Why Your Food Brand Needs to Be on TikTok in 2023
There’s no doubt you’ve seen a million-and-one posts about why your brand needs to be on TikTok in 2023. Why? Because, we truly know that if you’re a food or drink brand, more than ever, you need to be signing up to the world’s fastest-growing app.
TikTok has come a long way from its Musically days. It’s no longer the place for teens to dance and lip-sync to the latest pop-bops. In fact, it’s not even the same place we grew to love in the pandemic full of ‘ChAnEl’ and ‘Please don’t be ugly’. Nowadays, TikTok is solidifying itself as a marketing powerhouse, an SEO-platform in its own right, all with incredible communication skills, a strong direction, and a true footing in a business user’s corner.
There are so many ways we can utilise TikTok now; to form communities, advertise to new audiences, and most importantly, have a bit of fun within your business. Social media was always supposed to be fun. For brands, targeting your audiences is a formula you must stick to, yes. But when it comes to TikTok, you can bend the rules. Delve into relevant trends. Build that community. And get a closer (and more personal) view of the people behind and in front of your brand. It’s really bringing the social aspect back into social media.
So why is TikTok particularly relevant to food brands?
So let’s start with the basics, which can be applied to every brand. 90% of TikTok users log into the app every single day (guilty as charged over here!). That’s wild. How often can you say you do the same for Facebook or even Twitter? So if that 90% logging in, the average amount of time on the app is 89 minutes, why? Because TikTok has nailed the art of keeping you put, with extremely relevant content which is either entertaining, inspiring, or educating you. And it’s short and sharp too.
This is where things get juicy, 47% of users have bought something they have seen on TikTok. In fact, 67% agree that seeing something on TikTok inspired them to shop even when they were not looking to do so. The facts are starting to stack up. TikTok has unintentionally become the place to put your product in front of people…and they’re buying into it. After years and years of Facebook advertising supremacy, it might be time to switch up your paid advertising strategy!
So onto, food brands, both CPG (consumer packaged goods) and restaurants alike, are finding massive success on the app. In 2021, small (and delicious) mocha ice cream company Little Moons found absolute vitality at its finest. What started as a foray into TikTok has boosted their sales by 1300% and seen them stocked in the likes of Tesco, and Waitrose to name a few.
A report from 2021 showed that 36% of TikTok users have visited or ordered food from a restaurant after seeing a TikTok video about the restaurant. This stat nearly doubled (65% of users) when the same question was polled with TikTok creators (TikTok’s version of Influencers). This bitesize video content is exactly what audiences are looking for right now, they want their recommendations served up to them on a plate - which so to speak, TikTok does so, so well.
Need more convincing? Here are our top five reasons to consider creating content on TikTok for your food brand:
TikTok is a Foodie Destination
Look aside from its incredible marketing attribute, food lends itself to video content. You only have to flick onto the app to be inundated with recipe content and trends, I mean, who doesn’t have baked feta at least once a month now, right? TikTok has gained a lot of traction, and now they have our attention, they’re moving their focus. What started as a lip-syncing app has transitioned slowly from pure entertainment to more of an educational side. Of course, everything is done in a very informal lo-fi fashion but still, there’s a massive shift toward the type of content TikTok wants to be known for. What falls perfectly into the education category? Food of course. Food brands have so much breadth to work with, whether it’s obvious, like recipes, or maybe a deeper understanding of nutrition.
New-Gen Foodie Influencers
TikTok Creators and cropping up left, right, and center, and it’s no surprise to see many foodie influencers in the mix. With their bitesize recipes, fun and informative filming style, and beaming personalities. They’re everywhere to be found on the app. Take @poppycooks for instance, a chef who in lockdown found herself with time on her hands, she decided like the rest of the world to turn to TikTok, but as a creator. She showcased the skills she couldn’t use in her job to create a community all around the love of food (notably roast potatoes!).
Need some inspiration on Foodie TikTok Creators? Luckily, our Founder, Jess is a little bit of a foodie herself and has a ton of recommendations. Don’t ask her how long she spends on the app to discover these…the answer is unholy:
Advertising Opportunities
Facebook has had a huge monopoly on social media advertising for a long old while now, but TikTok is really disrupting that with its clear and easy-to-use advertising back end. Not only are ads well placed with targeting but TikTok is great at educating and insisting on following TikTok-centric content habits which have stats to back up their usefulness. The clear difference that TikTok has made with their advertising tools is how much they feel in the brand’s corner, it’s so nice to see a good back-end feature and insights/learning from a platform.
New-Style Content
Let’s face it, there’s no other place you can make such lo-fi creative content and it performs this well. It’s exciting for brands, polished, expensive content is becoming less desirable and why is this good? Because it’s more accessible, especially to SMEs and brands with lower budgets. It’s not to say there isn’t some science to it, but there’s certainly flexibility to be creative, to learn, and try trends. The fantastic thing is, you don’t need to do what you do on every other channel, you can show a completely different side to your brand. You only have to take a look at high-end luxury brands like Gucci and Burberry to see how dramatically different they present themselves on TikTok.
Have Some Fun
Yes, seriously, social media is supposed to be fun. Let your brand test new recipes, educate people with fun graphics, and even do some live cooking sessions. This is a great place to test the water, whether you’re looking to expand your target audience group, introduce a new product or just create a fun-loving community. Content and social media don’t have to be big scary numbers, sometimes it’s all about showing up. So give it a crack, what do you have to lose?
So if you’re wondering what is next for your social media strategy this 2023, it’s time to give TikTok a go. Feeling a little overwhelmed? Why not book a Power Hour session with us? We can help tackle the next steps to getting you live on TikTok.
This post was written by our Inner Circle member, Allie. If you’re in any need of Social Media advice or help, do be sure to book a 30-minute discovery call.
