TikTok brand campaigns are huge for consumer brands right now. Below are seven TikTok campaign examples and ideas to inspire your own branded videos!
Spoiler alert: brand campaigns on TikTok are here to stay.
Many marketers dismissed TikTok as a “wait-and-see” channel for brands doing business.
Fast forward to 2023 and the platform is an advertising powerhouse. Heck, brands spent a staggering ~$10 billion on TikTok ads last year. That’s not even counting creator campaigns!
What makes the platform so compelling? TikTok’s short-form video format encourages creativity and personality in your campaigns.
Good news: there are countless ways to promote products on TikTok as a brand. Granted you keep your content strategy fresh with new videos.
The problem? So many brands have no idea where to start with making videos. That’s why we wrote this breakdown of proven TikTok campaign ideas to kickstart your strategy.
TikTok can feel like a total free-for-all when it comes to videos.
Product tutorials. Lip-syncing skits. Life hacks. You name it, there are TikToks about it.
And so the platform causes creative roadblocks for businesses.
We recommend reviewing the main types of TikTok marketing videos that brands post.
This gives you a starting point for making videos and testing potential campaigns. You’ll quickly learn what works, what doesn’t and which types of videos engage your target audience.
Below are seven popular TikTok campaign ideas and examples of brands putting them into action.
Fact: 64% of shoppers prefer branded posts from real people over product shots.
This highlights the benefit of publishing TikToks by customers for customers. Enter the popularity of user-generated content (UGC) on TikTok.
The concept here is simple: encourage your satisfied customers to post videos featuring your product. Then, promote those same videos on your own feed. Publishing UGC on TikTok often creates a snowball effect. The more UGC you publish, the more customers create new videos.
Just comb through the feeds of the best brands on TikTok. Notice how they’re brimming with videos from customers and creators? That’s no accident.
Winning with TikTok brand campaigns is all about authenticity. Your audience wants to see products with a “wow” factor that delivers actual results. User-generated content is “real” because it’s made by real people.
That’s why earning more UGC is one of the biggest influencer marketing goals for brands.
Also, UGC campaigns on TikTok earn higher engagement rates by driving interactions. This includes comments, shares and video replies. These interactions are like candy to the TikTok algorithm.
How does earning UGC actually work? Most brands rely on hashtags to source and encourage it.
For example, Arctic Fox uses a variety of TikTok hashtags to promote their hair dye shades. Below is a video featuring a creator showing off the brand’s “Poseidon” dye. Note that the #AFposeidon tag alone has over 882,000 views.
Source: @arcticfoxhaircolor
Note that the creator here isn’t just posing with the product. She’s pulling back the curtain and actually showing us what the dye looks like in action. For consumers that crave social proof, videos like these are super compelling.
We'll say it again: real people and real results.
Here are a few of our favorite TikTok campaign examples featuring user-generated content:
Don't assume that your brand can't earn UGC. You'd be surprised at how much the average consumer loves to sound off about brands. If you have loyal customers and brand advocates, empower them to make videos about you. The same rules apply to influencers and content creators.
Consider that content discovery on TikTok is driven by the desire to “learn something new.”
That applies to new brands and products. As illustrated by the examples above, people love to see products in action.
Short-form videos offer an entertaining way to explain your product without wasting time. TikToks are ideal for breaking down products that aren't self-explanatory. This includes:
For example, brands often run influencer marketing campaigns to produce snappy explainer videos.
Check out this Versed post that features their dermaplaning tool in action. This video showcases the product and what it looks like in use in under 20 seconds.
Source: @versed
Remember that TikTok campaigns based around products don’t need to be broken down step-by-step. So many CPG brands on TikTok are crushing it right now with candid customer videos.
That's because everyday creators can explain your product to viewers while speaking your audience's language. The end result is relatable content that anticipates and answers your customers' questions.
Consider building an awareness campaign featuring your products and creators. As a brand, this gives you the best of both worlds when it comes to engagement and reach.
Remember what we said about how TikTokers love to learn?
Life hack and how-to content are super popular on TikTok. Teaching someone how to do something is a brilliant move for brands. Bonus points if you can get your product into the mix.
How-to content serves as a natural hook for any given video. Viewers are curious about what they don’t already know. Likewise, they might want to see the outcome of your video.
For example, check out the TikTok below from Levi’s. This video serves as a way for the brand to educate viewers while also putting products front and center.
Source: @levis
The video above is one of many from Levi’s “Denim Hacks” playlist and hashtag. This series offers tips for denim lovers for taking care of their jeans.
