Search stays a crucial piece of the promoting mix, but evolving consumer preferences — particularly amongst younger demographics like Gen Z — have spurred more brands to rethink their strategies beyond traditional search engines to concentrate on popular platforms like TikTok.
To meet the moment, Eventbrite, the worldwide events marketplace, is among the many first to have utilized a new TikTok search tool for a campaign that has to this point driven a 66% increase in click-through rates and helped the brand engage with its goal millennial and Gen Z audience.
“This campaign is what we at the moment are calling business as usual as a part of our mixture of channels, mainly,” said Laura Benayas, Eventbrite’s head of growth marketing. “With this campaign we brought really good improvement in KPIs.”
Over 3.2 billion each day searches occur on TikTok worldwide, and 23% of TikTok users search for something inside 30 seconds of opening the app, based on data shared by the corporate. To help advertisers reach that audience, TikTok in September launched Search Ads Campaign, its first keyword-targeting search solution.
TikTok’s Search Ads Campaign allows brands to put ads on the search results page with precise keyword targeting. These efforts have budgets that live individually from their in-feed video campaigns. The solution builds on the platform’s Automatic Search Placement feature, which allows brands to serve ads in TikTok search results. Search Ads Campaign is currently offered within the U.S. and TikTok is aiming to launch the tool in select regions globally this yr.
“Historically, people have had the concept that you go to TikTok to swipe, to find, but now individuals are actually searching to find,” said Brian Torpey, global director of search product solutions and operations at TikTok. “I believe it’s fair to say we’re greater than just an entertainment platform.”
Searching for inspiration
Eventbrite has been utilizing TikTok’s ad products since 2023 and commenced using the Search Ads Campaign solution in October to extend its odds of connecting with younger users, especially Gen Z, said Benayas. Eventbrite is a self-service platform that permits users to create and discover live events and currently has over 87 million average monthly lively users.
“Search ads … represents a game changer, because they permit us to attach with people right once they are actively on the lookout for something to do,” Benayas said. “On the weekend, you may hop on TikTok to get ideas, to get enthusiastic about something to do, to get inspired about something to do — that’s exactly where we wish to be.”
Through its search campaign, which continues to be live, Eventbrite is targeting event-goers with keywords like “travel” and “food & drink.” In addition to helping the brand boost click-through rates, the campaign has decreased overall cost-per-acquisitions (CPAs) by 33% on complete payment transactions. Eventbrite offers services to event creators who host each free and paid events, but only focuses on paid transactions from a performance marketing perspective.
A concentrate on event discovery is mirrored in other points of Eventbrite’s business. The company recently launched its first brand refresh and app redesign since 2019 to prioritize discovery via new social features and curated lists. The moves could help the corporate contend with business struggles. Eventbrite reported net revenue of $76.5 million within the fourth quarter, a decrease of 13% yr over yr, based on its latest earnings report. However, total and free ticket volumes returned to growth in the course of the quarter.
Questions remain
Search Ads Campaigns have also been leveraged by brands Glossier and American Eagle, and TikTok has observed strong results for campaigns within the retail space, based on Torpey. Advertisers which might be running Search Ads Campaigns to enhance their in-feed ads are also seeing a 20% increase in conversions on average, the chief said.
TikTok’s greater search push comes because the preference for search engines like Google declines in contrast to social media, particularly amongst younger demographics, with 46% of Gen Z and 35% of millennials now preferring to search via social. Simultaneously, Google’s share of the search engine market dropped to 89% at the top of 2024, the primary time it had fallen below 90% in 10 years, based on Statcounter, a signal that brands could possibly be reassessing their search strategies.
Still, uncertainty lingers around TikTok as its April 5 sell-off deadline approaches following a 75-day extension offered by President Donald Trump on a law that may have banned the app in January unless it sold to U.S. ownership. President Trump indicated he’ll likely provide one other extension for the ByteDance app if a deal will not be reached by then. The administration has stated it’s in talks with 4 groups a couple of potential sale.
While questions remain around TikTok’s fate, the app’s ad revenue could hit $32.4 billion this yr — 24.5% year-over-year growth — an indication that advertisers remain bullish on the platform if a ban fails to come back to fruition. For now, the corporate has continued to speak with brands in ways in which tap into their excitement around promoting on the platform through search ads, Torpey said.
“There’s a ton of knocks on our door immediately wanting to check the product, construct with us, find new features,” Torpey said. “We’ve just been focused on helping [advertisers] accomplish their objectives through search ads.”
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