The basics of a great TikTok campaign
Before we dive into the success stories, let’s take a quick look at the basics of what makes a great TikTok.
1. Engaging storylines
Most TikTok videos are under 60 seconds, which means you only have a few spare seconds to quickly gather your audience’s attention and hook them onto what you’re saying.
To do this, you’ll need to:
- Use relatable pain points/language styles
- Cut down all fluff that doesn’t add value
- Be authentic with your content
- Stay up to date with weekly TikTok trends
- Research your user’s intent
In short, the end goal is to engage with your target audiences through stories they like and can relate to, eventually leading to more likes, shares, and interactions.
2. HD-quality visuals and videos
Next up, your dedication and investment in TikTok content should be visible through the high-quality content, visuals, and videos you produce.
Why do we say this?
If you don’t invest the time and money to create platform-native content, your video won’t appear on your audience’s “For You” page. Or even if it does, they’re likely going to scroll on to the next video.
In other words, if your content doesn’t follow the best practices laid out by the TikTok algorithm and can't easily be consumed through a smartphone (the device most people use to watch TikToks), your audience won’t see your videos.
Incorporating engaging elements like AI headshot recognition in your videos can capture attention and enhance the overall appeal of your content on this platform.
So, when in doubt, upload in high-definition and follow TikTok’s video formats for the best results.
3. Influencers who match your vibes
Sure, “vibes” is a vague term, but what we really mean is to partner with those influencers whose audiences and values match those of your own (e.g., consider if your influencers have the same stance(s) as you).
Additionally, if you’re partnering with influencers on TikTok, evaluate the type of influencers you need to partner with for which goal. For example, mega-influencers are often leveraged to increase platform reach, whereas micro-influencers partnerships are helpful for boosting sales.
Side Note: Aside from those influencer campaigns mentioned above, there are a couple of other best practices TikTok brands have kept in mind to increase their engagement rates with active users on the platform.
For example, they invest time and resources into the following:
- Interacting with their audiences through comments and stories.
- Participating in hashtag challenges to increase visibility.
- Prioritizing consistent posting times.
Successful TikTok campaigns to learn from
Are you ready to learn from the best in the business? Here are some viral TikToks to inspire your next campaign.
1. Chipotle
When it comes to leveraging TikTok effectively, Chipotle is no underdog. Why do we say this, you ask? Mainly because it has:
- Rebranded against allegations of food contamination and increased its in-store as well as digital sales.
- Created dance challenges (read: Guac Dance), which have gone viral on the platform.
- Partnered with famous people who have been featured in memes (read: It’s Corn!).
- Managed to collaborate with mega influencers to create product-led content.
- Improved engagement and gained user-generated content (UGC).
2. Pumpkin
When you hear “insurance,” you probably don’t immediately think of anything fun. However, Pumpkin, a pet insurance company, changes this perception by sharing cute images of pets on their TikTok page and educating their audience on caring for their furry family members.
Aside from sharing helpful content, they also:
- Create a cohesive narrative
- Develop short-form videos
- Use high-quality visuals
This integrated approach supports Pumpkin Care as a reliable source for comprehensive pet care information and reinforces the worth of pet insurance.
3. Later
Later, an all-in-one social tool effectively uses TikTok’s video playlists feature.
Upon visiting their account, you’ll discover a strategically curated playlist named “Social Media Hacks.” This compilation serves as a goldmine of insightful content, offering a series of posts ranging from quick tips on creating social media reports to ingenious Instagram hacks.
The playlist format simplifies user navigation, enabling them to easily access a wealth of knowledge in a seamless viewing experience.
Overall, this not only enhances user experience but also showcases the power of leveraging TikTok’s functionalities to deliver targeted and valuable content.
4. e.l.f. Cosmetics
Look up any article online with the keyword “Top TikTok Campaigns,” and e.l.f. Cosmetics is a name that’s bound to pop up. Mainly because the account has leveraged TikTok’s preferred type of content (aka dances) and has created jingles to pair up with the dance.
e.l.f. crafted two songs — Eyes. Lips. Face and Eyes. Lips. Face. Safe.
Both songs were an immediate hit, and they became so famous that people started dancing to them in clubs (aside from just dancing to them on the platform).
In the coming months, the brand even created a reality show called “Eyes. Lips. Famous.”. It started offering a month-long beauty camp as a prize to the top three winners of the show, as well as one year of free products and $5,000 worth of brand sponsorship representing e.l.f.
5. Gymshark
Gymshark’s TikTok strategy heavily relies on partnering with health influencers who help promote and grow their brand.
Why do they do this, you ask? Well, because they believe their customers only trust community-led brands (so they’re trying to build a fitness community of their own and leverage the audiences and goodwill of fitness influencers).
Here are a few things the brand has done to grow its account:
- Engaged with users to build a community and encouraged them to focus on their fitness goals (by sharing progress photos and tagging them).
- Used trending hashtags, giveaways, songs, and content types.
- Opted to partner with influencers with a younger following.
- Leveraged UGC content and posted consistently.
6. Duolingo
If one thing has helped Duolingo grow tenfold, it’s their “unhinged” language. This language and approach has worked well for them on other platforms and makes them so memorable on platforms like TikTok, which typically has a younger audience that prefers the talking style of Duolingo.
Here are a few other things Duolingo has done to become memorable on the platform:
- Created a storyline for itself (i.e., fans of the platform have come to know the owl hates Google Translate and is a fan of Dua Lipa).
- Prioritize platform-native content (Zaria Parvez, their social media manager, creates new content for each social platform).
