Last Updated: 3 months
Last updated: March 2025
We recently met with the UK TikTok team to discuss how brand videos and employer band videos can find an audience on TikTok. They were kind enough to explain some of the ways in which employers have found success on the channel. Here we’ve summarised some of our key learnings.
It’s no secret that TikTok has been taking over the marketing world in recent years, and it’s no wonder with the chance for virality among around 1 billion monthly users worldwide. The platform’s unique algorithm and engaging format offer brands unprecedented opportunities to reach and captivate a massive audience. From creative challenges to viral dance trends, TikTok provides a dynamic environment where brands can showcase their personality, foster a loyal community, and drive impressive engagement.
TLDR:
Why TikTok Matters for Brands
- TikTok offers huge reach and engagement, especially with younger audiences.
- Its algorithm rewards authentic, creative content—perfect for storytelling and brand building.
- High production quality isn’t needed; genuine, informal videos perform best.
Brand Content Tips
- Keep videos short, vertical (9:16), and attention-grabbing.
- Use trends, humour, and editing to engage viewers.
- Include clear calls-to-action.
- Post consistently to stay visible.
Employer Branding on TikTok
- Great for recruitment and showing company culture.
- Effective content includes job role videos, office tours, Q&As, and employee interviews.
- Use hashtags like #jobtok, #careertok, and #employeetok to reach jobseekers.
Top 10 Brands Winning on TikTok
- Duolingo – Humorous mascot, strong personality, trend-savvy.
- Ryanair – Witty use of filters and Gen Z humour.
- RSPB – Educational and fun ‘Bird of the Week’ series.
- Scrub Daddy – Quirky, offbeat product videos with trending sounds.
- Lotus Cars – Memes and slick edits keep luxury brand relevant.
- Red Bull – Thrilling stunts and high-energy visuals.
- Washington Post – Light-hearted news content, relatable creator.
- Zapier – Practical, tech-focused videos showing real use cases.
- Dior – Stylish influencer-led content across fashion and beauty.
- Joe & The Juice – Viral food trends and celeb campaigns.
Info about/for Brands on TikTok:
What is TikTok Marketing?
TikTok marketing involves using the TikTok platform to promote brands, products, or services through short, engaging videos. Brands tap into trending content, utilising the platform’s features to reach a broad audience. This approach often includes leveraging popular challenges, sounds, and hashtags to increase visibility and engagement. With TikTok’s unique algorithm, even small brands can achieve viral success, making it a powerful tool for marketing campaigns.
Why Should Brands Leverage TikTok Marketing?
Brands should leverage TikTok marketing because it offers a unique opportunity to connect with a young, highly engaged audience. The platform’s algorithm favours content that is creative and engaging, allowing brands to gain significant visibility even without a massive following. TikTok’s interactive features and trends enable brands to showcase their personality and foster a more relatable image, enhancing customer loyalty and driving brand growth. Additionally, TikTok provides valuable data and insights that can help brands refine their marketing strategies and better understand their audience.
Brand Videos on TikTok
TikTok is one of the most popular destinations for people to explore new brands and products.
Brands can take advantage by producing video content and using paid promotion via TikTok Ads Manager, which is easy to use, and the business centre offers many options to get your brand videos in front of your target demographic.
Brand videos on TikTok which tell viewers who a brand is, what they do and why people should care, and do so in an entertaining way, are helping to build a customer base, grow brand loyalty, and ultimately drive sales. Reporting on viewer KPIs is easy with TikTok Pixel which allows you to capture events for all the visitor actions you value, and inform your campaigns to find users more likely to become customers.
Brand videos on TikTok don’t need to be too polished. In fact, videos that are too glossy could look out of place on the platform because the community is there to share each other’s authentic lives, not to have ads served to them.
Employer Brand Videos on TikTok
Employers using TikTok to build their brand are seeing increased engagement and a better understanding of what it’s like to work for their organisation. Remember, TikTok is an entertainment platform, even when it comes to jobs and recruiting.
Here are some content ideas for employers to post on TikTok:
- Job Postings or Vacancies: Creative recruitment videos can be very effective. Giving viewers a peek into the job role or a behind-the-scenes look at your company in a fun or entertaining way is likely to entice people to enquire further. Office tours can be a fun way to make an organisation feel more accessible.
- Live Q&As: Host live Q&A sessions with employees on TikTok.
- Educational Videos: Create videos about the skills needed for certain roles. These work well if they’re authentic and down-to-earth.
- TikTok Challenges: Show employees participating in TikTok challenges. This helps to show the human side of the business. It’s not all work, work, work.
- Employee Interviews: These videos humanise the brand and provide valuable insights for candidates considering applying. Any pre-qualification will result in a more focused pool of candidates.
Having a presence and posting regular content means your organisation stays top of mind when candidates are searching for their dream job!
Some hashtags to use include: #jobtok, #careertok, #jobcheck, #jobsearchtips, #tiktokresume, #jobinterview, #employeetok, #firstjob, #recentgrads.
Tips for TikTok Success
Here are some general hints and tips for TikTok success:
- Be Authentic: Create content that feels organic to the For You page. Production values don’t have to be high. Leave perfection for your main brand videos. Smartphone camera quality is perfect for TikTok.
