TikTok Marketing in 2025: A Step-by-Step Guide for Brands and Strategies for Growth

What is TikTok marketing?

TikTok marketing is the strategic use of the platform to promote products, build brand awareness, and connect with potential customers. While that sounds like any other social media marketing definition, there is, of course, a catch. TikTok marketing incorporates short videos, hashtags, influencers, and, most importantly, quick responses to viral moments. 

Key benefits of using TikTok for marketing

So, why choose TikTok? First of all, for its popularity. It’s the fifth most popular social media network in the world, with 1,582 billion monthly active users as of April 2024 — compared to 3 billion users on Facebook and 2.5 billion on YouTube, according to Statista.

This has made TikTok an attractive platform and one of the main channels for businesses to reach and engage with a wide range of demographic groups. For instance, in February 2025, almost 30% of TikTok’s global audience were women between the ages of 18 and 34, while male users of the same age made up approximately 37% of the platform’s users. That is a lucrative audience for almost any brand. As of 2024, TikTok was also named the single largest contributor to buyer and sales growth thanks to TikTok Shop, launched by the platform in 2023. 

The app has three times more buyers than Instagram, for example.  

With this in mind, let’s dive in and explore TikTok marketing tips. 

Types and formats for TikTok for digital marketing

To understand how TikTok’s business works and how to beat the algorithm, we should look at the types and formats of its content first. 

TikTok marketing falls into two general categories: paid and organic. 

An organic TikTok marketing strategy is a plan to leverage the platform’s features without pay. Imagine an owner of a small hair salon that just starting out. This owner shares their challenges with getting the best product deals, decorating the place, and paying rent while providing professional hair care tips and creative beauty transformations. This strategy comes with the cost of the iPhone and time to shoot and edit. 

A paid TikTok marketing strategy is a plan that incorporates special platform tools to promote the brand. While you pay with hard-earned cash for it, you also get premium and useful services, much more views and engagement, analytics, etc. This allows you to improve your TikTok marketing strategy constantly. 

Now, there are many ways to get famous on TikTok, but we will cover basic points you can start with. 

Influencer marketing

Influencers are content creators who’ve established a reputation on the platform and are open to collaborating with brands. Some work with micro-influencers with only a few thousand fans, while others engage with superstars who have millions of followers. In any case, the right TikTok influencer is the right way to your desired audience. 

TikTok influencer marketing is a tricky business. Nowadays, brands do get creative when choosing the person to collaborate with. Look at this dedicated trainspotter TikToker: he films his reactions while pointing a 360-camera straight towards his face.

Next thing you know — he’s collaborating with Gucci:

But where does one meet an influencer? There is a special platform for that — the TikTok Creator Marketplace. It serves as a bridge between brands seeking to promote their products or services and TikTok creators who have built a substantial following and influence on the platform. You can search for the right TikToker based on various criteria, such as audience demographics, location, engagement rates, and content categories. 

TikTok ads

As any other social media platform, TikTok has loads of advertising options for businesses. Here are some popular TikTok video ad formats:

In-Feed Ads

In-Feed Ads are short videos that appear in users’ feeds as they scroll through the app. They include links so users can visit your website or app. This is one of the most flexible formats TikTok offers in terms of budget and targeting.

TopView ads

TopView Ads are short videos appearing when a user opens the TikTok app. Those give brands a much higher level of visibility with a minimum of a few hundred thousand impressions, depending on the market. The platform has pretty strict rules for them, though — to the point where it pre-approves your content. If you are not tight on the budget and aiming for immediate stardom, this is the ad option for you. 

Branded hashtag challenges

TikTok is known for its hashtag challenges. While some of them are born out of pure creativity, others are carefully placed by brands. For business, those challenges offer an opportunity to gain momentum, connect with existing and potential customers, and leverage user-generated content. And if content is the king, UGС in 2025 is the king of kings. We are sure you are already brainstorming, but remember that it is a business feature first and a creativity exercise second. That means that such a campaign should be reserved beforehand. 

Here’s how a TikTok Branded Hashtag Challenge typically works:

1. A brand creates a unique hashtag to represent either brand or product identity. Typically, this hashtag serves as a call to action.
2. Brand then collaborates with TikTok influencers or content creators to kickstart the challenge. They lead by example and participate while encouraging their followers to do the same.
3. TikTok users make their own videos and put their creative spin on the brands’ idea. Of course, they post with dedicated hashtag. 
4. The brand promotes the challenge through various channels and formats, such as In-Feed Ads. This helps to increase awareness and bring more participants.
5. As more TikTok users participate in the challenge and create videos, the challenge gains momentum and can go viral. 

