TikTok is at the top of the download charts in both the App Store and the Google Play Store. TikTok enriches users' lives with music clips, short video clips about everyday mishaps, craft tips and comedy content. But there are also various topics in the business sector that are covered in TikTok videos. From marketing tips and advice for founders of start-ups to better bookkeeping, there is a lot on offer. Legal topics and how to deal with investors, for example, are also explained in a few seconds in TikTok's concise style. Above all, the information density of this content allows users to absorb a lot of new knowledge in a very short time. The aim of the platform is to provide a stage for users' creativity. According to TikTok, viewers should be able to have "an authentic, joyful and positive experience."
The videos on TikTok run in a continuous loop. Swiping up or down on the smartphone takes you to the next video. At first glance, the finished videos look simple and not highly professional. As a viewer, you can see that the creators had a lot of fun during the video shoot. Only on closer inspection does it become clear how much is actually behind such a video realization. And yet: an authentic and genuine appearance is required here. Content can be presented with a lot of humor, especially irony and sarcasm, as well as cheerfulness. Some content is danced or staged as rap. In general, background music plays a very important role on TikTok. It is important that all posts are provided with hashtags. The hashtags increase the visibility of the videos because, as with TikTok, you can search for specific hashtags.
The TikTok target group is under 24 years old. However, special video topics are developing a real hype, especially among 13 to 19-year-olds. Four million users in this target group use the app for almost 40 minutes a day. TikTok therefore seems to be ideal for addressing trainees.
In general, it can be said that the current main target group consists primarily of Generation Z. Born from 1995 onwards, members of this generation are now under 25 years old. Generation Z people are characterized by the fact that they have grown up with the World Wide Web, MP3 players, text messaging and smartphones from an early age. They are digital natives who have grown up at the highest level of prosperity with an increased sense of insecurity due to globalization. And in just a few years, Generation Z will grow into an extremely relevant target group for the job market that will definitely shape the professional world.
TikTok is currently the hippest platform with direct access to Generation Z. TikTok gives these young people the feeling of belonging. Teenagers have a lot of fun dancing to the music clips of their idols and get hundreds of thousands of views for these videos. This shows how gigantic reach can be achieved with a lot of enthusiasm for the topic. Over 60% of the TikTok target group consists of users under the age of 24. Instagram, on the other hand, tends to focus on users aged between 24 and 30.
The user figures for TikTok and Instagram are difficult to compare, and not just because of the different target groups. TikTok's numbers are currently exploding and the platform is increasingly becoming the absolute number one social media platform. Month after month, TikTok downloads are going through the roof. What figures are we talking about? What does TikTok's rapid increase in reach look like?
In 2019, TikTok had 800 million users worldwide, of which 500 million were from China alone. Nevertheless, TikTok is the first social network from China to achieve international success. In the USA, TikTok had 30 million users in 2019, while in Germany it was used by 5.5 million users at least once a month at the end of 2019. To illustrate the rapid growth of TikTok, we can take a closer look at 2019. In January 2019, "only" 4.1 million users were using TikTok. The platform therefore recorded growth of more than one million users. Every month, 13.4 billion views are generated on TikTok in Germany. In January 2019, the figure was 6.5 billion views. The number of TikTok views in Germany therefore doubled in 2019.
Instagram had 1 billion users worldwide in 2019, with an estimated 20 million users in Germany. The platform reaches 500 million users worldwide every day with Instagram Stories, short video sequences recorded with a smartphone that depict users' everyday lives. In the USA, on the other hand, the figures are over 110 million users, but TikTok is growing very strongly and is a serious competitor for Instagram.
When comparing Instagram stories and TikTok, the difference in the amount of content presented on the platforms is particularly striking. Instagram stories are quickly created on the side. They mainly consist of snapshots. Although videos on TikTok are easy to create, they require specific preparation, including a schedule, compared to Instagram stories. The choreography should be well thought out, as the videos need to be trend-oriented. Similar to Instagram, users open TikTok several times a day and always find new, entertaining content.
How will TikTok develop? The current forecasts predict a continuing hype for TikTok. An entry into this new platform certainly seems worthwhile.
TikTok offers companies the opportunity to present themselves as young and modern, with direct access to the young target group of under 24-year-olds. The users who use TikTok are very open to the content.
There are a particularly large number of posts on TikTok in which employees show themselves in a work situation. For example, the hashtag #lovemyjob is used to report from a hospital or the open-plan office of an insurance company without the involvement of the employer. In many cases, these extremely positive "company portrayals" go completely unnoticed by the employer.