- Focus on Short Form: TikTok videos are short. Focus on grabbing attention, building value, and driving action with your storytelling. Use editing techniques and transitions to keep your audience watching and your brand top of mind.
- Leverage Trends: Trends are a good way to reach target audiences while asserting your brand’s authoritativeness and thought leadership by sharing expert knowledge and tips. Put your own spin on TikTok trends to connect with new audiences.
- Be Bold: Stand out from the crowd. Now that most brands understand TikTok’s value in their marketing mix, the space has become saturated with similar content. A splash of creativity is needed to make your content memorable.
- Utilise Niche Sectors: Niche sectors can do particularly well on TikTok. Use the app to find unique trends, discover topics of interest among your audience, and provide expert insight.
- Vertical Format: Don’t forget to create content in the vertical portrait aspect ratio. Keep videos at 9:16.
- Use a Strong CTA: Include a strong call-to-action to drive engagement.
Our Pick of The Top 10 Brands Killing it on TikTok
1. Duolingo
Who can forget the iconic owl that made Duolingo a household name? Duolingo’s Social media manager really brought the Duolingo mascot to life using Gen Z humour, trends, and a distinct personality. The relatable and funny character created a new trend: #mascottok. Inspired by Duolingo’s success, many brands introduced their own characters, such as Hootsuite and Sour Patch Kids. Today, Duolingo boasts 12.1 million followers and 77.2 million likes, setting a new standard for creativity and brand voice on TikTok. Duolingo’s success highlights the importance of understanding platform-specific humour and trends to engage effectively with the audience.
@duolingo offended y’all think a beep boop can do this
♬ Bunna Summa - Therealbunnab
@duolingo Book me for your next event😈🎧 #duolingo #djduo ♬ original sound - kaytratok
Not sure where to begin with TikTok? We can help – get in touch
2. Ryanair
Ryanair, the budget airline known for ultra-cheap flights in Europe, has mastered TikTok trends and humour. They gained fame by using the platform’s native greenscreen filter creatively on their planes, making their content highly engaging and relatable. This strategy has earned them over 2.3 million followers and more than 9.8 million likes. Ryanair’s approach shows the effectiveness of embracing and adapting popular platform features and trends, demonstrating that even industries perceived as less glamorous can achieve significant engagement by aligning with the platform’s culture.
@ryanair humbled 🫡 #ryanair ♬ original sound - Ryanair
@ryanair You wouldn’t fly with anyone else… right? 🥺#fyp #ryanair ♬ original sound - Little fox
3. RSPB – Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
The RSPB showcases how educational content can thrive on TikTok. Their “Bird of the Week” series mixes humour with information, keeping viewers entertained and informed. Quick cuts and adorable bird visuals help retain viewer attention, making their content both enjoyable and educational. The RSPB’s success underscores the potential for non-profit and educational organisations to engage audiences by combining educational value with entertainment, fostering a deeper connection with viewers.
@rspb Replying to @Tommy BOTW TIME 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️#botw #birdoftheweek #birdmemes #birdtiktok #birdsoftiktok #duck #mallardduck #ducktok #drake #bbldrake ♬ original sound - RSPB
@rspb big reveal on skomer. vid by Grace Elliott #puffins #puffinsoftiktok #birds #birdsoftiktok ♬ Kokiri Forest with Ocarinas - David Erick Ramos - Ocarina
4. Scrub Daddy
Scrub Daddy’s content feels perfectly at home on TikTok. Their social media team creates absurd, niche, and often bizarre content that resonates with their audience. They leverage trending sounds and creative concepts to highlight their product’s unique selling points, such as durability and cleanliness, in entertaining and memorable ways. Scrub Daddy’s strategy shows the importance of aligning content with platform-specific humour and trends, proving that even everyday products can captivate audiences through clever and engaging content.
@scrubdaddy Smiling… And Watching. #scrubdaddy #cleantok #cleaningtiktok #americasfavoritesponge #smile ♬ original sound - Scrub Daddy
5. Lotus Cars
Lotus Cars, known for their precision and performance, initially gained massive views with humorous, meme-style edits. Despite changes in their social media team, they continue to captivate audiences with slick edits and trending audio tracks, maintaining their engaging tone and visual appeal. Lotus Cars’ journey on TikTok illustrates the importance of adaptability and audience engagement, showcasing that even with team changes, maintaining a consistent and engaging brand voice is crucial.
@lotuscars This wrap 😍😏 #Emira #GT4 #ForTheDrivers ♬ original sound - Jake Schnatter
@lotuscars Throwback Thursday with this absolute gem of a car 😍 Purple Nurple Lotus Europa! #Europa #ForTheDrivers ♬ Marvelous - Mission
6. Red Bull
Red Bull has long been a leader in creating viral digital content. Their TikTok account, with over 13 million followers, features extreme stunts and impressive skills that quickly hook viewers. By participating in trending hashtags and challenges, Red Bull excels at producing engaging, thumb-stopping content. Red Bull’s approach highlights the power of leveraging visually stunning and thrilling content to capture and maintain viewer interest, demonstrating the value of high-quality production and creativity.
