purchases and greater spending.”
The numbers seem to back TikTok on this. Consider:
- TikTok users are 1.5x more likely than any other platform user to successfully persuade a friend or family member to purchase a product or service that they have come across on TikTok
- 65% of TikTok users say they rely on online reviews and creator recommendations to decide what to buy online
These stats indicate that TikTok is leading the way throughout each stage of the customer journey.
A place for learning
Whether it’s to learn a new dance move, write a resume, or how to stay safe while traveling, TikTok users have something they want to learn. From its early days, users looked to TikTok as a place to go to learn something new. A survey, conducted by TikTok found nearly half – 49%-- of users seek and discover new information on the app each month.
To meet that need, TikTok delivers relevant content through the For You feed. TikTok uses an algorithm to bring content that it thinks users would like. For example, a user who mostly visits the pages of farmers or looks up agriculture videos will be considered a member of Farm-Tok or Agri-Tok. That user’s For You feed will be a slew of similar content, relevant to all things agriculture.
You might be wondering what can be found on Agri-Tok. Farmers, ranchers, and other professionals in the industry share their day-to-day lives and experiences.
Here are 3 top agriculture influencers that are taking TikTok by storm.
- Iowa Dairy Farmer: This page is run by a farmer named Dan, who is a fourth-generation dairyman. His TikTok is filled with information about caring for, milking and giving general information about dairy cows. The Iowa Dairy Farmer TikToks draw in over 900,000 followers.
- NY farmgirls: With more than 736,000 followers, NY farmgirls consists of three sisters Evelyn, Claudia and Jojo. They are also a fourth-generation dairy farm family. They focus on dairy cattle, row crops, hay and a pumpkin farm. They created their own apparel, an Amazon storefront, as well as links to other products they support.
- Haydenjfox: Reaching over 2 million followers, Haydenjfox is run by fourth-generation farmer Hayden Fox, whose goal is to teach his 2 million followers about agriculture using comedic videos.
What makes these influencers so popular is that they post content frequently, showing the ins and outs of their day-to-day lives on the farm. Joining Agri-Tok is not only a good way to learn about farming, but agriculture brands can work with content creators to boost their sales in several ways.
Here are three top ways to use TikTok farmers to your advertising advantage.
- Partner with influencers to create sponsored content. This content can be in the form of videos, live streams or even just a series of photos. Since we know that people are more likely to buy something recommended by a friend or family member, teaming with a farmer with a large following on TikTok will greatly increase your chances of getting your product seen. It also benefits these farmers to advertise for you, since influencers and content creators can earn up to $5 million a year if they have up to 100M followers
- Collaborate with influencers on hashtag challenges or other campaigns. This can be a great way to generate excitement and engagement around a new product or service launch.
- Work with influencers to promote their existing content. This could involve having influencers share the brand's TikTok videos on their own pages, or simply mention the brand in their captions.
If you know where to find your market, you can just let the content creator do the rest. Let them take the lead, love your brand, and share it with the world.
Whether your goal is to sell a product, or just learn something new, TikTok is proving to be the go-to place for information for many people, and as studies show, it’s only going up from here.
If you are thinking about working with influencers, take a look at our blog outlining three things you need to know before you start. Check it out.
Need help getting started? We can help you design a strategy that meets your goals. Drop us a note to begin the conversation.