Miranda McArdle & Emily Sjoberg

JOUR 239
Brand Usage of TikTok
Research Objective:

As social media evolves, so does the usage of various platforms for advertising. As TikTok
continues to grow, we wanted our focus to be on if TikTok is a useful app to advertise a brand or
product. TikTok consists of videos of all kinds, from people all over. There are many brands that
are branching out to see how advertising on TikTok will work out for them. Our goal was to
find out if TikTok advertising is effective, if it is seen, if it stands out and if it makes a
difference.

Survey Development:

Each of the questions that we asked in our survey served the purpose of finding out the
opinions of direct consumers watching TikTok videos. A few of the early questions wanted to
address the overall usage of the platform, to see how the respondents interact with the platform
beyond promotional material. We asked what platform they viewed TikTok videos, the
frequency of their TikTok viewing, and if they follow at least one user. It was important to find
out the typical platform usage of the respondents in order to better understand the advertising
experience.

The next set of questions was based on the recognition and engagement with brands on
TikTok. We wanted to find out if they had ever watched a TikTok video that promoted a
product or company or if they have ever visited a company’s TikTok profile after watching one
of their videos. This was a direct way for us to find out how many of them have actually noticed
promoted advertising on this app. The topic of engagement was asked about through if they
visited a company’s profile, if they followed a company, or if they purchased a product because
of TikTok advertising. Brand awareness is important and can be generated by social media, but it
is also important to see if consumers are taking any further action to interact with companies.

Moving on to the topic of social media advertising in general, we wanted to learn about
people’s opinions to help us better understand what they prefer to see on their social media
timelines. We first ask if they prefer branded content (which is content from brands that you
follow, that is promoting that brand) or sponsored content (which is content that is paid to be
promoted). We also ask if they believe it is useful for brands to use social media for advertising,
as it is undeniably a huge way that brands promote their products in today’s world. The results of
this question were used as a basis for the next question, if they believed TikTok was as useful as
social media as a whole. We ask which social media platform has the most engaging advertising
content overall and we also ask what they believe makes advertising content engaging. Brands
on TikTok could look for inspiration from other social media platforms and consider what
consumers find engaging.

For our last few questions, our goal was just to get a feel for their overall feelings/experience
with TikTok and what types of videos our respondents like to watch. We started with a few
Likert scales from strongly disagree to strongly agree with statements such as “I like watching
TikTok videos” and “I use TikTok to learn about new things.” We went to ask about songs that
have went viral on TikTok, and if they think that the promotion from TikTok has to do with their
popularity. We asked these questions because there is more to advertisements and promotions
than just products; you could promote things such as a song or message. An example of a
promoted message is doctors/nurses encouraging you to stay home for your own health and the
health of others during COVID-19.

To end it off, we wanted to directly ask about their opinion of TikTok advertising. We
wanted to know from strongly disagree to strongly agree, if they prefer TikTok advertising
content compared to ads on other social media platforms and if they think TikTok advertising
was effective.

Next, we asked them to rate their experience with TikTok using a semantic differential scale.
We used the categories of…

• Boring-Entertaining
• Noneducational-Educational
• Unenjoyable-Enjoyable

We wanted to understand the typical experience with the TikTok platform, as well as the overall
emotional responses to TikTok videos.
 For our demographic questions, we decided to keep it short and simple with only a few
relevant questions. We asked their age, highest level of education and their gender. The age of
who we are asking is important, being TikTok’s typical audience is teens-20s and even early 30s.
Education level also is another factor with a round about age of the person and their mentality. A
person in college would likely be interested in different types of content than a freshman in high
school. By asking their gender we will be able to tabulate some of the questions in a way where
we may be able to see a small or large difference that gender makes.

Who is our survey directed towards?

Our survey was directed towards people who were familiar with TikTok as a platform and
watched multiple TikTok videos. Typically, TikTok has a bit of a younger crowd so we expected
most of our respondents to be anywhere between the ages of 13-35. Our peers are in the typical
age demographic for TikTok.

Being we expected most of our respondents to be in the younger crowd, we utilized social
media to promote our survey. From Facebook, to Twitter, to Snapchat, we posted the link to our
survey on our personal accounts that we know would get respondents in our target age range.