The good news is that you can customize your challenge with branded effects like filters so users interact with branded content. The bad news? Total Hashtag Challenge cost (including branding, supporting In-Feed/TopView ads, and bloggers) could go up through the roof — as high as a few hundred thousand dollars depending on the target market. 

Spark Ads

Spark Ads help you to boost your existing organic content, either your own or of other content creatives. This content looks natural — just like regular TikToks (i.e., not like your general advertisement) except for the “Sponsored” tag and call-to-action button users will see. 

Spark Ads are more trustworthy for viewers since they look like real posts. Those also make your life easier: re-use your old content and don’t spend your already tight budget on new production. 

How to develop a TikTok marketing strategy?

To leverage TikTok for digital marketing, you need to develop a well-defined strategy. Here are the key steps to it. 

Set up a business account

First things first, you need a business account. It’s simple to set up:

1. Download the TikTok app and create a personal account if you don’t have one already.
2. Go to your profile settings and click the “Manage Account” button.
3. Tap on “Switch to Pro Account” and select “Business Account”.
4. Provide the necessary information about your business, such as contact details and category.
5. Verify your account through a phone number or email address.

Once you have set up your business account, you can access additional tools like TikTok Ads, analytics, and promotion tools.

Get familiar with the social network and its content

Next, get familiar with the field you want to play in. Explore the platform, tools, trending TikToks and hashtags, interesting formats, TikTok marketing examples, and the content that resonates with users. The content you’ll see will probably inspire your marketing campaign. 

TikTok may seem like a lot at first, but here are two things to help you start your analysis: 

• Raw and unfiltered content. Think of behind-the-scenes videos, sudden moments of authenticity, or… drama. TikTok loves anything dramatic! If that is not for you, at least try to connect with your audience on a personal level.
• Humor. TikTok users appreciate a sense of humor, creativity, and the ability to laugh at yourself. So lighthearted content is always the way to go. Use visual effects or witty captions to make your videos stand out. Look at Ryanair — they set a bar for brand behavior on TikTok. 

Define your target audience

Once again, let’s forget this “TikTok is for kids” rant. You can find people of any age there, so consider what your audience engages with the most. Is this a kind of rage-bait type of thing (yes, brands use those too!) or comfy and cosy videos to relax after a hard day? Once you figure it out, you can tailor your content and get your sales boost. 

Your audience brief could look like this:

1. Target demographic: Define the specific demographic group you want to reach with your TikTok media campaign: their age, gender, location, and interests.
2. Psychographic profile: This includes your audiences’ attitudes, values, behaviors, and motivations. What makes them click? What do they enjoy most in life? 
3. Interests and preferences: Consider the types of content your audience watches daily, the challenges they participate in, and the influencers or creators they follow.
4. Platform habits: Look for frequency of use, preferred content format (e.g., short videos, duets, challenges), and the time of day your audience is most active.
5. Goals and call-to-action: Define the desired goals and outcomes of the TikTok media campaign, as well as the specific call-to-action you want the audience to take.

TikTok Ads Manager offers several audience settings to help brands effectively target their ads. There are simple characteristics (such as age, gender, language, location, and interest) and much more interesting options as well. 

For example, with “Custom audiences” you can target those who have already shown interest in your brand or interacted with it. The “Lookalike audiences” tool helps you find people with similar characteristics and behaviors as your existing customer base. That, of course, increases the likelihood of conversion. 

Research your niche and competitors

Check out what your rivals and competitors are up to. Look for those that are performing well on TikTok and gaining a significant following. What is their content strategy? What are the social media trends they follow and incorporate into their content? What kind of videos resonates with their audience? You might see the patterns you’d want to follow — or, on the other hand, patterns you want to avoid! Yes, bad TikTok marketing examples are also something you’d better be aware of since getting in trouble on social media is ridiculously easy. 

This analysis will help you understand what’s trending with your future followers and stand out from the competition in the end. Still, keep in mind that you don’t have to follow the same path — your goals, budget, and time limits might be different from them. 

Establish clear marketing goals

Any social media marketing strategy, including the one TikTok, needs clear goals. Are you looking to increase brand awareness, drive website traffic, generate leads, or boost sales? Ask yourself what you are looking for first, and the answer will guide you to the right content. With this goal in mind, you can also define success metrics and make data-driven decisions to optimize your strategy in the future. 

