TikTok is one of the leading social platforms of our generation and there are many factors that may contribute to whether or not you should invest in this platform for your business. From retail, food, and beverage or influencer marketing, there are many things to consider when trying to amplify your brand with today’s demanding consumer.
Let’s take a look at how TikTok impacts the food and beverage industry specifically and how it is maximizing business owners’ ROI in the long run.
Who is Using TikTok
The food and beverage industry can be a tricky sector to penetrate with so much saturation in the market already. It becomes even more challenging entering a platform like TikTok which consists mostly of Gen Z and Millennials, a younger and more media-fixated generation who don’t always like to be “sold to” in traditional ways.
However, when we look at the demographics for this platform, 60% of users are between the ages of 16-24 and 26% are between the ages of 25-44. Overall, 80% are between the ages of 16-34 making the bulk of the demographic younger than it appears. While considering this audience and whether or not it aligns with your target customer, it’s important to analyze how you can position your brand and product seamlessly into such a fast-paced market and build a strong market presence.
How Are Food Brands Shared on TikTok
In general, the hashtag for “food” has generated a whopping 268 billion views on TikTok, while “#recipes” has generated an impressive 9.1 billion views. As you can see, the interest in this sector is large, making this a highly saturated market to navigate.
A 2021 study found that 36% of TikTok users have visited or tried specific types of food after seeing a TikTok video about the subject. The study also found that 55% visited a particular food destination from TikTok simply because the food looked appetizing. With this, if you are in the food and beverage industry and looking to use TikTok to leverage your brand, you must remember to provide eye-catching and unique content that will entice a younger generation to engage with your brand.
The Power of User-Generated Content (UGC)
If you are looking to take your brand to the next level, 85% of consumers think user-generated content and paid digital advertising is more influential than branded content, which means partnering with influencers is more crucial now than ever before.
Finding the right influencers to represent your brand and products can be tough and costly, but the results are highly beneficial. While partnering with influencers and spending money on sponsored or boosted posts does come at a cost, a 2019 study showed food and beverage companies earned $6.50 for each dollar they spent on influencer campaigns. With this in mind, it’s important to consider whether or not this investment is worth it or not for your particular business.
With the time, money, and effort needed to execute your company’s specific plan of action on TikTok, the overall investment can be very rewarding. However, other platforms may offer higher ROI. While TikTok is great for directly engaging with niche audiences, it may not offer the highest financial gains.
Other Tools to Consider
Using email marketing tools or optimizing blog content for search engines may provide a better return on your investment, especially if you’re trying to reach older consumers. It’s important to note that if you or your competitors are putting in the effort and not getting the engagement rates at or above industry benchmarks, it may not be worth it to continue expanding finances or resources given the tough competition for this industry on TikTok.
However, with the right digital marketing strategy and budget, TikTok can be a very successful asset to many brands and businesses. Considering partnering with a digital marketing agency that can help you create a social media strategy that’s right for your business.
