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Creative TikTok Video Marketing Campaigns for Millennial and Gen Z Engagement

If you’ve been on the internet or social media lately, you’ve seen how video marketing is becoming increasingly popular, and businesses that want to stay relevant need to get on board with this trend. While there are many social media platforms to choose from, TikTok continues to be the fastest growing platform. The platform has over 1 billion active users, with the majority of them being millennials and Gen Z. Therefore, if you want to reach these demographics and create innovative and engaging video marketing campaigns, TikTok is an excellent place to start. To have successful marketing campaigns, you need to go where your customers are and they are clearly moving toward TikTok.

In this blog post, I’ll share some examples of great video marketing that I’ve seen on TikTok to inspire your next campaign.

Chiptole

Chipotle is a great example of a brand that has successfully utilized TikTok to engage its target audience. The company launched a branded hashtag challenge called #GuacDance, which encouraged users to film themselves dancing to a specific song while showing off their guacamole-making skills. This challenge has gained over 1.1 billion views, generating a lot of buzz and increasing brand awareness.

Chipotle, a well-known brand we’re all familiar with, deploys an intriguing approach on TikTok to get users to engage with them. Their innovative #GuacDance campaign doesn’t merely serve as a catchy hashtag; it’s an open invitation to TikTok users to be co-creators in their narrative. This campaign is more than just a marketing ploy—it’s a dance and a shared experience. It’s a tribal call to their audience, inviting them to not just consume but actively participate. Chipotle’s genius lies in recognizing that the most potent marketing tool is not the brand communicating about itself, but its audience communicating on its behalf.

Beyond that, they have creative video content that is simple, engaging, and tells a story that we are all familiar with. This one is one of my favorites:

@chipotle Real food, raised responsibly, the way things should be fr. Link in bio to learn more about our sustainability initiatives. #chipotle #humannature #sustainability ♬ original sound - Chipotle

The Washington Post

The Washington Post is a great example of a company that has used TikTok to reach a younger audience. Their TikTok account is full of behind-the-scenes footage and engaging video content, which has helped them increase their followers by 500% since launching their account. This shows that even traditional media companies can succeed on TikTok if they understand the platform and its audience.

What I admire most about what The Washington Post is doing on TikTok is that they’re speaking the language of TikTok. They see what trends and video ideas are working and they put their own message to these trends. For example, this simple video explaining what is happening with the Maui wildfires delivers the news in a style that is familiar with TikTok users:

@washingtonpost

Hawaii residents continued to try to find missing loved ones Friday after wildfires ripped through Maui, killing at least 67 people, with the search for victims ongoing. It could take a week or longer before Maui officials have a final death toll. Records show emergency sirens weren’t activated at the state or county level during the wildfires, Hawaii officials said, adding that alerts did get sent to cell phones and broadcast networks but power outages may have impacted their reach. The damage, which includes the devastation of the historic town of Lahaina, will probably take years and cost billions of dollars to repair, officials said Thursday.

♬ original sound - We are a newspaper.

Netflix

Netflix has one of the most popular TikTok accounts, with more than 35 million followers. They use the platform to promote new shows and movies to their target audience. The company also is a master in using memes and humor in their content, making it more relatable to their viewers.

Netflix, being the largest video streaming platform, undoubtedly boasts an extensive library of exceptional video content. However, what sets their social media team apart is their remarkable ability to create short, captivating videos that spark excitement and intrigue around their programs, ultimately enticing users to stream and explore all that Netflix has to offer.

Through their TikTok content, they skillfully convey a message that resonates with Netflix’s overarching brand messaging and what they offer. Take, for instance, this captivating video captioned “Drama is a universal language” showcasing a montage that highlights the diverse range of languages in which their shows and movies can be streamed.

Redbull

RedBull has been creating and utilizing video content for years. In fact, a few years ago I was blown away by a documentary they produced about snowboarding called “The Art of Flight“. Their viral YouTube videos and cross-platform formula have proven successful. Take, for instance, this RedBull YouTube video with over 2 million views featuring F1 drivers racing enormous mega trucks.

Naturally, people are captivated by watching the world’s fastest drivers race giant trucks and people will happily invest five minutes to watch this. RedBull, thinking about their audience’s preferences, fully understands what type of content they will engage with. It comes as no surprise, then, that RedBull excels at crafting captivating short form TikTok videos. Their expertise lies in their ability to conceive, produce, and deliver visually stunning content that effortlessly grabs and holds the attention of viewers. Without fail, RedBull consistently provides remarkable video content showcasing extraordinary individuals performing awe-inspiring feats.

RedBull encourages people to push their limits, and their video content does just that. Not only does their TikTok content highlight people pushing limits, but the way they film their videos also pushes limits. For example, this video shows a diver diving off a cliff, but they follow her with a rocket as she plunges into the water.

@redbull when you need to make a mini rocket to keep up with @Iris Schmidbauer 🚀😮‍💨 #redbull #givesyouwiiings #cliffjumping #highdiving #japan ♬ original sound - Red Bull

The Takeaway

Brands that want to succeed in video marketing campaigns should consider using TikTok. Some of the most successful campaigns have demonstrated the importance of authenticity and creativity to connect with their target audiences.

TikTok’s beauty lies in the fact that it doesn’t demand high-caliber, award-winning video content. The majority of TikTok’s videos are crafted by everyday individuals with nothing more than their phone in their pocket. By defying conventional rules of video marketing, TikTok empowers creators to push boundaries and unleash their creativity.

If you’re a brand or business, hop on the TikTok train—it’s where the cool kids are! Don’t forget to keep your audience entertained with engaging content. Say hi to your users, join in on trends, utilize popular sounds that will make you be found, and discover what vibes with your audience.

Creative and engaging content will undoubtedly remain essential with any video marketing campaign, no matter the social media platform, and for businesses, creating content for TikTok could be one of the best ways to enhance brand awareness and engage with younger generations.