How to Up Your Nonprofit Game on TikTok

By the looks of it on social, more and more nonprofits and social causes are getting on TikTok. There's a reason for it: It's where all the cool people hang out. Because of it, savvy nonprofit marketing pros know that's where they want to be as well. It happens continuously now and in every generation, and now's no different. So let's explore what this TikTok thing’s all about and how your cause could leverage it for a new audience.

What Does TikTok Have That Other Social Networks Do Not?

Before getting into why your nonprofit should consider TikTok, let’s take a look at why it’s so popular. For our team, we love TikTok because it's fun. The 15-second videos (short-form videos) are a great way to share seriously funny and entertaining micro-videos. Users can also combine short videos for 60-second compilations.

Let's face it: A lot of social media networks have gotten heavy. And while people need to be activists and push society to be and do better, people need different stimulations. And laughter is one of the best ways to connect with people. Laughter brings people together, and so do fun and entertaining things. I can't say how many times our team has shared TikTok micro-videos that provided a few silly laughs. Still, TikTok is also a great place to deliver a concise message, and there's tons of content about travel, fitness, music, and yes, from nonprofits.

What You Need to Know About the Social App Audience

If you think that the only people on TikTok are Gen Z and Millennials, you would be incorrect. Sure, while most of the users are below 25, TikTok micro-videos are now getting shared with older Millennials and Gen Xers. In turn, the more of these videos get shared, the more people download the app.

More than 1.29 billion people have downloaded the app to their phones, with 689 million users, which is astounding. As a marketer, when you compare it to Facebook, that platform has 2.8 billion users, and it’s much older than TikTok. In terms of its ranking with other social media, TikTok is bigger than Twitter, Reddit and Snapchat.

What’s more important for nonprofit marketers about TikTok is that its users are engaged and affluent. Of course, that’s what marketers want. For example, more than 40% of the users in the U.S. have household incomes exceeding $100,000. Further, engagement is essential to TikTok. To watch, users have to be looking at their screens, but they also have to have the sound turned on to enjoy the content. Audio is a vital part of TikTok.

Tips for Getting Your Nonprofit Started on TikTok

TikTok is an excellent platform to increase your nonprofit audience and boost revenue. The social app allows you to target your audience where you need it to be specific to interests, age, gender, location and more. It also allows you to create lookalike audiences, which as marketers, is always something that makes our work easier.

1. You’re better at it than corporations. One of the best things about TikTok is that it’s so personal, big corporations can’t really manage it well. TikTok is all about the fun and personal. Even if you're doing something serious, you can always find ways to communicate your message in a way that grabs peoples' attention. (Check out Classy’s take on how nonprofits could use humor.) 
2. Get personal and behind the scenes. TikTok needs people. As we know, social means people to people. An excellent tip for your nonprofit is to get one person to become your TikTok person. This is the individual who becomes the face of your organization. This person should have an engaging personality. And one of the best things to do is to start by taking people behind the scenes. Get started by letting people take a peek behind the curtain.
3. Familiarize yourself with the hacks. As we know, social media is constantly changing. That means marketers always have to discover those hidden features and tips and hacks to take their content to the next level. TikTok’s no different. Find out and learn about 16 TikTok hidden features and hacks. 
4. Develop a TikTok content strategy. You need to develop a TikTok strategy, just as you do with any social media. It’s no different for TikTok. Fortunately, you’re in luck. Hootsuite’s got a comprehensive guide to create a marketing strategy, so you maximize your content on the platform. 

One of the great things about the digital age is that there are so many ways marketers could develop and reach out to new audiences. TikTok is another excellent opportunity for your nonprofit to promote its marketing persona. As we know, the cause-related organizations that are making a significant impact are continually testing, innovating and trying new things. They also aim to increase their fundraising to broaden their mission, and you, too, could do the same on TikTok.