Survey Results:

• TikTok app – 21 (42%)

• Different social media platform – 10 (20%)
• Both – 16 (32%)
• Other – 3 (6%)
 From our results, we noticed that a majority of our respondents have the direct TikTok app.
Although the percent of people who strictly use TikTok is 42%, there is still another 32% of
people who claim to use both TikTok and other social media platforms to watch TikTok videos;
in total 74% of our respondents use TikTok. With this large amount, it is safe to say that TikTok
could definitely be a great move for companies to make based on numbers alone.

2. Approximately how many hours per week

do you watch TikTok videos?
25
21
Number of People

20

15
9
10
4.3 4
5 3 2
1 1
0
Under 1 1-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 21-25 26-30 31-35
Hour Hours Hours Hours Hours Hours Hours Hours

Most respondents claimed to spend about 1-5 hours on the app per week, while a few others
claimed they spent about 31-35 hours per week on TikTok. This number is simply to educate us
on how often this app is used, to get a better understanding of how often individuals are spending
their time on the platform.

• Yes - 33 (66%)
• No – 10 (20%)
• Unsure – 7 (14%)
 With a majority of our respondents, many recalled watching some form of promotional
video on this app. A total of 34% of our respondents either have not watched a promoted video
on TikTok or are unsure if they have. Brands should recognize how they can make their content
engaging for users so that the 20% of “No” 14% of “Unsure” could potentially decrease.

• Yes – 38 (76%)
• No – 12 (24%)
• Unsure – 0 (0%)

The results show us that a significant majority of the respondents for sure follow at least one
user on TikTok. While 12 of our respondents are confident that they do not follow any users on
TikTok, there are none that are unsure. This information was used as a baseline for the next
question, how many of our respondents follow a company on TikTok.

• Yes – 3 (6%)
 • No – 43 (86%)
• Unsure – 4 (8%)

We found out that not many people actually follow company/brand accounts, which may
represent a lack of engagement. There is a small percentage of people who are unsure if they
follow a business/company on TikTok, which is pretty much the same as not following any at all
as there is no awareness. If they do happen to follow a company, they clearly do not leave much
of a memorable impression.

Out of the small amount of three people who do follow a company, only two shared with us.
One person follows a zoo, and the other follows Genius music. These businesses are naturally
more engaging with the help of animals and artists who people may be interested in. This slightly
helps us when wondering what kind of businesses would be successful on TikTok. If a company
is not naturally interesting and engaging, chances are that they are not going to make much of an
impression.
 • Yes – 12 (24%)
• No – 34 (68%)
• Unsure – 4 (8)

68% of our respondents claim that they have never been influenced enough to visit a
company’s profile after watching one of their videos on TikTok. This tells us that more times
than not, the typical user will continue scrolling through TikTok after watching promotional
videos, rather than follow up for more information afterwards. 24% of the respondents did claim
to visit a company’s profile after watching one of their videos on TikTok. Being this is less than
¼ of the respondents, this would be a decision that each individual company would have to
make. Is 24% worth the time and commitment for a social media app?

• Yes – 7 (14%)
• No – 42 (84%)
• Unsure – 1 (2%)

These results have shown us that if a company’s goal on TikTok is to sell products, that it
isn’t very likely that this specific social media platform is going to help them much (at least at
this time). Only 14% of the respondents say that they have purchased a product because of
TikTok advertising.
 • Branded Content – 35 (70%)
• Sponsored Content – 15 (30%)

Most of our respondents would rather see direct content and advertising from that brands
that they are already interested in and follow. Some do however enjoy unexpectedly learning
about a new product that they did not follow before, through sponsored promotions that would
appear on their feed even if they didn’t follow the brand.

• Yes – 50 (100%)
• No – 0 (0%)

All of our respondents believe it is useful for brands to use social media for advertising. If
brands are looking to expand their social media presence, they make choose to utilize up-and-
coming platforms such as TikTok. This question was used as a baseline for the next (#11).
 • Yes – 39 (78%)
• No – 11 (22%)

Although advertising and promotion on TikTok is just getting started and hasn’t made a
complete breakthrough yet according to our previous results, 78% of our respondents believed
that TikTok is a useful app for brands to use for advertising. Based on a yes/no question, results
show that consumers still believe usage of the platform is useful. Whereas approximately 88.2%
of females agreed that it was useful, only 50% of males did. This could potentially affect the
gender that brands choose to target on TikTok.

