Fans have new expectations.

• They demand streaming options & a diverse media ecosystem, completely bypassing traditional sports coverage.
• They are seeking increased avenues for interaction with the games themselves, desiring immersive experiences that go beyond mere spectatorship.
• They also crave more opportunities to engage directly with their favorite players, fostering a sense of connection and intimacy. A dunk isn’t enough, they want to get to know Lebron.

We’ve identified key changes in Gen Z sports preferences in the areas of Consumption, Participation, and Human Values. And we’ve added recommendations and real-world examples for each from McLaren Racing, the NBA and more.

We’re Experience.Monks.

As experts in brand experience design, we work to elevate and innovate your brand through every single consumer touchpoint. We are your consultancy, agency and production arm all in one, specifically designed to help modern brands looking to disrupt, differentiate, and innovate everywhere customers interact with them.

It’s not a coincidence that the platform attracts these audiences and also humanizes brands by encouraging them to show a more genuine side. To put it simply, TikTok stands out among other platforms by not only connecting with younger audiences but also providing brands with unique opportunities to establish emotional connections, showcase their authenticity and effectively reach new potential customers in creative ways. Moreover, it serves as a fertile ground for creating trending content and attaining viral status within seconds—resulting in the highly sought-after “sold out” scenario that every brand aspires to achieve.

In a marketing landscape that is constantly evolving, having a presence on TikTok is not just an option, but a wise decision for brands aiming to differentiate themselves and stay relevant in the face of an increasingly demanding digital audience. Surprisingly, though, many have yet to fully tap into its potential. Worry not—whether you’ve tested the waters already or are just thinking about dipping your toes into the platform, this guide will help you succeed in your TikTok campaigns.

Stage 1: Initial Preparation

Before venturing into TikTok from a brand perspective, it is essential to actively engage on the platform as a user. Becoming familiar with the language and dynamics of TikTok is the first step toward achieving success. Whether you are a brand owner, employee or part of an agency, absorbing the essence of TikTok is crucial.

Success on TikTok requires synergizing a distinctive tone of voice with the unique social essence of the platform. The brand voice, which may be cautious and dependable elsewhere, can (and likely should) become inspiring, lighthearted and humorous on TikTok. That’s the only way to break down barriers and establish a relationship with consumers that’s built on trust. Ultimately, TikTok provides the ideal environment to unravel untapped aspects of the brand.

Some of the ways brands can actively participate on TikTok include:

1. Creating an organic profile on TikTok:
   
   This strategy involves building a brand profile on the platform and consistently sharing organic content. It requires meticulous planning, as the videos should resonate with TikTok’s audience and align with their interests. 
   
   
   
   While it demands a high level of dedication, the benefits outweigh the effort. By having an organic presence, the brand’s profile becomes a testing ground, enabling the brand to extract valuable insights from videos, explore topics that intersect with diverse niches within TikTok and receive real-time feedback from users. These learnings can then be applied to paid content, ensuring its effectiveness is maximized.
   
    
2. Using TikTok ads:
   
   Another alternative is to invest in paid ads on TikTok.These ads can appear in the discovery feed, just like organic videos, but there are also special formats that provide a prominent position on the homepage, as well as sponsored challenges. The lack of an organic account doesn’t necessarily affect the performance of these ads, making this a great choice for brands that want to test the platform without fully committing to it yet. It’s also an effective tactic to amplify seasonal campaigns.
   
    
3. Partnering with TikTok creators:
   
   Partnering with creators not only serves as an alternative for those unable to choose one of the previous options but also acts as a complementary strategy that can and should be combined with the others. Content creators on TikTok are native to the platform, meaning they possess expertise in producing content that truly resonates with audiences. By partnering with the right ones, you can gain an intermediary that effectively translates the brand’s message while also attracting potential customers from their trusted follower base.

There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to collaborating with creators. Instead, it’s important to avoid a cookie-cutter style and focus on customizing strategies to accommodate individual differences and cater to specific needs. More often than not, creators complement brands’ strategies through dark posts, but increasingly, they are involved in the early stages of the campaign, helping to determine the best way to introduce it on the platform.

Stage 2: Beyond the Top of the Funnel

Recognizing that TikTok isn’t just restricted to the initial phase of the marketing funnel opens up space to plan a comprehensive strategy with videos that address all stages of the customer journey, which can be even more effective. 

