TikTok's 2024 Holiday Marketing Playbook for Brands

TikTok this month released its 2024 Holidays For You Vertical Playbook, a guide aimed at helping brands optimize their marketing strategies for the upcoming holiday season. The playbook, which comes just over three months before the start of the traditional holiday shopping period, provides marketers with valuable insights into consumer behavior, platform-specific trends, and effective advertising solutions on TikTok.

According to the playbook, TikTok has become a central hub for holiday planning and celebration. The platform reports that 53% of its users utilize TikTok for holiday planning, while 46% use it to celebrate festivities. Moreover, 35% of users engage in both planning and celebration activities on the app. This data underscores TikTok's growing influence in shaping consumer behavior during the holiday season.

One of the key insights revealed in the playbook is the early onset of holiday-related content on TikTok. The platform observed a significant 190% increase in #holidayshopping videos published from the week before Halloween to the week after Halloween in 2023. This trend suggests that brands should consider launching their holiday campaigns earlier to capture the attention of early planners and shoppers.

The playbook also highlights the popularity of specific holiday-related hashtags on TikTok. In November 2023, #Thanksgiving garnered 824,000 user videos with a 12.5% engagement rate, while #BlackFriday saw 193,000 user videos with a 6.6% engagement rate. The Christmas season in December 2023 generated even more impressive numbers, with #Christmas accumulating 2.9 million user videos and an 11.8% engagement rate.

TikTok's guide emphasizes the platform's ability to celebrate holidays without borders, showcasing diverse cultural traditions. Hashtags such as #Hanukkah, #Kwanzaa, and #NocheBuena demonstrated engagement rates of 12.5%, 9.8%, and 8.4% respectively in December 2023, illustrating the platform's multicultural appeal during the holiday season.

The playbook delves into consumer behavior patterns on TikTok during the holidays. When TikTok is used in the holiday shopping journey, users are reported to make significantly more purchases across various categories compared to traditional social platforms. For instance, TikTok users make 80% more travel-related and haircare gift purchases, 60% more skincare purchases, and 50% more entertainment tickets, makeup, and home and holiday decor purchases.

Interestingly, the guide reveals a trend of self-gifting among TikTok users during the holiday season. According to the playbook, 87% of TikTok users buy gifts for themselves during holiday shopping events, which is 12% more than users of traditional platforms. This trend presents an opportunity for brands to tailor their marketing strategies to cater to both gift-giving and self-indulgence.

The playbook outlines three primary ways for brands to drive engagement during the holidays. First, it suggests leveraging creators, as users who watch creator videos are 60% more likely to follow brands and 50% more likely to click on ads. Second, it recommends utilizing TikTok's livestream feature, as users who interact with livestreams are 80% more likely to follow brands and 70% more likely to click on ads. Lastly, it advises the strategic use of hashtags, as users who interact with hashtags are 90% more likely to follow brands and 60% more likely to click on ads.

TikTok's guide provides detailed media flight recommendations for different campaign objectives, including branding, commerce, and full-funnel strategies. For branding campaigns, it suggests a four-week campaign length with a frequency of 2-3 times per week. Commerce campaigns are recommended to run for 1-2 months, while full-funnel campaigns are advised to maintain a 1-2 month duration with a frequency of 2-3 times per week.

The playbook introduces a content framework called "Value & Variety" for creating compelling TikTok campaigns. It emphasizes the importance of delivering value through content that resonates with and benefits the audience, whether by entertaining or informing them. The variety aspect encourages brands to diversify their content to cater to the multifaceted needs and interests of viewers.

TikTok's guide also provides best practices for both branding and performance advertisers. For branding campaigns, it recommends using 3-5 assets per ad group, with 3-5 ad groups per campaign, and refreshing content every 7 days. Performance advertisers are advised to use 2-3 assets per ad group, with 3-5 ad groups per campaign, and refresh content every 14 days.

The playbook concludes by outlining a three-phase approach to holiday marketing on TikTok: Get Inspired, Start Planning, and Let's Celebrate. Each phase includes recommendations for leveraging TikTok's various tools and features to create effective holiday campaigns.

Key facts from the TikTok 2024 Holiday Marketing Playbook

53% of TikTok users utilize the platform for holiday planning

190% increase in #holidayshopping videos from pre- to post-Halloween 2023

#Christmas hashtag generated 2.9 million user videos in December 2023

87% of TikTok users buy gifts for themselves during holiday shopping events

Users watching creator videos are 60% more likely to follow brands

Branding campaigns recommended to run for 4 weeks with 2-3 times weekly frequency

Commerce campaigns advised to run for 1-2 months

Content framework emphasizes "Value & Variety"

Three-phase approach: Get Inspired, Start Planning, Let's Celebrate