For August, a digitally native direct-to-consumer brand of period care products, TikTok gives more than it takes down. For example, in January 2020, its launch video was immediately removed by the platform. “I still get videos taken down for what the app believes is graphic content,” said August co-founder Nadya Okamoto. Still, Okamoto credits TikTok for helping her cultivate a community of nearly 4.5 million followers across her personal and brand TikTok accounts, as well as allowing her to open a dialogue for authentic marketing.
Okamoto creates content to break the stereotypes and stigma around menstruation. “So much of changing culture is about conversation, and conversation is started by content. TikTok has been one of the biggest platforms to quickly—and at a mass scale—get your message out there,” she said.
Down the funnel: Converting TikTok engagement into sales is a top challenge when creating TikTok content for a third of US small business owners, according to January 2024 data from Adobe. For August, social commerce sales are even more of a challenge because period products are highly regulated and prohibited from being sold on TikTok Shop.
“That's why organic growth attraction is so important for us,” Okamoto said, and why its focus on uplifting educational content is key. Although US TikTok users primarily spend time on the app for entertainment (83%), 32% use it for education and learning and 27% for product discovery, per a March 2024 report by Leger.
“It’s why I feel so strongly about how Tiktok has been able to open up opportunities for small businesses that can't compete with brands that have the resources to pay for ads [on other channels],” Okamoto said.
Democratizing virality: “So much of what makes TikTok unique is its algorithm, which gives everybody a chance to be a big creator,” Okamoto said. “That makes it easier to diversify the number and type of people who have platforms,” comparing it to the common aesthetics and lifestyles seen on Instagram. “On Instagram, you're actually working on making sure that the people who already follow you are engaging. It's not about this newness.”
Compared with Instagram Reels, TikTok has a higher engagement rate for accounts with more than 100,000 followers, per September 2023 data from The Influencer Marketing Factory.
“We've really been able to see that people's lives are changed overnight [by going viral],” Okamoto said. She posted up to 100 TikTok videos a day after August launched, driving more than $1 million in revenue in only one year of business. Three years later, in March 2023, August products launched in Targets across the US.
But if TikTok is banned? Okamoto said the short-term plan is to continue business as usual, aligning with recommendations from some social media marketers.
Adult US TikTok users will still spend 54 minutes per day on the app this year, per our February 2024 forecast, so there’s no reason brands need to abandon it before it’s necessary.
Long term, Okamoto said a ban would heighten the need to invest in other platforms. Until then, “I’ll continue advocating for [TikTok], whether it be through the dearpresidentbiden.com open letter, or with my own advocacy efforts with lawmakers.”
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