When we think about TikTok, it’s not uncommon to associate it with the awareness stage, in which brands can leverage the viral nature of the app to capture the attention of a wide audience. However, it doesn’t end there. In the conversion stage, brands can incorporate clear call-to-actions within the videos or in the captions, directing users to visit a website, make a purchase or sign up for a newsletter. 

To drive ad communication, though, it is crucial to have a clear understanding of campaign objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs). What is the core message we aim to convey? What will be the call to action (CTA)? These considerations will guide the development of an effective campaign.

Stage 3: Detailed Research

Research is a powerful ally in shaping a TikTok strategy. It is crucial to collect and save relevant references, templates and resources for future adaptations. Analyzing consumer-generated content, both from the brand and others in the industry, provides valuable insights into what resonates with the audience.

By exploring the different hashtags and trends that are closely related to the campaign theme, you can join the conversations that organically align with the strategy. Attentively listening to customer feedback, identifying recurring themes and evaluating overall brand perception will guide the path to success. 

Stage 4: Key Considerations for Planning

During the planning phase, brainstorming with the team is key to selecting the best ideas. From there, it is necessary to identify the required resources—including roles such as store employees, content creators or celebrities—as well as materials such as sets, props and products. These resources will be used in filming, adapting existing content, or recording videos at home.

Not long ago, we successfully brought Kopenhagen’s Easter campaign to TikTok. The Topview announcement in particular had an impressive reach of 4.1 million people, exceeding expectations. In addition, the click-through rate (CTR) was 35% higher than the standard benchmark. The impact was even more remarkable as the proportion of new users visiting the brand’s website increased by over 60% during the period when this format was utilized. In short, this broad visibility, coupled with a significant CTR, resulted in a notable growth in the number of potential customers during one of the most important dates for the brand.

Another crucial aspect is the development of a well-defined timeline, encompassing the entire process from the initial creation to the launch of the TikTok campaign. In doing so, it’s necessary to dedicate enough time to each step, ensuring they are properly distributed within the available time frame. This helps avoid last-minute planning for seasonal campaigns.

Stage 5: Creating Impactful Content

When it comes to creating content for TikTok, every second counts. Unlike other platforms, where longer videos are favored, TikTok is all about agility and action, which means that the first three seconds are particularly crucial in capturing the user’s attention. That’s when you should be highlighting offers, promotions, coupons and even free shipping—maximizing efforts to attract and engage the audience effectively.

By understanding the language and trends, conducting comprehensive research, carefully planning and creating relevant content, brands can achieve outstanding results on TikTok. While harnessing its full potential may not be as easy as it seems, when executed effectively, it becomes a formidable marketing tool. The platform’s evolution has made it essential for successful campaigns. Let’s embrace creativity, innovation and strategy to fully unleash its power.

When it comes to creating work that works, the key is in the details. We need a strategic process that allows brands to optimize for performance and apply learnings to future projects. But generic approaches only produce generic results, so while we require a systematic process to guide us, it’s important to open ourselves up to new opportunities. Sounds challenging, but the results can be impressive: Klarna, for example, garnered 4+ million views in the Playing for Keeps livestream partnership with Snoop Dogg and Twitch streamers. Here’s how you too can turn needs into actionable strategies, split into three digestible phases. 

Phase 1: Discovery 

First, we need to lay the groundwork: understanding the performance of your brand’s existing social media content, competitor mapping and social listening on topics that are relevant to the brand. This will provide your team with a better grasp of how the brand is truly doing on social media compared to the market and industry benchmark. 

We apply the discovery methodology not only for client work but for a number of trends and culture reports too, such as The Power Of Fandom Is Not Random, in which we dive into the rise of fandom culture and how brands can act on its potential. In the discovery phase, it’s crucial to define the brand’s problems and business objectives regarding social media, to then establish goals and target metrics. 

Phase 2: Brainstorming 

Armed with a baseline understanding of where your brand stands and where you want to take it, it’s time to think about your target audience. No industry, market or brand is the same, so this analysis should be tailored to yours. For example, you could start by asking your partners, the team and yourself the following questions:

• Who are we talking to, and how do we define them? What do we know about them?
• Are we targeting the audience demographic in specific markets and/or regions?
• What are the audience's pain points and motivations?
• What should our persona and voice be like on social media?
• How does this ladder up to our brand and vision?

With the answers to these questions, you can then determine a strategic proposition and creative platform to address Gen Zs in their specific contexts. 