@redbull who's playing this on loop? 😍 🚲: @georgentavou #redbull #givesyouwiiings #bike #bmx #biketricks ♬ original sound - Red Bull
@redbull standard cycle lane 🚴 #redbull #givesyouwiiings #energydrink #redbullstalenros #cycling #bike #funny ♬ original sound - Red Bull
7. The Washington Post
The Washington Post has achieved remarkable success on TikTok by combining humour with news content. Run by Dave, who brings a “dorky dad” vibe to the platform, their account features behind-the-scenes skits and trending memes. This strategy has garnered over 445k followers, enhancing the newspaper’s credibility and appeal among younger audiences. The Washington Post’s innovative approach shows the potential for traditional media to engage with a younger demographic by humanising their content and adapting to new media formats.
@washingtonpost The Food and Drug Administration reversed a ban on e-cigarette products made by Juul Labs, the company widely identified as making the product that ignited the youth vaping craze. The decision will not immediately affect consumers — Juul products have remained on store shelves as the company appealed the FDA’s initial June 2022 decision to banish the products.
♬ original sound - We are a newspaper.
@washingtonpost Standardized methods to measure restaurant noise are in development, but the latest data from a popular sound-reading app suggest noise is plateauing at lower than pre-pandemic levels. Some acousticians believe we simply became used to quieter surroundings during the pandemic, which could make us more aware of loud environments. Experts are advocating for standards that would not only alleviate customer complaints, but also protect the health of patrons and staff members. And with the number of people dining out slightly declining after a pandemic rebound, restaurateurs should have more motivation to try new technologies and materials to suppress noise and lure more diners to their tables.
♬ original sound - We are a newspaper.
Don’t just scroll – get strategic. Contact us to build your TikTok presence.
8. Zapier
Zapier, an API and automation company, thrives on TikTok by showcasing workflows made easier with their tools. Their content appeals to a tech-savvy audience, often doubling as demand generation ads on platforms like Instagram. This strategy effectively demonstrates the practical applications of their services. Zapier’s success on TikTok highlights the potential for tech and B2B companies to engage audiences by providing clear, relatable examples of how their products can solve real-world problems.
@zapier You can use Zapier Tables and Interfaces to build your own custom apps without a developer. These two tools together are the ultimate pairing! #workflow #nocode #automation #zapiertips #zapier ♬ original sound - Zapier
@zapier This is gonna save me so much time - let me know if you try it, or if you have any questions! #chatbot #ai #artificialintelligence #nocode #automation ♬ original sound - Zapier
9. Dior
Dior excels on TikTok by leveraging influencer collaborations and maintaining a strong social media presence. Their content spans fashion, accessories, cosmetics, and fragrances, effectively reaching their target market and reinforcing their status as a leading luxury brand. Dior’s strategy underscores the importance of influencer partnerships and consistent branding, demonstrating how high-end brands can effectively use TikTok to maintain their prestige while engaging with a broader audience.
@dior Decode the blues of #DiorFall2024's Denim Book Tote masterpiece.
♬ original sound - Dior
@dior Discover #DiorMenFall 2024, celebrating the future from the past, elegance and ease.
♬ son original - Dior
10. Joe & The Juice
Joe & The Juice went viral on TikTok with their “tunacado” sandwich. Their successful collaborations with Paris Hilton and Alix Earle for the #getchicforbreakfast campaign have also gained significant attention. These videos, featuring unique personalities, promote their brand and expanded breakfast offerings in a way that resonates well with TikTok users. Joe & The Juice’s approach highlights the effectiveness of leveraging viral trends and high-profile collaborations to enhance brand visibility and engagement.
@joeandthejuice That rewind was real #fyp #foryoupage ♬ Originalton - GQ Germany
@joeandthejuice the matcha got me 🤤 #fyp #foryoupage ♬ original sound - Shadowless
How to Win on TikTok in 2025
- Be consistent, not perfect.
- Embrace trends with your own twist.
- Tell stories – fast.
Inspired to try TikTok for your brand?
Final Thoughts
As we’ve seen, TikTok offers brands a unique and powerful platform to connect with a vast and engaged audience. The top 10 brands highlighted here have all leveraged TikTok’s features and trends to create memorable and effective marketing campaigns.
Each of these brands brings something unique to the table, whether it’s Duolingo’s humorous mascot, Ryanair’s clever use of filters, or Red Bull’s adrenaline-pumping content. They’ve mastered the art of engaging their audience through creativity, humour, and authenticity, proving that TikTok is more than just a platform for dance videos and memes—it’s a valuable tool for brand storytelling and community building.
By studying these successful strategies, other brands can learn how to craft their own engaging content and connect with TikTok’s diverse user base. Whether you’re a small start-up or a well-established brand, the key to TikTok success lies in understanding the platform’s culture, staying on top of trends, and consistently delivering content that resonates with your audience.
So, dive into the world of TikTok, experiment with different content styles, and don’t be afraid to show your brand’s personality. The potential for growth and engagement is immense, and with the right approach, your brand could be the next big thing on TikTok.