The brand also has videos about stain removal, washing, denim shrinkage and more. All of these videos obviously show off Levi’s products but they aren’t totally in your face screaming “BUY ME!”
See how that works? This illustrates how to weave educational content into a TikTok brand campaign. We recommend balancing product-centric tutorials with fun how-to videos.
Participating in or hosting a TikTok challenge is a great way to boost your brand’s visibility. Not to mention capitalize on TikTok’s latest trends.
And trust us: trends move quickly on TikTok.
The idea behind challenges is to invite viewers to create their own videos. For example, you could ask customers to film your product in a unique setting. Making the most of TikTok challenges means having a pulse on trending formats and sounds.
Note: brands are often limited by TikTok’s music library and restrictions with copyrighted music. You can avoid these restrictions by working with creators with unrestricted access to trending audio.
Challenges represent a high-effort, high-reward campaign idea for brands. Running or piggybacking on a challenge means understanding the best practices of the platform.
As far as inspiration for creating a challenge, Walmart’s #GetTheWChallenge is a solid example.
Source: @iskate_solo
For this challenge, Walmart capitalized on the hype around the Super Bowl. They asked participants to film a one-handed football catch while enjoying their favorite game-day snack.
Source: @christinez.tiktok
The fact that the challenge earned over 10 billion views speaks for itself.
Replicating the success of a brand like Walmart is a tall order. Still, this challenge shows how brands build TikTok campaigns around audience content versus their own.
Authenticity is in demand among consumers today.
And what better way to illustrate your brand’s realness than day-in-the-life content?
Take advantage of the unpolished nature of TikTok by posting behind-the-scenes videos. This could be anything from videos at the office to sneak peeks of how your products are made.
Source: @hyperx
Behind-the-scenes content doesn’t have to dish on your brand’s secrets or processes. Instead, consider humorous and simple videos that show off your brand’s personality.
Again, not all of your TikTok videos should be totally sales-focused. Sprinkling simple videos like this into your feed is a welcome break from promo after promo.
Trendy platforms like TikTok are all about what’s new and what’s next.
That’s why TikTok campaigns based on announcements work so well. The platform is perfect for building hype for whatever’s coming down your pipeline. This includes:
For example, you might tease a new launch and tell your customers to stay tuned. Like most types of TikToks, announcements are a place to let your personality shine.
Source: @beis
Think of announcements and hype posts as a way to provide value to your customers.
After all, customers loyal enough to follow you deserve some extra love. Sneak peeks and exclusive news can serve as an added bonus for fans following your account. They should be the first to know!
Source: @prosehair
Questions are a proven tactic for drumming up social engagement.
Well, TikTok is no exception in that department. Questions serve as a natural call-and-response between you and your audience. Remember that TikTokers love to speak their minds.
Posing a question fuels interactions that build loyalty. Not to mention feeding the TikTok algorithm.
For example, check out Fender’s video inviting followers to share their zodiac signs. This shows how TikTok campaigns based around questions can be playfully product-focused.
Source: @fender
TikTok also offers a place to pick your customers’ brains. For example, you might ask about your followers’ favorite products. “This-or-that” videos are likewise popular.
Source: @aerie
These types of TikToks can clue you in on what your followers want from both your TikTok presence and business at large. If nothing else, questions are a way to have fun and interact with loyal fans.
Brands are spoiled for choice when it comes to TikTok videos to post.
Figuring out what works best for your brand and industry might mean experimenting. That’s okay! We hope that these pieces of TikTok campaign examples can get you off on the right foot.
Just know that growing your brand’s presence on TikTok is all about consistency.
The platform actually suggests posting daily. This is a big commitment for brands on a time crunch.
That's why brands are pritoizingTikTok marketing campaigns powered by influencers. Doing so eliminates the need to make videos yourself, not to mention build a more authentic content strategy.
Thing is, managing campaigns and sourcing creator content in-house is a major time-sink.
That's where Statusphere comes in. Our micro-influencer marketing platform streamlines and optimizes the most time-consuming pieces of TikTok influencer campaigns. We can help brands scale their TikTok production to hundreds of posts per month in a fraction of the time it'd take in-house.
How? Our software programmatically matches brands from our vetted creator network based on 250+ unique, first-party data points. This means you get guaranteed posts from authentic creators. We've already generated 75,000+ posts on behalf of 400+ consumer brands.
Want to learn more about how the platform works? Get in touch with one of our experts to see how we can maximize your TikTok influencer campaigns with guaranteed content at scale.
This article was first published in July 2020. It was last updated June 21, 2023.
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