TikTok tells brands how it “works” for them

With an expansion of its ad formats and campaigns on the horizon, TikTok continues to court potential buyers. It has released a report called TikTok Works, which outlines several of the results that can be achieved by brands that market themselves on the short-form video app.

TikTok Works is a gift from the company’s Marketing Science team, which linked up with third-party firms like Nielsen and Kantar to gather data about its branded content. The results are separated into three categories, whose names highlight the perceived strong points of TikTok marketing. The report claims that brands who stay active on the app see the impact, growth, and advantage they’re looking for.

Impact comes in the form of return on ad spend (ROAS) figures that outstrip other platforms. TikTok says its sales efficiency is nearly three times better than average in the United States, and more than five times better than average in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Within those Southeast Asian countries, TikTok has become a major player in the ecommerce industry.

In the United States, TikTok’s ecommerce efforts are still getting off the ground, but the app is already touting its status as a driver of discovery. It cited a post-purchase analysis from Fairing, which concluded that more than 10%

of product discoveries happen on TikTok. That was up from a year ago, when TikTok claimed fewer than 5% of brand discoveries.

TikTok’s rising status as a tastemaker is drawing the attention of other companies. Hearst, for example, just launched a shopping platform that aggregates great finds from the For You Page.

As for advantage: According to a Kantar report cited in TikTok Works, brands that advertise on TikTok outperform digital and TV norms in areas like persuasion and enjoyability. The companies that have built loyal followings through short-form videos — such as Crumbl Cookies — provide positive examples of TikTok’s impact on brand recognition.

TikTok wants to write more success stories that look like Crumbl’s. That’s why it has invited brands and agencies to enter the TikTok Academy, where a number of virtual crash courses are available.

One final note: If the name TikTok Works sounds familiar to you, you may be confusing it with another report that celebrates branded content on a major online video platform. Each year, YouTube hands out the YouTube Works Awards, which honor effective and innovative campaigns from the previous 12 months.