To Reach Young Adults, Companies Like The Home Depot Rental are Finding Success on TikTok

TikTok campaigns are effectively reaching Millennials and Gen Z. Learn how you can, too. 

When it comes to home improvement projects, do-it-yourselfers span all age ranges, from young adults to seniors. 

The Home Depot aims to serve them all by offering everything they need to get projects done, including materials, supplies — and a wide range of rental tools, equipment and trucks through the company’s rental operation, The Home Depot Rental. 

Working with Brunner, The Home Depot Rental has had impressive success connecting with DIYers through campaigns on various social media platforms. To build on that, The Home Depot Rental team wanted to improve their reach with younger audiences. In particular, the company wanted to connect with Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, who are first- or second-time homeowners and have renovations or ongoing projects to complete. 

What’s a prime place to find them? TikTok, the fast-growing social media platform where users watch short videos the users create and share on all sorts of topics, including home improvement projects.

What is TikTok and How Does it Work? 

According to TikTok’s website, the platform is now the leading destination for short-form mobile video and is expected to reach 1.5 billion users by the end of 2022. 

It’s no secret that video is a powerful format for storytelling. TikTok puts video storytelling at everyone’s fingertips — including companies that are competing for share of voice on overcrowded platforms. In a nutshell, TikTok creators upload videos of 5–120 seconds in duration and can use a variety of filters, effects, and music to modify their content before publishing.

Viewers on the TikTok app automatically see a “For You” page with an infinite, algorithm-curated video feed that is designed to grab their attention. Users can engage with videos by commenting, liking and sharing. Data about user behavior gets circulated back into TikTok’s algorithm to continuously strengthen and deliver relevant content, so users keep coming back for more.

TikTok has tons of features and tools to help creators keep content fresh and innovative, and the platform constantly adds new creative elements to keep users engaged.

The Home Depot Rental’s TikTok Strategy 

Following Brunner’s recommendation, The Home Depot Rental sought to reach Millennials through a series of campaigns on TikTok, which is hugely popular with Gen Z, born between 1997-2012, as well as Millennials. 

The Home Depot Rental’s strategy included partnering with Millennials who have become prominent TikTok influencers thanks to videos they create and share about their home improvement projects.  

THDR worked with one influencer on a video showing how she created a flower bed from start to finish. The video opens with her renting a truck from THDR, then loading it up with flowers and plants, bricks, pavers and mulch, along with a rental wheelbarrow, trimmer and tamper. She then demonstrates how to create a garden step-by-step, ending with a beautiful outdoor space with flowers and plants. 

These influencer campaigns have delivered significant results for The Home Depot Rental in cost savings and conversions over comparable campaigns on Facebook: 

• A 30 percent more efficient cost per thousand impressions (CPM) than Facebook 
• A 68 percent more efficient cost per click than Facebook 
• A 21 percent lower cost per conversion for key performance indicators prior to purchase  

TikTok’s Growing Popularity With Younger Audiences 

Since becoming available worldwide in 2018, TikTok has become one of the world’s most popular social media platforms, especially with younger audiences. Together, Millennials and Gen Z make up nearly 70 percent of TikTok users, as shown by TikTok user demographics as of September 2021: 

• 25 percent were between the ages of 10-19 (Gen Z) 
• 22 percent were between the ages of 20-29 (Gen Z and Millennials) 
• 22 percent were between the ages of 30-39 (Millennials) 

The Gen Z generation is unique in that they’ve never known a world without modern technology, including computers, internet and cell phones. Even Wi-Fi and social media have been around for most of their lives. They have grown up with instant access to information and answers. Given that experience, it makes sense that Gen Z makes up the largest single age group of TikTok users. 

In addition to user age groups, here are some additional TikTok demographics to keep in mind: 

• The majority of TikTok users are female, making up 57 percent of the global user base, and 61 percent of the U.S. user base. 
• The U.S. has 136.42 million TikTok users — that’s 27 percent more users than Indonesia, which has the next higher user base.  
• Users spend approximately 90 minutes per day on TikTok – that’s almost three times more time than users spend on any other social media platform. 

Keys to Success For Adding TikTok to Your Media Mix  

If you’re looking to reach Gen Z and Millennials, TikTok offers a tremendous opportunity. Here are a few key factors to consider: 

• Think back to your target audiences. If that group is heavily Gen Z or Millennials, TikTok most likely should be part of your media mix. 
• Whether your company is B2B or B2C, TikTok is the perfect channel for sharing tutorials, product demos and testimonials.  
• Consider partnering with influencers who are a good fit for your brand to enhance your reach through the audiences they have built. 
• For B2C brands, consider frequent posts that showcase your products. TikTok is currently the top app for consumer spending, with a 77 percent increase since 2021. One recent Gen Z study found that 39 percent of respondents are most likely to buy a product after seeing it on TikTok. 
• Aim for a combination of both organic posts and paid campaigns, which can allow you to target by users’ interests and activity. 

As TikTok continues to grow in popularity and users, it will be an increasingly powerful channel for reaching these audiences. Explore opportunities to make the most of its potential for your marketing goals.