Phase 3: Creation

You now have all the building blocks in place to create content that Gen Zs can’t resist. The final phase is where the magic happens. What you will be producing at this stage are conceptual proposals, mock-ups and communication plans that string all the pieces together to reach your audience across various touchpoints. The best briefs are co-created, so brand-agency alignment is crucial to the success of each campaign or strategy. 

Through the three-phase process, our team created Ally Island, a branded space within the game Animal Crossing, which peaked during the pandemic. Packed with minigames showcasing different aspects of Ally, the space educated visitors on money management while helping to promote the bank’s services amongst youths. The cherry on top? The participation of a popular Animal Crossing streamer, Kang, who taught gamers how to make money work smarter. In the end, the activation was featured on the front page of Twitch for three weeks, won The FWA of the Day and even bagged an Effie Award. But most importantly, it achieved 1.38+ million individual viewers and 112+ hours spent with the brand by the target audience.  

Similarly, the German fintech company N26 teamed up with us to bring their YouTube content strategy to life. To show you how the three-phase approach played out in that case, here are the outcomes of the workshop and brainstorming sessions:

• Audience pain point: There’s a huge disconnect between the values of our consumers and the financial system as a whole.
• Audience insight: Our audience has new lifestyles and changed expectations towards banking, asking for solutions that fit their life versus the other way around.
• Audience motivation: Confidence, relevance.
• Point of entry: Show N26 as a way to achieve our goals, instead of a barrier that keeps us from our goals.
• Role of brand: Be the finance partner for an entire generation.
• Strategic springboard: Making you the expert. We’ll leverage Gen Z’s desire for personalization by building talking tracks around N26 being the financial partner that caters to this generation’s values. 

After the brainstorming sessions, we moved into the creation stage. The result? A YouTube content strategy that was introduced in five markets and featured content series like “Talking to friends about money,” which resulted in a 289k average view rate for the fintech company. 

It all boils down to the idea that crystallizing everything into a single brief allows teams to address the heart of the matter and inspire creatives. A lot can be achieved with purpose and intention, especially when it comes to winning with Gen Zs. Trust building shouldn’t be hard—at least not if brands are staying true to their mission. So follow these steps with confidence and remember: generic approaches breed generic work. A willingness to embrace new opportunities can lead to impressive results.

Social media is the perfect place for brands to start building relationships with Gen Z audiences while fulfilling their need for personalization, speed and simplicity of engagement. They’re driven to this space for guidance, as a recent GWI report revealed that only 55% of Gen Z say that they are supported by their bank to meet their personal finance goals. 

Just look at social channels and you’ll find financial advice in abundance. But ironically, this sea of unfiltered, unverified and untailored content contributes to confusion, because Gen Z are faced with analysis paralysis as they vet the information out there. This opens the opportunity for brands to deliver content that engages in conversations about money and, most importantly, gives Gen Z the means to take action. Below are three ways that financial service brands can leverage social content that captures, engages and empowers Gen Z as they secure their financial destinies.

Brand as a platform for change: offer alternative saving strategies.

One way that brands can offer value to Gen Z with social content is by providing a space for them to take action through conversation. Gen Z increasingly prefers “soft saving,” a philosophy that focuses on building comfort and minimizing stress. This is in stark contrast to unsustainable, short-term money “hacks” like the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement and its various offshoots that go viral. The takeaway for brands: lean into social communities of like-minded savers and spenders and support them with product and industry knowledge when needed.

This has been done on a product and feature level by brands such as DBS Bank The Burrow and The Finance Bar. Options for crowdsourcing financial advice could support both lifestyle choices of Gen Z consumers and serve as a tool for product promotion if positioned in the right way.

Brand as publisher: spotlight insights from real people.

As touched on above, Gen Z isn’t a monolith; there are lots of differing perspectives and philosophies around money. By positioning themselves as publishers, brands can normalize talking about money and addressing the different tactics Gen Z uses to better manage their finances. The opportunity here is to curate a diversity of profiles and situations that Gen Z audiences can relate to.

Refinery29’s Money Diaries does a great job of this by offering a view into how money is spent differently for everyone. This format has been popularized and adapted into social content series, too, such as Money Diaries by Sav Finance. What’s great about the format is brands can feature real people or tap into trends, like the #cashstuffing saving method that went viral on TikTok or the evergreen content of #whatispendinamonth.

Brand as culture: educate and entertain.