Prepare TikTok content strategy

Next up is creating a content plan. Here are a few tips that will help you with it: 

1. Make a content calendar: Plan your content and schedule your posts. List all the relevant events and holidays there, but save space for viral things that might pop up at any given moment. This will help you with consistency and give enough room for flexibility to keep up with ever-changing social media trends. 
2. Keep it diverse and creative: Don’t shy away from experimenting with content formats. Should you make a tutorial, share behind-the-scenes glimpses, or set up a new challenge? The answer is yes to all of it! The more creative your content, the more likely it will be captivating.
3. Use trending challenges and hashtags: This can increase the visibility of your content and attract a wider audience. However, those viral moments should align with your brand, so don’t jump on every opportunity. 

Let’s have a look at what a TikTok content strategy for a dairy company could look like:

Meanwhile, a content timeline can look like this:

Remember to analyze your TikTok analytics regularly to understand which content resonates the most with your audience. 

TikTok marketing tips

Now that you are all set up with an account and social media strategy, let’s get a bit more practical. The marketing tips below will help you explore TikTok and get the recognition you deserve. 

Be authentic and creative

Authenticity is key on TikTok. Everyone wants their content to be genuine and relatable rather than overly polished or scripted. So, show the human side of your brand, be transparent, and keep the conversation going with your followers. Don’t want to go with relatable? Go with something surprising or emotional. While it’s much harder to be creative, it also gives you a great chance at going viral. Yes, the best way to ride the algorithm wave is to be yourself. 

Be simple

TikTok’s content format thrives on simplicity, so keep your TikToks short and focus on a single message or idea. Use clear and straightforward language to communicate, and remember that attention spans on TikTok are short.

Be regular

Consistency is crucial on TikTok, so post regularly to maintain engagement and stay on your audience’s radar. That’s where your calendar will come in handy and help you with a steady flow of content. Regular updates are key to your audiences’ hearts and their loyalty. 

Communicate with your audience

Communication helps build special relationships with your audience, so respond to comments and direct messages. You can also encourage interactions and create a sense of community by asking questions, seeking feedback, or running contests. 

Go live

TikTok’s Live feature allows you to connect with your audience in real time. Use live sessions for Q&A, product launches, behind-the-scenes glimpses, or interactive challenges. Going Live allows for direct interaction and engagement. 

Collaborate with other content creators

Partner with influencers or other brands so you can use each other to grow your follower base. Follow these steps if you are new to collaborations: 

1. Find relevant creators: Look for TikTok content creators who share a similar target audience or have expertise in your industry. Make sure their content, engagement rates, and authenticity are a good fit for your brand.
2. Reach out with a value proposition: Don’t hesitate to approach influencers (even those with huge following), but always keep your message focused on the value you can provide to their audience. Offer unique ideas, incentives, or mutually beneficial partnerships that align with their content style and interests.

3. Co-create engaging content: Work together to create TikTok videos that showcase your brand’s strongest features and align with the creator’s unique style. Duets, challenges, or even creative storytelling — anything to integrate your brand seamlessly into the main content. 
4. Cross-promote and engage: Don’t stop at TikTok; promote your cool content on different digital channels to make the most out of your partnership. Encourage viewers to participate in the conversation and engage with them to build relationships.

Analyze the results

A marketing campaign is all about the results. Here’s how you can track your marketing performance on TikTok:

1. Engagement metrics: Monitor views, likes, comments, shares, and follower growth for each TikTok video. What type of content did best? What effort was dear to your heart but completely fruitless? (Yes, that does happen a lot to all of us.)
2. Audience demographics: Remember those horse shampoos that became so popular among humans? You must know your audience before your campaign launch but the lesson here is that it’s worth your time to track who it resonated with. Those insights might be surprising. 
3. Conversions and website traffic: Use UTM parameters and track conversions through tools like Google Analytics to measure the effectiveness of your TikTok marketing in driving desired actions.
4. Feedback: Use comments, direct messages, and user-generated content to your advantage. For example, if people frequently ask you the same question, you can address it humorously in the next video or use it for your content in other digital marketing channels. In any case, feedback helps you grow, so don’t just throw it away as irrelevant. 
5. Adjust your strategy: Refine your content strategy, experiment with new ideas, and optimize your approach. Test and repeat; that’s a way to improve your TikTok marketing efforts.

Final thoughts

TikTok might seem like a lot at first, but it offers some great opportunities to grow your business. The end goal here is to create an online community that at some point will do everything for you: generate creative ideas and content, advocate for your brand, and bring you the following you deserve. To get there, remember to stay authentic, keep your content simple, engage through comments, and keep up with your posting schedule. Play with different business features, try different metrics to measure your success, and take your time to get better at your strategy. After all, those short clips take a long time to shoot — and a TikTok marketing campaign is no different. 

This article was first published in June 2023 and updated in March 2025.