- Used trending content types, meme styles, and songs.
7. Hawkers
Hawkers, a sunglasses brand, knew that TikTok users only like short video content, which is why they created videos that:
- Showed the selling point (sunglasses) clearly
- Featured high-quality images
- Had mobile-friendly specs
- Lasted five seconds
According to NestScale, such ads helped them raise brand awareness, increase ROAS by 6.46x, and reduce CPA by 77%.
8. Sing 2
The film Sing 2 created a multi-phased campaign on TikTok wherein it partnered with mega and macro influencers like Lauren Spencer, Nicole Laeno, and Jenna Davis.
Over a period of time, these influencers created 19 different types of content, wherein they:
- Partook in the #Sing2Gether competition to win a record deal (this was a contest).
- Danced to the song, Suéltate, from the film.
- “Auditioned” for Sing 2 through duets.
The effort of it all resulted in a combined total of 26 million views, a 9.9% engagement rate, and 2.2 million engagements.
9. Dr. M (Dentologie)
Dr. M, also known as Dr. Suhail Mohiuddin of Dentologie, is a viral TikTok sensation, and the reason for it is quite simple:
- He creates a wholesome experience for everyone who visits his page by making them feel like they’re interacting with a person and not a doctor (so he limits his jargon usage).
- He put in some serious effort to find out marketing principles and customer intent to effectively be able to sell to their audience (this also led to an increase in in-person visits by 25%).
- He and his team create meme-worthy and hilarious content (that's also educational), which helps make it relatable and reduces the stigma around dental care and doctor visits.
10. Redbull
Redbull’s TikTok strategy is simple — it starts and ends at dance competitions, a main, unique selling point (USP) of the platform. Aside from just dances, the platform also focuses on several sporting activities.
This was done on purpose. Redbull only wants to relate to high-energy activities that might require using an energy drink like Redbull.
Redbull’s dance competitions have been so popular on the platform that they’ve helped names like Charlie D’Amelio gain stardom and increase their following (she partook in their “Dance Your Style” challenge).
11. ASOS
Just some time back, ASOS launched its famous campaign, #AySauce, in the United States and the United Kingdom, wherein it partnered with 25 creators and leveraged its platform to ask its audiences to show three outfits they like.
The campaign itself lasted for three weeks, and it’s mainly aimed at younger demographics (20-somethings who spend a lot of time on social media). The benefit of this entire campaign for the user is that their content will be featured in TikTok’s TopView, explore tab results, and ASOS ads.
Side Note: This is just one ASOS campaign that went viral. ASOS also invested money in in-feed ads and partnered with names like Byte to create augmented content such as virtual filters and branded effects.
12. Dunkin Donuts
Just like many other brands on TikTok, Dunkin is also there to focus its attention on the Gen Z audience to rack up video views. Presently, the brand has done the following to gather the attention of this subset of audience and increase their sales:
- Created exclusive drinks under the name of TikTok influencer Charli D’Amelio (yes, the same creator we discussed in the previous section — she also happens to be a Dunkin fan).
- Sent Dunkin merch to TikTok creators who have shown their brand loyalists (e.g., @christine_snaps and @zzzachariah).
- Used the insights of their audience on TikTok and created colorful drinks like Sugarplum Macchiato, which has become famous among Gen Z.
All these things have eventually allowed Dunkin to grow their sales. According to Business Insider, when Dunkin launched their exclusive drink offerings featuring Charli, it increased sales by 0.9%, whereas its competitor, Starbucks, lost 9% of sales during the same quarter.
13. Pretty Little Thing
Pretty Little Thing, a clothing brand, has become another success story on TikTok, and here’s how:
- They partnered with multiple influencers to tap into their goodwill and audiences.
- They increased the use of pink and pink tones whenever promoting their brand.
- They used colorful clothing and high-quality visuals to promote their brand.
- They ran contests and filmed engaged videos at their head office.
They also ran campaigns like #PinkFridayWithPLT (which is their own version of Black Friday, wherein they offered massive discounts as well as a $10k giveaway) and #BritneyChallenge (where they recreated three iconic Britney outfits for Halloween).
14. Ryanair
Ryan Air is a Tik-Tok star mainly because, like Duolingo, it also focuses on its elite sense of humor and “unhinged” content to engage with its audience. After all, who doesn’t love a funny video?
On their channel, Ryan Air focuses on sharing common complaints, customer pain points, travel experiences, and product US — all in a humorous way, of course. Their motto is to maintain an authentic stance instead of using the polished, formal language airlines often use.
All this shows their audience that Ryan Air understands them, their pain points, and what makes them convert.
15. Planet Money
Let’s be honest — no one ever thought topics surrounding the economy could ever be interesting, but Planet Money on TikTok aims to change that perception by using humor.
The account aims to avoid the overtly formal language and jargon often used with topics surrounding the economy and instead focuses on actual useful content and educating language that Gen Zs can relate to, making it a massive success on TikTok.
Integrate your TikTok campaigns with Whatagraph to get the right insights
And that wraps up our list of the most popular TikTok success stories. If you wish to replicate any of these creative videos or film original content for your own brand, you’ll need to become strategic with your efforts.
Our TikTok and TikTok Ads integration makes strategy and success simple.
See trends in your data sooner, glean meaningful insights, and create reports as needed. Our newly expanded platform now allows for a convenient, one-stop shop for all your marketing needs.
Connect, organize, visualize, and share all your marketing data and insights with clients and partners from one centralized hub. This includes TikTok and TikTok ads and insights from other advertising, social media, SEO, email marketing, and analytics platforms.
