TikTok has become marketer’s sweetheart when it comes to social media platforms. So, it was no surprise to find TikTok as the platform to be most invested by marketers in 2025, according to the State of Marketing Report 2025.
But is it enough just being on this channel, replicating the content, and investing money in it because everybody is doing so? How can you take advantage of this in the best way possible?
This article is the first in a series of three dissecting some topics from the State of Marketing Report 2025. This report was created in collaboration with HubSpot, Rock Content, Wistia, and Litmus. The material can be downloaded for free. Be ready for tons of amazing and modern Marketing insights.
I am Pedro Lopes, Digital Marketing Specialist here at Rock Content, and I’ll be your guide today. Oh, and I strongly suggest you open your notes, cause you’re about to have some powerful insights!
The TikTok Phenomenon
It is quite ironic to think that TikTok, a social media channel that is all about moves, motion, and dynamicity, became this crazy sensation during the pandemic, a period of pure stagnation.
But it also leads to a slightly predictable result: people would lack being able to live in the movement. Going out to exercise, socialize and move! So, eventually, the demand would blow through the roof.
Now, Zuckerberg Inc. has to do what they do best when they have competition: copy them. And that behavior can teach us a lot about the main topic of this article.
But first, let’s rewind a bit to understand how TikTok carved its way to the top:
TikTok over the years among marketers and brands
What most people don’t know is that TikTok’s original name is Douyin, created in China, back in 2016. TikTok only became famous after the Chinese company acquired another social media service in 2018, Musical.ly, and launched it as the “international” version of Douyin.
TikTok has been growing ever since, surpassing 2 billion mobile downloads worldwide in 2020. Bloomberg says that the “video app is on track to triple revenue this year to $12 billion dollars”, corresponding to 3.5% of the gross advertisement net revenue.
What’s the strategy behind it?
Alright! There’s no way a company reaches these indicators that fast without an aggressive and cutting-edge strategy behind it. And that is exactly what they have done!
Starting with the user demographics, TikTok attracted over 386.6 million users from ages 18 to 24. These users also perceive ads on TikTok differently, since it looks more like entertainment than a regular propaganda campaign.
And that is the turning factor for so much success and popularity: The Content!
TikTok (paid ad and organically) is all about content
There’s no way around it: if you’re not delivering originality and being entertaining, you will not hit your real goal. And let’s be real, whoever is not being original and entertaining is just being a regular user instead of a marketer with a purpose.
By the way, the State of Marketing Report 2025 has some pretty awesome insights and predictions about Marketing. It may help you a lot in order to reach the originality you need!
And the golden rule to achieve that level of relevance is: researching and understanding what type of content your targeted audience is currently engaging with on TikTok. Then:
- Filter if and how your brand would present the same content
- List the main topics and analyze how they connect with your products or services
- Make sure the narrative is well-wired to the personality of your brand
Too many brands wade into TikTok thinking volume equals impact, but honestly—nope. Some of the wildest viral growth I’ve seen comes from a total left-field idea that shouldn’t work on paper but nails the platform’s weird, authentic vibe. If you’re only mirroring others, or chasing whatever sound is blowing up, your content’s going to blend into white noise quicker than you’d hope. Users scroll fast. Think about what would make you pause mid-coffee sip and actually watch another human’s 19 seconds of sheer randomness (or, you know, cleverness).
And if you really want actual engagement—not just views but saves, shares, duets—you’ve got to risk missing the mark sometimes. It seems scary, but TikTok’s algorithm rewards experimentation as much as it does trends. The honest truth: most big brand wins here started because someone on a small creative team said “why not?” and just ran with it. Growth isn’t linear, and sometimes, your most awkward post will quietly rack up more brand goodwill than a hundred polished campaigns. Real people can tell when you’re phoning it in.
Now that’s how you deliver mind-blowing content without having to reinvent the wheel! Surf along with the trends, it’s absolutely fine. Just remember that if you don’t sell who you are, you won’t sell at all, especially in 15 seconds.
Is it worth investing money on TikTok?
Besides creating meaningful content, here are some pros and cons to take into account before betting all your chips on TikTok ads:
| Pros Minimum entry barriers for SMBs Possibility to scale content production Widen your audience-base |
Cons Smaller ROI compared to Facebook Predominance of younger audiences Format limitation to create content |
Conclusion
As we could see, advertising on TikTok goes way beyond having a budget or not for it.It starts with creating original content that entertains.
Taking some time to study user behavior is crucial to map data like preferences, topics, bottlenecks… Then, go through some pros and cons to better analyze the impacts.
So, what’s it going to be? To ad, or not to ad on TikTok? Add me on LinkedIn and let’s talk about it.
