Welcome to HubSpot’s Expert Edge Series, the place we interview prime execs at main manufacturers to discover their views on the most recent developments, challenges, and alternatives shaping the business.
Ahh – TikTok. It is just like the cool youthful cousin you desperately need approval from.
In 2024, almost a quarter of marketers (24%) say TikTok yields the highest ROI, putting it proper behind YouTube. Which is smart: With over one billion customers, TikTok is a viable platform for rising model consciousness and reaching new audiences.
Plus, HubSpot Weblog Analysis discovered 14% of businesses rank TikTok because the platform with the best ROI — and we’ll doubtless see this quantity develop within the 12 months forward.
However the million-dollar query stays: Positive, TikTok is unbelievable at showcasing entertaining movies, however can you actually generate robust leads from the platform?
The brief reply? Sure. If you need the longer reply — together with how to generate leads — preserve studying for knowledgeable suggestions from Lorry Destainville, TikTok’s World Head of Product Partnerships.
TikTok Can Do Extra Than Drive Model Consciousness
For starters, I wished to know whether or not Destainville really believes TikTok is a viable platform for producing leads. As a result of loads of platforms are unbelievable for model consciousness, however much less highly effective for lead-generation.
Luckily, Destainville instructed me loads of TikTok’s viewers presently makes use of the platform to attach with new companies and uncover new merchandise. In truth, Millennial TikTok customers are 1.7X more likely to discover/shop products from creators they observe (vs. non-TikTok customers).
As he places it, “Producing leads on Tiktok is a chance for companies to drive that interplay with their new clients in a manner that is actually attending to the purpose the place they will create that dialog, synchronize contacts and data from the consumer, after which interact in that dialog and drive to the sale.”
I‘ll admit — I’ve seen the facility of B2C promoting on TikTok: Simply final week I bought a much-raved about face sunscreen after seeing movies about it popping up throughout TikTok.
In the end, TikTok is a full-funnel promoting platform with built-in analytics tools to allow entrepreneurs to watch metrics like views, likes, feedback, distinctive guests, engagement, and attain.
Plus, TikTok integrates with HubSpot, so when you’re a HubSpot buyer, you are in luck: Now you can sync the leads you have gained by way of TikTok together with your HubSpot CRM in real-time.
Destainville additionally believes TikTok is viable for each B2B and B2C manufacturers: “There’s area for everybody. We’ve customers, however we even have enterprise house owners on the platform, too. 69% of TikTok Monthly Active Users really adopted by means of with what they signed-up for on a lead era advert — and inside one billion lively customers, that is a really massive portion of our consumer base. So there are completely B2B decision-makers inside that viewers.”
6 Suggestions for Producing Leads on TikTok, In response to TikTok’s World Head of Product Partnerships
1. Mix Your Natural and Paid Methods
At HubSpot, we‘ve discovered that polished, high-quality content material oftentimes does not carry out in addition to extra genuine, pure iPhone content material on social platforms.
Destainville says the identical is true of TikTok, and he encourages companies to lean into their natural content material once they’re trying to generate leads.
As he places it, “What’s attention-grabbing is that for lead era, natural and paid work smarter collectively. Having some nice natural content material that may be helpful in producing adverts may be very empowering for manufacturers.”
He provides, “The flexibility to mix or optimize artistic together with a lead gen call-to-action will drive to a a lot larger model buy. Put one other manner: It truly is in regards to the amplification of natural content material by means of paid, which can then drive to earned media.”
That is unbelievable information for SMBs with minimal promoting budgets: It means an organic-first technique will really yield stronger returns than making a brand-new, flashy promoting marketing campaign for TikTok.
2. When In Doubt – Go Pure, Not Polished
As Destainville instructed me, “There is a need or an ambition from companies who’re promoting with TikTok for the primary time to have probably the most polished content material, however that is not essentially the precedence, neither is it the final word finest observe.”
He continues, “We’ve some suggestions and tips on the subject of artistic, however we do not have the right method to succeed on the platform. What I can inform you is that the primary precedence is to be genuine. That is the true nature of the connection between any creator and TikTok’s consumer base. Authenticity is the secret, notably as a result of it results in quite a lot of belief.”
Destainville believes a 20-second video created at the back of a automotive will doubtless work higher than an advert that was shot in a studio. And that is nice information for all of us: Much less time spent producing and enhancing means extra time to experiment on the platform.
3. Be a Person First, and a Marketer Second
Destainville acknowledges that it may be daunting whenever you start creating content material on TikTok, notably whenever you acknowledge a number of the extra viral, partaking, artistic content material you could find on the platform. TikTok creators’ are formidable: How can companies compete?
To get began on the platform, Destainville encourages enterprise house owners to observe TikTok content material earlier than they start creating their very own.