• TikTok – 4 (8%)
• Instagram – 22 (44%)
• Twitter – 0 (0%)
• Facebook – 11 (22%)
• YouTube – 13 (26%)
 • Other – 0 (0%)

Not only did we want to find out which social media platform had the most engaging
advertising content, but we also wanted to see where TikTok fell on that list. TikTok was ranked
pretty low in the advertising engagement category. From these results, we were able to come to
the conclusion that if a company wants to explore the use of TikTok, it will work out best for
them if they think of ways to make their content just as engaging as it is informative.

13. What makes advertising content engaging?

We received a good amount of responses on this optional question (68% of respondents

answered). Listed are the responses that got multiple mentions:

• When it is relatable (2)

• When it fulfills a need (3)
• When it is something I am interested in (7)
• When the ad is fun (4)
• A product that targets the audience (3)
• Celebrities (2)
• Short and straight to the point (2)

From the responses, we can conclude that most people want to see ads that feed their interests
and are short, fun and relatable. TikTok could have a lot of potential when it comes to the types
of ads that people want, based on the current content on the app.

14. I like watching TikTok videos.

40
Number of People

29
30
20
8
10 5 3 5

0
Stongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree
Disagree

• Strongly Disagree – 5 (10%)

• Disagree – 3 (6%)
 • Neutral – 8 (16%)
• Agree – 5 (10%)
• Strongly Agree – 29 (58%)

Based on our results, we can see that the majority of respondents do like watching TikTok
videos. The small amount that do not like watching TikTok video likely tried out the app and
found it wasn’t for them. Being most respondents enjoy the app, content is likely going to
increase and more companies are going to get the urge to explore the platform. The results we
received validates the reasoning of why so many companies are trying to figure out different
ways to advertise on the newest app.

15. I use TikTok to learn about new things.

20 16
Number of People

15 12 11
10 8
5 3
0
Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree
Disagree

• Strongly Disagree – 12 (24%)

• Disagree – 11 (22%)
• Neutral – 16 (32%)
• Agree – 8 (16%)
• Strongly Agree – 3 (6%)

We asked this question with the purpose of understanding people’s feelings towards TikTok.
In this case we wanted to know if they use TikTok to learn about new things; this could be a
company, product, dance, etc. Most of the respondents feel neutral about this. While using
TikTok they aren’t opposed to learning new things, but it probably isn’t their main focus while
using the app. Many disagreed; they do not use TikTok to learn new things. Based on the results,
there are not many who use TikTok with the sole purpose of learning new things, which is
expected.
 16. I often discover songs after they
have gone viral on TikTok.
19
20
Number of People

15
10 10
10 6 5
5
0
Strongly Disgree Neutral Agree Strongly
Disagree Agree

• Strongly Disagree – 10 (20%)

• Disagree – 6 (12%)
• Neutral – 5 (10%)
• Agree – 10 (20%)
• Strongly Agree – 19 (38%)

Advertising and promotion is done by more than just companies. Artists, celebrities and
producers are included in this as well. There are often songs that go viral along with a dance, on
TikTok. We wanted to know if people recognize the viral nature/impact of TikTok. Based on the
results, a majority of the respondents first hear some songs after they have gone viral on TikTok,
proving that TikTok is an effective social media tool to use in the music industry.

17. Some songs would not be as popular if

it werent for TikTok.
33
35
Number of People

30
25
20
15
8
10 6
5 2 1
0
Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
Disagree Agree

• Strongly Disagree – 2 (4%)

• Disagree – 1 (2%)
• Neutral – 6 (12%)
 • Agree – (16%)
• Strongly Agree – (66%)

Similar to the previous question, we wanted to hear their direct opinions on what TikTok
does for the music industry. We learned that 66% of respondents believe that TikTok is
responsible for the popularity of some songs. Although generally advertising and promotions on
this platform are still improving, based on results this app is doing amazing when it comes to
music industry promotions.

