By 2025, TikTok is projected to surpass Facebook in terms of user time spent on the platform, largely because of its focus on entertainment. The platform is also expanding into e-commerce, integrating in-app shopping and product tagging. This means new avenues for businesses to connect directly with consumers. A new study by the Clockwork agency, “What You Can’t Not Know in 2024”, says next year TikTok is poised to become a tool for product discovery and in-app shopping, necessitating a strategic presence from brands looking to stay ahead of the curve.
Conversely, X (formerly Twitter) is still grappling with its own challenges. A significant drop in ad revenue, coupled with content moderation issues and declining returns on investment, has made the platform less appealing for brands. So how can South African brands adjust their social media strategies to remain visible and engaging, given the global trend of decreased posting frequency among users?
Daniela White, strategy director at Clockwork, tells the FM that local brands should become aware of these shifts in user behaviour by tapping into creator trends or co-creating, and consider where users spend their time within these platforms and think about how best to use these.
Yvette Gengan, MD of digital performance agency Lucid, concurs, saying user-generated content can boost authenticity and trust while reducing the pressure to post frequently.
“TikTok has amplified creator content, giving brands and customers the opportunity to create meaningful content that stands out in the clutter.”
White urges brands to craft a unique approach on TikTok. “Be clear where the brand will play, its tone and who it seeks to resonate with. Copy-pasting your planned social content from Instagram and Facebook will likely not work on TikTok. Develop a stream of organic content that will keep users engaged while also allowing you to understand what works as you build a community.”
White also believes there are opportunities for brands as TikTok expands its e-commerce features.
“This presents an opportunity for brands to harness a primed user base to drive sales within the platform. We know that users are already discovering and search for products in TikTok, the step change would close the loop enabling immediate access to products. And from a brand perspective, what better way to prove return on investment on the platform than being able to track ad spend directly to sales.”
Gengan says the process is still in an early phase. “Live shopping with checkout capability is not yet available in South Africa but we have seen brands become innovative with how they execute on this by partnering with key e-tailers to facilitate the checkout experience.”
The big risk for brands is X; they need to carefully assess the risks and benefits of maintaining or establishing a presence.
White says South African brands need to take a careful look at their X audience numbers and whether the base is growing, stagnating or declining, and how active their followers are. Based on this they can revive or grow the user base, determine what it will cost and if it will be worth it in the larger marketing strategy.
Gengan says brands need to ask if X is a safe environment for them. “They need to identify potential risks such as brand reputation damage and consider mitigation strategies. Many brands still do well on the platform because they have put the right controls in place from their side, rather than relying on X to provide this.
“Others have chosen to look at other channels for consumer engagement, such as WhatsApp, in-app, and web assistance. Avoid being on the platform to tick a box, be intentional about why you are on the platform and what your strategy is.”
As brands plan for next year, where does Meta fit in? Says White: “Ultimately Meta is a pay-to-play platform, and this continues to be necessary to maintain visibility and engagement. While user growth may slow, Meta will likely retain a sizeable audience base for the foreseeable future, especially when considered holistically — Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads.
“It would also be important to consider the demographic shifts behind the user growth rates, and the role that these social channels play in the lives of users. For example, in future, we may well not reach our younger audiences on Facebook, but that doesn’t mean there is no room for Facebook in the marketing mix to reach alternative target audiences.”
This piece originally appeared in the Financial Mail.