Points of criticism at this point are, of course, whether the necessary seriousness and protection of the patient's personality is shown in these videos. The best thing to do in online marketing is to take the TikTok account for your company into your own hands. You are probably already active on other social networks and should definitely not leave this platform out. In this way, you can ensure that only videos that match your image and corporate culture are associated with your company. Concerns about negative online criticism, the dreaded shitstorm, and a loss of control in marketing can be easily dispelled in this way.
Tens of thousands of followers and hundreds of thousands of likes are quickly achieved with videos that go viral. One example is the Dortmund Hospital. The employees regularly upload videos with dance routines and musical scenes that are accompanied by suitable music. The videos are very short and the employees definitely demonstrate a sense of humor. They show how cool the job can be and that there is a whole other side to everyday hospital life. The hospital wants to use the short clips to attract young people to the training professions. The search for trainees and young successors is therefore particularly successful on TikTok. The TikTok presence creates a high profile for the employer and at the same time demonstrates the high attractiveness of the workplace. The reach of the very inexpensively produced videos is considerable. TikTok is therefore another tool in the marketing mix that helps to successfully expand existing employer branding. Anyone who joins TikTok at the moment is a first mover and can operate almost without competition.
The shortage of skilled workers and demographic change are two factors that make it necessary to think about new recruiting channels today. The young target group and the way it is addressed via the medium of video make TikTok the ideal platform for publishing job advertisements in video form. When recruiting trainees and young successors, this is the right place to be.
Upload one or more video-based job advertisements and show yourself as an employer, the workplace and possibly future colleagues in interesting or funny situations.
An authentic appearance in the video conveys emotions and you can better inspire potential applicants about your company. In this way, you directly convey your corporate culture, which is decisive for many candidates when applying.
The use of your recruiting videos on TikTok currently appeals to the target group of young, tech-savvy candidates. With TikTok, you can reach this target group right at the heart of their leisure activities. But how do you create the right TikTok recruiting video?
For recruiting videos on TikTok, it is important that the company makes a schedule for the 30 to 60 seconds by determining what will be shown in the video. The selection of a suitable actor is just as important as the background and the background music. It is also important that the company is present with many videos on the social video platform. This ranges from two to three videos per week to two clips per day. On TikTok, the principle of "a lot helps a lot" applies. If you post a lot, you really get noticed.
A good example of the use of TikTok in recruiting is the German Armed Forces, which also relies on TikTok in its search for new recruits. A large number of short videos show scenes from everyday life in the Bundeswehr. From the morning roll call to an explanation of the officers' insignia to a camouflage operation in the forest - all topics are covered here. The TikTok video on camouflage and hiding in the forest begins with coloring the faces and making the uniforms and helmets unrecognizable with twigs and leaves. The soldiers are then to be found by the user in a wooded area shown in the picture. Of course, no one is to be discovered. To resolve the situation, one camouflaged soldier after another comes out of cover in places that no one would have thought possible. The Bundeswehr has realized everything in a very entertaining, modern and fun way. In any case, the target group has been successfully addressed here. Training in the Bundeswehr is presented to users in an attractive way. Many young people for whom the Bundeswehr was previously out of the question now see a career opportunity that they can definitely take advantage of.
What can be said to summarize the use of recruiting videos on TikTok? How can you use TikTok in employer branding?
The young target group follows the videos on the still relatively new but rapidly growing social media portal TikTok with great interest. At 16, many of this target group are looking for apprenticeships and are therefore about to enter the job market. A good engagement on TikTok brings an excellent reach of several 10,000 views in the following weeks after publication. A TikTok appearance can quickly develop into 100,000 views or more. Press reports in print and TV media about such viral employer branding successes are the result of these target group-friendly video appearances after just a few days.
With a little planning and selected actors, you can quickly and easily create videos that give people a lot: great pleasure to watch and a very positive impression of your company. We recommend repeating the employer branding message in several videos so that it is best remembered by users.
Placing video-based job ads on TikTok can become an extremely exciting topic in recruiting in the future. In contrast to other platforms, you can reach a young, up-and-coming target group that has grown up in the midst of digitalization. The presentation of the company, the job and some employees who identify with the company in particular will give your job ads a high TikTok reach.
With little financial investment, you can create a holistic concept for your employer branding that will draw the attention of potential applicants to you and your company. Of all social media, TikTok offers you the greatest opportunity to reach a particularly young target group, Generation Z, which will shape the entire working world in a few years' time. So don't miss your chance - TikTok will be an enormous benefit for your employer branding.
This post was first published in June 2021 in our old Recruiter Blog.
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