TikTok has taken the world by storm! Known for its funny dances and authenticity, TikTok has grasped the attention of young and older audiences alike. In fact, TikTok is so popular that it has 30.8 million daily active users on iOS and 14.43 million daily active users on Android, equating to 45.23 million daily active users (Source). The app’s unparalleled growth has earned them a spot as one of the top platforms in the market industry. This then begs the question - how can you utilize TikTok for equity crowdfunding? Is TikTok the right platform for your campaign? The answer is a resounding “yes,” and I’ll get into the specifics shortly.
Before doing so, I want to address some concerns regarding the TikTok platform. Most clients that I’ve talked to are under the impression that “TikTok is for kids.” That’s a misguided claim, but it’s easy to understand why people believe TikTok is for Gen Z. As a huge TikTok fan myself, my opinion might be biased, so here’s the data supporting my claim: (Source)
Yes, you can technically still make the claim that “TikTok is for kids,” but the distribution between the age groups is quite uniform, with the exception of the 50+ group. In a survey, the American Dream Composite Index found that investors in the age group 25-35 are much more likely to invest in equity crowdfunding campaigns, and investors in the age group 45+ are significantly less likely to invest in equity crowdfunding campaigns (Source). This piece of data should give issuers confidence that their target audience can be reached on TikTok. Without further ado, let’s discuss how we can reach our audience.
TikTok Organic
TikTok Organic is one of the most powerful organic social media tools. Thousands of creators have grown their brand from 0 to 100 on the TikTok platform. Unlike other popular social media platforms, the TikTok algorithm doesn’t discriminate and doesn’t give you more reach if you have a bigger following. It places your videos on the relevant “for you” pages regardless of your following. If you’ve been on TikTok, you’ll know that it’s extremely good at tracking down your interests and showing you relevant videos based on the data it has collected. It’s no different when it comes to equity crowdfunding. To reach the most people and to get the highest chance at virality, you’ll need to accomplish the following:
Post frequently. I’m not talking a few times a week. I’m talking a few times a day. The strategy for growing on TikTok and increasing your chances of a viral video is to post as much as possible. I would recommend posting 2-5 videos a day, depending on the amount you can churn out. You don’t even need to post videos that are completely relevant to your brand or campaign. You can post videos that are creative and follow current TikTok trends. If your viewers like your video, they will follow and see other videos you post. By accumulating more followers, your brand presence and social proof will grow. After working on hundreds of crowdfunding campaigns, I’ve found that social proof and third-party validation are the big keys to a successful campaign. You can’t “crowdfund” without the “crowd.” Grow your following.
Use hashtags. This one is so simple but not always easy to get right. There is no limit to how many hashtags you should use, but my recommendation is 3-5 hashtags on each post. You’ll want to test different hashtags and see which ones pick up the most engagement. For example, for a week, you can test out a set of hashtags geared toward “investors.” Next week, you can use a set of hashtags targeting viewers in your industry. There’s no right answer for hashtags; it all comes down to testing and doubling down on what worked.
Creator collaborations. Creating TikTok videos is not always easy. TikTok creators have grown a following and know exactly what videos work best and which trends to utilize. If you have the budget to work with creators, it could be beneficial to your campaign. You’ll want to find creators in your industry or those who talk about investing. You can then post these videos on your TikTok account and run them as ads.
TikTok Advertising
While TikTok advertising is still not as effective as Meta when it comes to equity crowdfunding, you can still reach your target audiences. The ads must be engaging, authentic, and native to the platform. If you get this wrong, TikTokers will not engage, resulting in poor ad performance. Here are a few strategies to maximize your chances at advertising success.
Target the right audience. I target ages 25+ on TikTok as that’s what most of the equity crowdfunding audience is. Furthermore, I target by income, the top 10% of US zip codes to be exact. You’ll also want to target by interest as well. Target those who are interested in investing and equity crowdfunding. You should also consider targeting those who have an interest in your industry. Make sure to test a variety of interests and think outside the box. Advertising all comes down to testing, so be creative with your targeting and scale where you see performance.
Lead form ads. While leads aren’t optimized toward conversions, the leads you accumulate are your assets to keep. On the other hand, traffic you drive to your site isn’t always going to be yours, and it’s not quite clear who the traffic is. For TikTok ads, you’ll want to use the “Instant Forms” option. This will allow users to provide their information on the app without having to click into a site. Instant Forms will increase your conversion rate and reduce your cost per lead. Once you have these leads, you’ll want to nurture them and follow up with them to eventually get them to invest.
Creative tips. In general, your video should be only 30-45 seconds long at most. In fact, TikTok will not let you run a video ad for longer than a minute. The first 5 seconds of your video are the most valuable and most important to get right. You need your hook to be engaging, and it must grab the attention of your viewers. You can have an amazing ad following the initial 5 seconds, but if nobody is watching after the hook, it doesn’t matter. After the hook, you’ll want to talk about the top reasons to invest in your campaign and explain the market opportunity. Always close with a call to action.
TikTok Live
Once you’ve built an audience, you can host a TikTok live. TikTok live is an excellent way to interact with potential investors in real-time and answer questions and concerns related to your campaign. This is much easier to set up than a webinar and allows you to be authentic with your viewers. Follow these tips for a successful TikTok live:
Plan your content. Make sure you’re comfortable with speaking about your brand, the market, and the industry. People will have questions and doubts about your campaign. Do research and be prepared with counter arguments.
Promote before going live. You’ll want to tell your existing audience that you’re going live on TikTok. You can promote via social media like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and even emails. Viewers will organically come to your live as you stream, as your stream will show up on their “for you” page, but it will definitely help to have an initial audience there as you’re starting.
Be authentic. When it comes to anything on TikTok, you want to be the most authentic version of yourself. This is the platform where you can interact with your audience as friends. You don’t even need to look or dress fancy for the live - just look yourself.
Be engaging. You don’t just want your viewers to come; you want them to stay. Be excited when you’re speaking about your campaign. If you’re not excited about your own campaign, your audience most definitely will not be. You want to engage with viewers. Ask them questions as well, and keep the conversation flowing. Read the chat frequently and make sure to talk to others in the chat as well.
Ultimately, TikTok is an outstanding platform for your crowdfunding efforts. Your audience is on TikTok, and we can reach them organically and through paid advertising. We can easily engage with them through TikTok lives and nurture the leads that come in through email marketing. Overall, TikTok is not easy to pull off but well worth the blood, sweat, and tears when things start picking up. If you have any questions on TikTok strategy, please feel free to send me an email at nicky@digitalnicheagency.com
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