TikTok Updates: Ads, Notes Photo App, Search Insights, and More

Our Take: The platform's move to develop a collection of voice audio templates that businesses can use in their TikTok videos and ads aims to address the complaint that many companies have about the limited selection of sounds available to them on the platform, which often feels “cheesy” or unsuitable for their purposes.

Introducing these creator-made voice audio templates is an exciting development for businesses looking to create engaging TikTok content. By providing a variety of voices and themes, TikTok is empowering businesses to make more relatable and entertaining content that resonates with their target audience.

While some of the voices might be recognizable to avid TikTok users, the primary benefit lies in the ability to inspire businesses to create content around these audio templates. Additionally, companies can use these templates as a starting point and record their own voiceovers if they prefer a more personalized approach.

The “Sounds for Business” feature is a promising tool for businesses looking to enhance their presence on TikTok. It provides them the resources to create more engaging and trend-friendly content that appeals to the platform's user base.

Our Take: While the US House of Representatives has passed a bill that could ban TikTok, there is skepticism about whether the bill will ultimately become law. 

Social Media Marketing Talk Show host and marketing expert Jerry Potter suggests that the timing of this bill, during a presidential election year, is likely a factor in its passage through the House, as it provides a popular talking point for politicians seeking press coverage. However, both Jerry and TikTok expert Keenya Kelly express doubts about the bill's ability to pass the Senate and become law.

They argue that banning TikTok would put millions of American businesses and users at risk, which could be detrimental to politicians seeking reelection, especially amidst the current financial crisis. They also mention that underlying factors and motives might not be apparent to the public.

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Furthermore, the political discourse surrounding TikTok and its potential dangers is not new; it has been discussed in the news for several years. While the bill has passed one hurdle in the House, Keenya and Jerry believe it is unlikely to be enacted into law due to various political and economic considerations.

Our Take: This new app is TikTok's version of what Instagram used to be, focusing on sharing photos rather than videos.

Keenya is excited about this new app, as it caters to many people who prefer to avoid appearing on video or do so less frequently. She hopes the platform will integrate TikTok Notes with the main TikTok app, similar to how Threads connects to Instagram. This could rapidly increase user numbers and surpass Meta's user acquisition for Threads.

From a consumer standpoint, Jerry suggests that TikTok Notes could be a good alternative for users who cannot have sound. The app allows TikTok to reach new people who may be less interested in video content.

Our Take: TikTok is making significant strides in eCommerce by integrating its Promote feature with the TikTok Ads Manager. This integration allows businesses to leverage their organic content and influencer partnerships more seamlessly and efficiently for paid advertising.

The Promote feature, which functions similarly to boosting posts on Facebook, enables businesses to amplify their content directly from their TikTok account. By connecting Promote with the TikTok Ads Manager, companies can now utilize their best-performing organic content or influencer collaborations in more targeted ad campaigns through the Ads Manager portal.

This integration is particularly beneficial for businesses working with influencers, as they can now directly use the influencer's content in their own ad campaigns, provided the influencer has granted permission. This streamlined process allows for a more cohesive and impactful advertising strategy, leveraging the authenticity and engagement of influencer-generated content.

As Keenya points out, this integration mirrors the evolution of Facebook's advertising tools, where the simpler boosting feature gradually merged with the more complex Ads Manager. This approach allows marketers to start with the user-friendly Promote feature and progressively expand their advertising efforts using the more advanced tools in the Ads Manager.

Our Take: TikTok is significantly updating its eCommerce offerings, particularly regarding Video Shopping Ads. Previously, when a user searched for a specific topic on TikTok, they would see a paid video ad related to that topic. However, the platform is expanding its ad formats to include more strategic and targeted options, such as Carousels and traditional video ads.

Moreover, TikTok is making it easier for these ads to appear on the search page, which could be a significant revenue generator for the platform, similar to how Google monetizes its search results. TikTok has improved its integration with Shopify, simplifying the process for businesses to showcase their products and drive sales through the app.

TikTok is making it increasingly easy for businesses to gain product exposure and streamline users' purchasing process.

Our Take: With the platform’s new updates to TikTok Shop and Shop Ads, users can purchase a product directly within the app if a business has a physical product and uploads its inventory to TikTok Shop.

Suppose a business runs an ad featuring a specific product, such as a jacket. When the ad appears, a pop-up prompts users to buy the jacket. By clicking on the pop-up, users are directed to the TikTok Shop, where they can complete the purchase quickly and easily. This streamlined process makes buying products on TikTok a seamless and efficient experience.

Keenya compares this update to the challenges faced by businesses on Instagram in the past, where users had to navigate through multiple steps, such as clicking on a link in the profile, confirming their desire to visit the profile, and then finding the correct link among several options. TikTok's new feature aims to remove this friction and make the purchasing process as smooth as possible.

Additionally, TikTok could introduce similar features for digital products in the future, particularly with the upcoming return of TikTok Series.

Our Take: This new tool makes it easier for creators to identify trending topics on the platform and create content that is more likely to perform well. The ability to filter for content gaps is an excellent aspect of the new Creator Search Insights feature. Content gaps refer to topics frequently searched for but with little content available on TikTok. By identifying these gaps, creators can produce videos that fill a need and gain more visibility on the platform.

Furthermore, creators enrolled in TikTok's rewards program can benefit even more from using Creator Search Insights. When they create content around the topics suggested by the tool, they will receive additional rewards, providing an extra incentive to leverage this feature.

Overall, Creator Search Insights has the potential to help creators find new ideas, create content that resonates with their audience, and ultimately grow their presence on TikTok.

Our Take: TikTok clearly emphasizes live-streaming and subscriber perks. The platform is introducing new features that allow subscribers to take a more active role in the content they consume, such as choosing the topic for a creator's live stream or prioritizing their comments and questions during the broadcast.

These new subscriber perks encourage viewers to pay for a subscription and encourage creators to promote the benefits of their content. By giving subscribers more control over the content and ensuring their comments and questions are addressed, TikTok creates a more engaging and interactive live-streaming experience for creators and viewers.

These new features are reminiscent of those found on other social media platforms, such as YouTube, where paying members' comments are highlighted during live streams. This suggests that TikTok is learning from and adapting successful strategies from its competitors to enhance its own platform.

Additionally, these new features can be used creatively, such as allowing subscribers to vote on the order of topics covered during a lengthy live stream or displaying upcoming topics without the creator mentioning them explicitly.

Overall, TikTok's continuous efforts to improve live-streaming and subscriber perks demonstrate the platform's commitment to helping creators monetize their content while providing viewers a more engaging and interactive experience. As these features evolve, it will be interesting to see how creators and viewers leverage them to build stronger communities and create more compelling content on the platform.