He says, “If I am a enterprise proprietor and I am happening TikTok for the primary time, I’ll need to take note of what the dialog in my business is about. What do my opponents’ put up about? What are the methods they interact with the neighborhood?”
I see his level: Final week, I attempted creating my very own TikTok account. And I watched precisely zero TikTok movies earlier than creating my very own. How did it repay?
11 views to-date.
In different phrases: You need to see what resonates most with TikTok’s viewers, in addition to the kind of content material that goes viral, earlier than creating your personal.
As Destainville places it, “As a marketer, it is laborious to fail – you need to go for metrics and exhibit the affect of your selections on the subject of artistic route … However I feel maintaining some room for innovation pays off, and it is okay to fail as a result of it is a studying alternative. And also you need to study these platforms as a consumer first – and a marketer second.”
You need to see what resonates most with TikTok’s viewers, in addition to the kind of content material that goes viral, earlier than creating your personal. On the identical time, your content material comes all the way down to authenticity: If it is not genuine to your model to be part of a sure dialog or pattern, do not drive it. Reasonably than posting one-off movies with the hopes of going viral, persistently put up content material on a weekly foundation to domesticate a way of neighborhood.
Destainville says, “The one factor I feel companies are likely to get fallacious is to attempt to create a viral second or count on that it’ll occur as a main KPI. I might a lot relatively think about a gentle quantity of engagement with content material on the platform to be a hit, relatively than a one-off second.”
4. Do not Simply Copy-Paste from One other Platform – Lean Into TikTok’s Uniqueness
Lastly, Destainville encourages entrepreneurs to make sure they’re making content material for TikTok’s viewers, first.
As he instructed me, “When approaching a brand new platform — whether or not it is TikTok or one thing else — I feel having an open thoughts to studying what is going on to be distinctive on that platform and actually leaning into that’s going to be key. So do not simply copy-paste an advert marketing campaign that is been created for various platforms and carry it over to TikTok. Give attention to TikTok’s viewers first.”
This is smart: A TikTok consumer’s expectations fluctuate considerably in comparison with what they may count on to see on LinkedIn and even Instagram. Earlier than contemplating how one can flip your viewers into clients, you need to interact with them and entertain them — and that may solely occur when you take the time to actually study the platform.
When requested what units TikTok aside, Destainville had one phrase: Creativity.
He says, “TikTok is the perfect platform to exhibit creativity, and it solely takes opening up the app to see what I imply. One instance that involves thoughts is how a subset of creators assessment sure songs produced previously and add their very own two cents – the creativity that comes out of that’s completely mind-blowing.”
To succeed on the platform, you‘ll need to lean into creativity, novelty, and playfulness. And, like all platform, the extra you check, the higher you may get at understanding what works finest to your viewers.
5. Give attention to Your Type
Past high-level technique, Destainville has a couple of tactical suggestions for producing leads by means of TikTok.
His strategies embody:
- Visuals assist. In your profile, ensure you create custom-made logos, in addition to header and footer photographs.
- In your lead types, take heed to the variety of questions – set a most of six questions.
- Use logic settings and customized questions with the superior type to modify up questions primarily based on how somebody responded to your first query.
- Leverage robust lead qualifying inquiries to rapidly discern between certified and unqualified leads.
- Hyperlink to your privateness coverage to ensure any private data is safe in accordance to native rules.
- Embody a assessment display to make sure all data is appropriate.
- Do not forget to say thanks!
6. Set Up Your Marketing campaign for Success
As you’re getting began together with your Lead Gen campaigns, set your every day funds at 10x your anticipated CPA. Use the dayparting function if you wish to launch on a selected schedule (i.e. Not weekends).
When getting began, you may need to use broad focusing on to know who your viewers is on TikTok; broad focusing on additionally helps you achieve the amount wanted to construct retargeting lists primarily based on interactions together with your type throughout peak seasonal moments, which contributes to larger conversion charges.
Moreover, think about leveraging spark adverts to show high-performing natural content material into adverts immediately. And eventually, combine your CRM with TikTok to seamlessly and effectively prospect and handle leads.
As a Marketer, Get Good at Embracing Change
“Over the previous few years I’ve spoken to enterprise leaders and entrepreneurs in regards to the alternative to achieve success on TikTok, and you would be stunned by the quantity of people that reply, ‘Oh, I am going to ask my daughter to point out me’”, Destainville instructed me.
He provides, “I all the time assume … Effectively, would you ask your daughter to point out you the way to spend multi-million greenback budgets on social media?”
In the end, he encourages entrepreneurs and enterprise house owners to get comfy with stepping exterior the consolation zone and giving your self the grace and endurance to actually study the platform and check various kinds of content material.
“Embrace the change,” Destainville says. “The manufacturers who’re probably the most profitable on TikTok are those who take a leap of religion.”
Able to get began? Click here to begin working lead-gen adverts on TikTok and increase your content material to new, high-intent audiences instantly.