As spring rolls around, fashion brands are looking for ways to promote their new slate of products. They want the release of their new catalog to feel like an event, and one of the best ways to do this is by creating a trending TikTok hashtag campaign.
TikTok is becoming a core part of people’s purchasing journey.
According to one recent study, 37% of users said they purchased a product immediately after discovering it on TikTok. Meanwhile, 38% said they interacted with a brand’s video as a part of their product research.
Unlike other social media platforms, where hashtag campaigns tend not to catch on, most popular TikTok hashtag campaigns see lots of engagement.
According to TikTok, a branded hashtag campaign on its app sees a median 17.5% engagement rate. This is far above other platforms, which it claims see a median engagement below 1%.
That’s because TikTok content is served to people through the For You page (FYP). This means that a successful campaign can quickly feel like it’s everywhere. TikTok’s algorithm also factors in related hashtags when it recommends videos to users.
This makes it likely that someone who engages with one video in your challenge will see many more. If people see many others participating in a TikTok challenge, they might be inspired to post their own user-generated content.
Here are some tips for businesses that want to produce the right hashtag marketing strategies for their brand:
Crafting a good concept is a solid hashtag strategy for ensuring your campaign will catch on with your target audience. A great TikTok meme should be clear, easy-to-replicate, and allows room for creativity.
Some of the most popular organic TikTok memes have followed this pattern. The mattress brand Simmons, for instance, opted to create a simple hashtag challenge in which people would record themselves leaping onto their beds.
It created a specific hashtag, #Snoozzzapalooza, to go along with the campaign. The concept was easily replicable, while still tying directly back to Simmons’ core products.
The brand’s original concept was also more effective since it avoided using popular, yet generic, hashtags—for example, #dancechallenge and #duet—which could lead to Simmons’ posts being buried amongst thousands of others.
In total, 1.1m+ people have embraced #Snoozzzapalooza, used it, and even accompanied it with other niche hashtags. As a result, the viral video campaign attracted 6 billion views.
As the TikTok app becomes a more important part of how people discover and interact with brands, companies are beginning to see the platform as a space where they can reinvent their image.
In spring 2022, Hugo Boss started using a TikTok hashtag campaign to change how young customers perceive it. While Hugo Boss is best known for its business suits, the company is hoping to pivot into more casual clothing.
It’s redesigning its logo and hiring new models, including the TikTok star Khaby Lame. A TikToker choreographed the dance moves for its challenge, #HowDoYouHUGO, which featured TikTokers in the brand’s latest outfits. So far, it has amassed over 5 billion views.
In the spring of 2021, as people prepared for a summer of fewer pandemic restrictions, Express created the #ExpressReentry campaign. To tap into the topic on everyone’s mind, how they’ll dress once they re-enter the world, the brand designed this relevant hashtag.
Tying your TikTok marketing campaign to something too news-y has its pitfalls, because a meme might lose its relevance by the time your campaign launches.
But tapping into some larger cultural zeitgeist that won’t disappear anytime soon—like a joke about the Roaring Twenties, for instance—can be a good way to make your campaign feel like a natural part of the TikTok conversation.
Other challenges are even simpler, though a campaign that’s too obvious can have its drawbacks.
In Guess’s #InMyDenim challenge, participants are asked to do a simple outfit change. Users looked unkempt and out of it until they put on their Guess outfits, at which point the lighting changes and they appear much more put together.
TikTokers rarely take themselves too seriously, and neither should brands. On TikTok, fashion companies have found success by parodying their own corporate identities.
The clothing brand ASOS, for instance, created a campaign called #AySauce—a play on the brand’s own name.
The best way to ensure that your TikTok posts gain traction outside of your existing followers is to pick TikTok influencers who can participate in your campaign and promote it to their followers.
When Express was pushing its #ExpressReentry campaign, the company tapped Queer Eye star Tan France to promote it. It also hired a number of influencers, including Rashad Little and Jess Wang, to participate in the TikTok trend and give it more reach.
If you’re unsure how to find TikTokers whose audiences match your niche and whoever you’re targeting, it’s worth visiting the TikTok Creator Marketplace. It’s a database that helps you narrow down influencers by follower count, geography, engagement rate, and more.
For a TikTok hashtag campaign to truly go viral, make sure that you can turn a passive viewer who stumbles across your video into a paying customer. One of the best ways to do this is by hiring a flexible customer support team that can engage with TikTok users.
Chatdesk can serve your customers where they are, whether in the comments under each TikTok video or in the DMs. It also hires Superfans of your product to field questions about shipping, availability, customization, and more. Schedule a demo to see it in action.
