TikTok as a search engine and what it means for content marketing

The continuing rise of Tik Tok is fascinating to observe. It stays in the headlines as a hot-button political issue over its privacy and data while also continuing to disrupt the social media landscape of the 2020s.

Looking at things purely from the perspective of Marketing, TikTok is a force of nature that represents the evolution of social media consumption and usage.

The thing that a lot of people are getting wrong is that TikTok is not just a platform that serves up endless distractions through bite-sized entertainment. Sure, there’s plenty of that if that’s what you want.

But what’s being overlooked is how TikTok is actually used as source of information and learning. Especially for Gen Z.

In fact, I’d even argue that it’s millennials who use TikTok for distraction and entertainment, while Gen Z uses it for information and interaction with their hobbies and interests.

While that’s based on just my observation, what is clear is that TikTok knows it’s being used as an information source, and is making the app easier to be used as a utility rather than entertainment.

The evidence for that can be seen in the recent expansion of character limits for video descriptions. Now, creators can write longer, more descriptive captions for their posts, making the information easier to find. This means TikTok is effectively building out its own internal search engine, where users can find videos for topics and information.

The implications of this for marketing are massive. The question is, will businesses actually adapt?

The thing that a lot of marketers haven’t understood yet is that the tactics that worked on Facebook, and Instagram throughout the last decade, won’t work on TikTok.

What’s interesting is that this is more due to the user base than the platform itself. Gen Z marketing is about authenticity, and they will not hesitate to call out marketing cringe. These changes mean that a thoughtful, well planned content strategy can position brands to benefit greatly from TikTok Traffic.

So instead of trying to do some silly dance routine or skit with trending audio, businesses should instead focus on creating content that showcases their expertise and answers useful questions. That’s not a criticism against popular dance content or skits and all of that, it’s just that marketers think that’s how a business should marketing on TikTok, which is just cringe to see.

It takes a lot of work and effort by creators to produce that kind of content, and the reason it works well is that it’s authentic, it’s genuine, and dancing or acting is their passion. Having a bunch of office workers do a trending dance with captions just looks forced and inauthentic. That provides no value to potential customers.

Instead, businesses small to large can use TikTok to deliver important, useful information quickly and to the point. Then build up a library of useful content that will be easily accessible with the new search updates. This has massive potential for local businesses in particular, who can use location tagging etc. to drive traffic.

TikTok is only going to continue to grow in popularity, which means it’s only going to gain more significance as a marketing channel. Trying to use influencer or creator tactics for quick spikes in engagement is appealing. But the brands who invest in putting out value-focused content will benefit over the long term as the platform advances as a source of information.