Week 2- MBA 6101- Using TikTok to Market

 Tik Tok: No Longer Just for Dances

Throughout history, marketing has drastically transformed. What started out as newspapers and signs, has now evolved to 10 second video clips and social media posts that are directed at recent searches. Tik Tok and social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are now at the forefront of marketing due to the inexpensive cost and broad audience range. According to the Pew Research Center, 72% of Americans are on a social media platform. Not only is this an overwhelming majority of the country, but it can also be helpful for targeting the ideal customer. In the 1980's and 1990's, if a company had a new ad campaign, they would buy airtime during the evening news. It was not targeted to a certain customer and airtime could be costly. Now, a firm can create an ad and put in on social media for free. They can also use artificial intelligence to identify the ideal customer based on likes, recent searches and time spent on pages. 

In 2022, TikTok is soaring as the top social media platform for young adults under 25. The platform is based on short video clips where users show recipes, popular dances, life hacks and more. With the 884.9 million users worldwide in 2020, it has become a marketing firms dream. If a product is shared in a video or used in a different way than initially intended, millions of users are seeing it. From personal experience, if a new makeup foundation is shared by a Tiktokker and if that video goes viral, there is a very good chance that the foundation will be hard to find in stores and online. This is a great way to increase brand awareness through user reviews. 

One company that is starting to see great success from marketing on TikTok is Chipotle Mexican Grill. The casual fast food restaurant chain uses Tik Tok to show different burrito and bowl combinations, funny videos with their food and highlighting the work that its employees do. The company even used the singer Adele in one of their videos and it received over 4 billion views. This is a great example of how a company can use humor and music to market its product.