Often dismissed as a showcase for teenage dance-step tutorials and other short-lived, gimmicky video memes, TikTok has surprised a lot of marketers with its staying power and cross-generational appeal.

In fact, currently more than 50% of the TikTok audience is over the age of 30, according to Statista. Couple that tidbit with an eMarketer stat that calculates an audience of 73.7 million active users in the U.S. alone, and TikTok solidifies its spot as an outlet that brands need to take seriously.

It’s a unique channel that requires a thorough content strategy, so here are some tips for making the most of your TikTok marketing plan.

Check out current trends.  Study what tropes are trending — like music clips, sight gags, challenges, and voiceover snippets. The key for success is to integrate your product messaging into that style or meme.

Be careful, though. The worse thing a marketer can do is try to browbeat a brand message into a meme it clearly has no business being forced into.

Leverage the new expanded run time. Many marketers were initially concerned that brand messaging couldn’t make a genuine impact given the few seconds TikTok clips were limited to.  Now, content creators have 10 minutes of video time to work with — not that we suggest you use that much!  

According to The Verge, the push for a longer format “allows TikTok to compete with YouTube, capture an older audience, and increase engagement time on the app.”  For marketers, this is just the breathing room they need to get their messages, product demos, or branding flourishes across to the audience. Still, keep the content window as succinct as possible, since  audience members are in the habit of swiping up on a regular basis.

At the same time, stretch your creativity muscle. Your demo can be short, but it should never be dry or boring. So, keep it simple — but present it in an interesting fashion while still appearing unscripted and organic.

Supplement brand-produced content with influencer content. One reason influencer content works so well is that it feels organic, and the audience can relate to it if they feel it’s pure in nature. It’s why some brands have shifted away from agency-produced content and allocated their marketing budgets to securing influencers to become content creators for the brand.

The drawback with this strategy is that you can easily lose control of your messaging when it’s in the hands of an influencer.  So supplement influencer content with brand-produced content — usually within the scope of the same campaign. This way you can keep a check on your messaging, while still taking advantage of an influencer’s sway.

Measure and tweak accordingly. TikTok offers various tools to measure how content is being received. If something is working well, create more content around it.  If something is tanking, consider tweaking your approach or eliminating altogether.

Right now, TikTok represents a reasonably uncharted territory for brands, with the competition less well-established than on other platforms. Take advantage of the new arena to showcase your product or service. It has the potential to reach all-new audiences and markets.

One tip: Study what tropes are trending — like music clips, sight gags or challenges — then integrate product messaging into that style or meme.