How TikTok is Shaping Social Media Marketing in the Philippines

TikTok is not just for teenage girls. This social media giant is the rising star of the marketing world, with companies the world over now using the platform for targeted ads, affiliate marketing, and exclusive promotional material.

But how significant is TikTok in the larger Philippines marketing game? Is it really worth the time and attention of marketers looking to reach a Filipino audience?

With TikTok becoming increasingly popular in the era of pandemic shutdowns, marketers in the Philippines must understand the trajectory and value of this platform for generating leads and audience engagement.

Here’s what you should know.

The Rise of TikTok in the Philippines

The Philippines contains a vast market of internet-savvy consumers ready to engage with trending social media platforms. Seventy-three million residents of the Philippines actively use the internet and social media, and in the midst of a global pandemic and strict lockdown procedures, TikTok is an entertainment app that has had immense success in this market.

TikTok remained the number-one most downloaded app in the Philippines throughout 2020, and many users downloaded the song, dance, and short video platform long before the pandemic struck. TikTok was downloaded a total of 738 million times throughout 2019, and since then, it has become a staple of entertainment and media across the world and the Philippines in particular.

The prevalence of this application requires that marketers add TikTok to their larger social media strategy. Content on TikTok can have a big impact on product interest, as demonstrated by the viral Ocean Spray longboarding video. When TikTok creator Nathan Apodaca filmed himself drinking Ocean Spray while listening to Fleetwood Mac and boarding to work, Google recorded a 1,329% surge in interest in the drink.

Philippines marketers can attempt to ride the potential of marketing in this fashion to appeal to the 73 million Filipinos with an active presence on social media. Through bite-sized, fun escapes from the stress of modern life, this marketing approach offers a much-needed reprieve for its audience.

But how is marketing being shaped by TikTok?

How Global Brands Are Using TikTok

TikTok is far from the first social media platform to change the marketing industry. We’ve long been using sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to create and target engaging content for a broader audience. Many of the same lessons apply.

TikTok marketing, like any other social media marketing, requires creators to set goals, determine metrics, and run consistent analysis on outreach and success. Global brands have experienced greater success in achieving their goals with the use of features that TikTok makes easy. These include hashtag challenges, affiliate marketing, and personalized ads with more personality.

Here are some examples.

Hashtag Challenges

Snack bar company Kind ran a hashtag campaign on TikTok encouraging users to post their own videos emphasizing the “crunch” effect of a Kind bar with the hashtag #kindsimplecrunchcontest. The initial video achieved a massive audience, generating more than 18 million views in 24 hours. This simple strategy and in-house marketing work allowed Kind to keep costs low while maximizing the use of this relatively new platform.

The easily shareable nature of a hashtag challenge like this makes for a higher likelihood of viral content. Marketing like this to a Filippino audience can help spread broader awareness of a product and cement it within the current cultural conversation. The hashtag challenge approach can be invaluable for any marketing strategy.

Affiliate Marketing

Marketing through TikTok using affiliates can be a lucrative approach all around. For example, content creator Rachel Meaders partners with companies as an affiliate, then redirects her TikTok traffic to YouTube and Amazon Associates pages that can convert that traffic into sales.

Partnerships like these allow companies to channel the power of influencers to create greater brand awareness. To tap into this power in the Philippines, marketers can reach out to the most popular stars in the region, such as Andrea Brillantes or Sanya Lopez.

Personalization

TikTok achieves incredible results through the use of innovative ad technology. With fine-tuned ad targeting based on user data, TikTok is emerging as an ad giant capable of rivaling Google and Facebook.

Gymshark is one example of a company that has used TikTok’s targeting capabilities to great effect. The activewear company promoted workout-related videos across the platform that indirectly showcased the company and achieved a broad audience. Gymshark was able to successfully target 19.8 million users this way.

In addition to targeting users based on personalized data, TikTok allows brands to demonstrate their own cultivated personalities. This can be immensely successful from a marketing perspective. For example, beauty companies looking to align themselves with the body positivity campaign can encourage TikTok users to share and celebrate their own content. In turn, these companies can better build their own reputation as an inclusive and empathetic organization.

Final Thoughts

The three strategies above have the potential to alter the marketing landscape in the Philippines, bringing viral and targeted content within reach of any business. TikTok is one tool that can enhance your social media marketing strategy beyond traditional approaches, allowing marketers to tap directly into cultural consciousness to great effect.

You never know when a video might trigger a massive response, so in the words of TikTok, “Don’t make ads, make TikToks.”