18. I often see videos on TikTok with an

important message
(ex:nurses/doctorsencouraging you to stay
home).
13 14
15
Number of People

9 8
10 6
5
0
Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
Disagree Agree

• Strongly Disagree – 9 (18%)

• Disagree – 6 (12%)
• Neutral – 13 (26%)
• Agree – 14 (28%)
• Strongly – 8 (16%)

This statement goes along with personal branding. Getting a message across to support your
brand is very important, and relevant in todays time. A 70% majority of the respondents claim
that they have watched a TikTok video with an important message, with 30% claiming that they
have not watched these kinds of videos. Although there is a majority who agree, this statement
received more of an even amount of responses for each category, which leads us to believe that
personal branding on TikTok may not be as strong as on other platforms.
 19. I prefer TikTok advertising content
compared to ads on other social media
platforms.
18
20
12 12
Number of People

10 6
2
0
Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree
Disagree

• Strongly Disagree – 12 (24%)

• Disagree – 18 (36%)
• Neutral – 12 (24%)
• Agree – 6 (12%)
• Strongly Agree – 2 (4%)

Results showed that most respondents do not prefer TikTok advertising content in
comparison to other platforms, with 60% either disagreeing or strongly disagreeing with this
statement. Based on the results above, this lets us know that depending on the company a
different platform may be more useful in brand promotion.

20. TikTok advertising if effective.

20 18
Number of People

15
10 10
10
6 6
5

0
Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree
Disagree

• Strongly Disagree – 6 (12%)

• Disagree – 10 (20%)
• Neutral – 18 (36%)
• Agree – 10 (20%)
• Strongly Agree – 6 (12%)
 Overall, these specific results that we received are so neutral that it is difficult to come to a
conclusion with the results to this statement. This shows that people do not feel strongly about
TikTok advertising, whether one way or another. 32% of respondents disagree/strongly disagree
with this statement, another 32% agree/strongly agree with this statement, and 36% feel neutral.
TikTok is a newer app and companies are just beginning to advertise on it, so it really is not
much of a surprise to us that consumers are not really sure how to feel about it yet.

Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly

Disagree Agree
Male 4 2 7 1 0
Female 1 8 11 8 6
Non-Binary 1 0 0 1 0

Looking at this question based on males in comparison to females, only approximately

7.1% of males either agree or strongly agree that it is effective. Approximately 41.2% of females
either agree or strongly agree. Neutral (3) is the mode and median for: overall respondents, male
respondents, and female respondents. But by separating the genders, there is a clear favor for
TikTok advertising by females in comparison to males.

For the following questions, we asked our respondents to rate their overall experience with
TikTok…

Entertainment
40
30
30

20

10 5 7
3 4
0 1
0
Boring Entertaining
 Education
14
15

10 8 8 7 8
4
5
1
0
Noneducational Educational

Enjoyment
25 23

20
15
9 8
10 7
5 2 1
0
0
Unenjoyable Enjoyable

It comes with no surprise that a majority of the respondents rated TikTok’s entertainment
and enjoyment categories highly. We learn that most of our respondents do not recognize TikTok
as educational. From the results in this category we can determine that based on the typical
TikTok experience, brands that are trying to promote and advertise content are more likely to do
well on this app if they match their content with the rest of the fun videos on the platform.
 Most of our respondents were between the ages of 18-24 (82%) and completed some college
(78%). By having this younger range of respondents, we are able to be more confident in our
results rather than if we were to have an older range of people who may not be as experienced in
the platform. The gender of the respondents provided us with a way to look at some of our
responses and determine if there is a difference in opinion based on gender.

Conclusion:

Based on our respondents, we have found that many people do personally believe that
TikTok is a useful advertising tool. Although they claim to believe this, the results show a lack
of engagement in companies’ videos for TikTok. Current utilization of the platform may not
bring many results but could help prepare for the future of the app. TikTok is still a fairly new
platform, that companies are just only beginning to experiment promoting on. We believe that
our survey revealed that although TikTok advertising hasn’t taken off yet, consumers will be
more likely to engage once they become more familiar with brand promotion on the platform.