How Can Tourism Businesses Use TikTok

Introduction to Tiktok

TikTok has exploded onto the social media scene and completely captivated Generation Z. The wildly popular app attracts over 1 billion active monthly users who spend an average of 80 minutes per day on the platform.

For tourism brands, TikTok presents an immense opportunity to showcase destinations, connect with younger audiences, and drive bookings in a creative, playful environment. In this article, we will talk you through TikTok’s top features, answer key questions, and explore how you can harness the power of the platform for your tourism business.

How Long are TikTok Videos?

TikTok videos can range in length from 3 seconds to 10 minutes, although the most trending tend to be short-form, lasting under 1 minute.

Here's an overview of TikTok video lengths and what they are typically used for:

• 3 to 15 seconds - Typically reserved for quick images, used to generate excitement and intrigue.
• 15 to 60 seconds - The most common TikTok video length. Enables bite-sized entertainment.
• 1 to 3 minutes - Allows for more in-depth information, such as short-form case studies, travel reviews, etc.
• 3 to 5 minutes - Used for more thorough content, e.g.) travel guides, a day spent in, etc.
• 5 to 10 minutes - The maximum length permitted on TikTok. Often used for lengthy case study-style content, documentaries or storytelling narratives.

For your own TikTok account, you can trial and error on which type of video length performs best - plus the more content you offer, the more you’ll engage with your audience.

What Type of Content Is on TikTok?

While TikTok content is short and condensed - it is also easy to digest and can be very entertaining to watch.

TikTok is well-known for its lip syncs, dancing, challenges, comedy and life hack type content. Usually, a certain trend will inspire widespread coverage, with users putting their own spin on it.

This could be anything from a particular dance, comedic audio clip or a how-to hack.

Other movement-based activities are popular on TikTok, including gymnastics, cheerleading and parkour.

To get in on the action and appeal to younger viewers, businesses such as Seventeen and NBC Universal have hosted short ‘shows’ on TikTok, with condensed content to suit this preferred, short and snappy method of consumption.

For a tourism business, you can easily jump on the TikTok trends - whether it be simple, short behind-the-scenes snippets, staff attempting a dance challenge, or a before and after of setting up a market stall.

TikTok Statistics

Before we get into the nitty-gritty details, here is a snapshot of some current statistics on TikTok usage and engagement:

• TikTok has over 1 billion monthly active users worldwide.
• The average user spends almost 80 minutes per day on TikTok.
• 66% of TikTok users use the app multiple times per day.
• 60% of TikTok users are between the ages of 16 and 24.
• The average engagement rate on sponsored TikTok posts is 19.7%, compared to 1.6% on Instagram.
• 93% of the most viewed TikToks in 2021 were user-generated videos rather than brand content.

TikTok has a massive reach and incredible engagement levels, it continues to see explosive growth, especially among young demographics. TikTok has quickly emerged as a critical digital marketing channel for brands.