Every few years, a new social media platform arrives that changes how people communicate. The most recent social media platform to enter the mainstream is TikTok, the highly engaging and wildly entertaining video-content-based app. With over a billion monthly users, many of them in the Gen-Z cohort, TikTok is on-trend, current, and bursting with potential for brands and creators alike.

If you are a business looking to use social media to connect with consumers, build partnerships with creators, and expand your reach, having a presence on TikTok makes sense. While only recently did brands begin to take TikTok seriously, it has now become an essential part of many businesses’ influencer marketing strategy. Find out below why more and more brands are looking to TikTok for influencer marketing.

Viral Potential

Unlike most social media sites, TikTok’s algorithm has created a level playing field where anyone and anything has the chance to go viral. TikTok operates by feeding users content that is tailor-made to their interests through a For You page. It is not like Facebook or Instagram, where the news feed is dominated by creators that users follow. On TikTok, most of the content users see is recommended by the algorithm from creators that they don’t even follow. This means that if the algorithm suggests it, anything can go viral.

An algorithm where anything can go viral is a massive asset to businesses as if the influencers brands partner with do a good job, there is a chance their content can have enormous reach. TikTok’s algorithm democratizes virality, so it is not just the biggest creators whose content blows up. This allows businesses to potentially get maximum bang for their buck.

Accessible Creators

Because TikTok’s algorithm allows a wide variety of users to achieve significant success and cultivate a large following, creators are more accessible than most social media platforms. Many don’t have agents or representatives and are easier to reach and more willing to correspond with brands. Because many TikTok influencers aren’t as established and fewer brands use TikTok for influencer marketing, influencers can come at a more affordable cost.

Many creators on TikTok shoot to fame rapidly and aren’t full-time influencers or celebrities, yet they have a large following. If brands can connect with these new influencers, they get a high impact on a low budget. Influencer gifting, when brands exchange products with creatives in return for content posted about the brand on their page, is extremely common on TikTok. Influencer gifting helps brands save money while also providing creators with free products. This type of exchange works best when the influencers are less established and want the product they’ll be receiving.

Punchy and Repurposable Video Content

If there’s one thing TikTok has become known for, it’s how wildly addictive and eye-catching it is. The endless stream of short video content leads to hours and hours of user scrolling, and TikTok is as stimulating as it gets. TikTok marketing banks on the ability of the app to draw users in and the ability of influencers on the app to create appealing video content that brands can use beyond the new feed.

According to Elitecontentmarketer.com, 66% of people said they’d prefer to watch a short video to learn about a product or service, compared to any other medium. By marketing with TikTok influencers, brands are gaining high-quality, compelling short-form video advertisements for their product. These videos can be repurposed to other social media platforms, shared on websites, and used beyond the scope of the app. Video marketing is a digital strategy rapidly gaining importance, and TikTok marketing allows you to outsource the work to creative experts at a reasonable cost.

Appeal Directly to Desired Niches

Like many other social media platforms, TikTok has countless different sub-cultures that make up the greater whole. Because the algorithm tailors content to users’ recorded preferences, there is a lot of TikTok content that aligns with niche interests. From bodybuilding TikTok to dog-lover TikTok, if you can think of a niche, chances are, there are influencers on the app who’ve cultivated a following by producing content around it.

With numerous niches on TikTok, it makes it easier for businesses to target their influencer marketing campaigns. Working with creators that generate content in the niche your business targets will help your brand reach out directly to consumers that already have a defined interest in what you’re offering.

TikTok has only recently begun to be taken seriously by brands seeing the massive potential it has. With an algorithm that democratizes the process of going viral, less established creators with high follower counts, a punchy and appealing content format, and the ability to reach niche audiences, TikTok marketing is strategy brands of all sizes should look towards.