Marketing on TikTok?

I came across a promotion from a firm that acts as an agent for advertising on TikTok using influencers.

The sell …

‘We have seen some phenomenal results on the platform by driving over 1M installs through TikTok Influencers and counting… ‘

Note: installs, not purchases [CPI stands for cost per install - I had to look it up :-) ].

The guide to ‘Become a TikTok Influencer CPI Master’

Tip number one:

The more entertaining the content = The more views.

Welllll … knock me down with a feather, I would never have thought of that. Best get in touch with every media that has ever existed and let them in to this secret.

Tip number two:

Include a call to action.

Again; a revelation! These influencer marketers are soooo innovative and leading edge.

Tip number three:

Select influencers carefully.

Damn. I thought you just used a random selector app [I’m sure there is an influencer who will recommend one to you].

Tip number three:

Track results. OK, I’ve given up with the sarcasm.

I checked the customers – sorry, ‘the wonderful brands we’ve had the opportunity of working with – of the ‘world’s largest network of TikTok Influencers’ listed on the website and I’d heard of only one of the eight. No real surprise there – I’m in the wrong target segment. However, all were apps with a link to online ‘entertainment’. So – for example – a youngster watches TikTok video of influencer doing ‘dance exercise’ and follows the influencer’s advice to download the free exercise app.

So, yes, the marketers have done their job … but if you’re selling anything other than apps to teenagers – and that’s going to be 99.99999999% of all products, try some proper marketing.

* Note that throughout their website ‘influencer’ is presented as a proper noun i.e. with a capital ‘I’.  Why not try the same with your job to make you seem more important?

AI or just plain dumb?

I got an unsolicited email from hypedsports.com - if that's not bad enough, here's the special offer products shown in the email ...

You don't need AI to know that Alan is a male name ... 'nuff said?

Do these folk preach what they practice?

Let's ignore the fact that this was a spam email - I've looked at the syllabus for this Digital Marketing Institute's courses ... and [obviously] it doesn't include email marketing. I wonder if the rest of their training is based on their practice? 

Don't copy this awful practice

I was on the website of newchic.com and spotted a top I liked the look of that was reduced. So I put in the basket and went to checkout. 

However, I had already noticed that there was nothing on the pages I had visited that mentioned the cost of shipping/delivery … so I was already a bit suspicions. On the checkout page still no mention of a shipping cost. So I clicked on the ‘pay by PayPal’ link and was taken to Paypal where I logged in and was presented with this page …

Hmmm, I thought, this is the amount of money that I’m agreeing to pay out of my PayPal account – must be free shipping. But when I clicked on ‘continue’ I got this page. 

Wellll … I can only assume they know more than me – but isn’t it illegal to increase a price after the customer has agreed [with his bank] on how much to pay the seller? 

It is certainly a case of bait ‘n switch. 

It is certainly an example of what NOT to do on an e-commerce site. 

Even if I had liked the top more than I did, I would have cancelled the order. I say cancelled, but there wasn’t a ‘cancel order’ button. I just closed the page.

I will keep my eye on my PayPal account to make sure that newchic.com doesn’t steal any of my money.

Oh, and the cost of shipping was a bit steep for a top - though ironically had they been upfront about the total cost I might have been happy to pay nearly £20 for the item.