Financial advice must be nuanced to ensure the right information is given based on an individual’s needs. That same principle applies to influences who represent brands and speak as a source of truth, as advice can quickly turn into misinformation. This danger was made clear in the high-profile lawsuits against YouTubers in the wake of the FTX collapse.

Nevertheless, there’s still opportunity to offer educational content on social media in a fun way with well-loved personalities. Klarna partnered with Snoop Dogg and Twitch streamers KittyPlays and SypherPK to host a gamified, two-day event. Viewers were challenged to win gaming equipment by playing against the pros, getting a taste of what they can buy through the Klarna app’s “buy now, pay later” payment plans while interacting with their favorite personalities.

This offers Gen Z value beyond money, and when brands speak in terms of value instead of dollars, they offer a universal experience that can be relevant regardless of one’s financial circumstances. So don’t just focus on showing consumers how to make money quickly; cater to culture to drive the most value for Gen Z now.

Speak the language of Gen Z.

Financial service brands looking to capture, engage, and empower Gen Z should prioritize creating content that speaks to their unique perspectives and challenges when it comes to money. By offering alternative saving strategies, spotlighting insights from real people, and educating and entertaining in a way that goes beyond just financial advice, brands can build long-term trust with their audiences.

As Gen Z continues to grow in their financial responsibility, financial service brands have an opportunity to play a valuable role in supporting their journey towards financial security, and social media is a key channel to bring that to life. At the end of the day, it’s all about bringing value in the most direct, honest and relatable way.

Understand the importance of trust.

Market volatility has been a withstanding theme that our entire generation is still learning to grapple with—a concern shared with Gen Z, who in the US identify “level of trust and security” as the top priority when choosing a financial service provider. And while 50-80% of smartphone-owning Gen Z in the US use mobile banking, their preference for mobile and digital service doesn’t mean they’re uninterested in traditional banks. In fact, traditional banks and payments remain more trusted and preferred for Gen Z.

Traditional banking and payment brands already have the trust of Gen Z, but that doesn’t mean there’s little to no work to be done for these brands—especially in light of the recent banking crisis in the US. As we progress through myriad uncertainties—stagflation, rounds of layoffs and more—even the most established names need to stay vigilant. Thankfully, Gen Z has clued us in to what’s important to them: namely the desire of personalization, speed and simplicity of engagement. Delivering on these needs boils down to the fundamental concept of building brand trust, of which social media can play a big part.

Focus on the content that matters most to your audience.

A generation brought up by the internet, more than half of Gen Z seek financial advice online through social media, with TikTok and Instagram having the greatest pull. Roughly two thirds of Gen Z cannot answer more than 50% of general financial literacy questions correctly, meaning content that focuses on areas of financial literacy (and shared through emerging formats) would best benefit Gen Z audiences.

This gives brands the opportunity to position themselves as a source of truth and thus, demonstrate their competence with the shared knowledge. And while the range of content on social media is big, it doesn’t hurt to start small. Simply start with the basics and continue to iterate from there.

Keep language consistent and coherent.

To succeed on social channels, brands need to establish strong social media principles, content focus and tone of voice. Without a social media strategy, they risk falling into the trap of focusing too much on tactical promotions. Here’s what not to share:

• Marketing speak that is difficult to understand (“Get up to 3.5% rebates”)
• Promotions with inaccessible fine print (“Limited redemption for the first 100 customers weekly for each outlet”)
• Rules that are confusing to understand (“Stand a chance to be eligible for up to 8% per annum interest if you qualify for more than three categories”)

Keeping things simple might be one of the most challenging tasks for brands in the financial services industry. But it’s incredibly fruitful: just look at how Gen Z have skewed towards “buy now, pay later” options over credit cards thanks to their simplicity.

Transparency is key to maintaining trust.

Investing in greater transparency on social media goes a long way toward building trust. In fact, 53% of consumers say a brand’s transparency on social media would prompt them to consider that brand for their next purchase, and 37% say they would purchase more from a company that is transparent on social media.

Moreover, social media’s predilection for connection makes it easier for brands to track sentiment and results from campaigns. Approaching content in a friendlier, youthful persona helps reflect Gen Z’s demand for more authentic content. Breaking down the “fourth wall” between brands and consumers requires decision makers to act with integrity and respect the standards of interaction on each channel.

Through each of the tactics above, we’ve explored key ways financial service brands can build trust with their audiences. From supporting consumers early on their journey to financial literacy, to focusing on simplicity and transparency, brands can build strong, trustworthy voices to connect with consumers.