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How to Boost Your Small Business Using TikTok
The blazing social media app TikTok has been operating since 2018, but it is quickly acquiring widespread traction. TikTok is used by everyone from superstars to teenagers to hip grandmothers – but how beneficial is TikTok for business? On the surface, the platform appears to be a place for funny lip-sync videos rather than a platform for promoting businesses and services. Small businesses, on the other hand, have a lot of potential to use TikTok to reach out to their customers in a fun and creative way.
What is TikTok, and why should you be interested in it?
TikTok promotes itself as a platform for sharing short mobile videos. Consider a video-based Instagram or a short-form YouTube, but with a slew of new capabilities. On TikTok, videos can be as short as five seconds.
TikTok’s algorithm employs artificial intelligence to propose videos to users based on their previous viewings. Users may easily discover new material thanks to the algorithm, which also makes it simple to produce viral sensations.
The app is rapidly expanding, and it is already the sixth-largest social network. Here are a few more staggering figures to persuade you to use TikTok for business:
- More than 1.65 billion people have downloaded the app.
- It was the second most downloaded app in 2019. (only beat by Whatsapp)
- The typical user accesses the app over 8 times per day.
- 18-24 year-olds are the largest demographic on TikTok, followed by 13-17 year-olds.
- Around 60% of TikTok users are female, with the remaining 40% male.
Recognize the Platform
Start by creating a small business account and exploring the platform if you’re thinking about using TikTok as a small company marketing tool. This isn’t the type of area where you should push your IT software hard. On TikTok, that kind of promotion isn’t going to go you very far. That’s why it’s a good idea to start by looking at what other brands are doing. Before you go any further, double-check that your target audience is on TikTok.
Here are a few things to try while you’re getting to know the platform:
- Watch videos: When you first open the app, you’ll see a feed featuring a variety of funny films. To get a sense for the platform, click around and view a few videos.
- Make your own videos by following these steps: You’re not striving for the level of a professional cameraman. The majority of TikTok videos are generated by the users themselves. Begin by filming with your phone, then adding filters, interesting effects like face zoom, stickers, and more.
- Add in music: TikTok is integrated with Apple Music, so you can add songs, remix them, and add effects to your videos.
- Follow accounts you like: On TikTok, look for other competitors’ accounts and like them so you may follow them and see what kind of material they publish. Also, keep an eye on industry heavyweights and their marketing activities.
- Buy virtual coins with real money: TikTok allows users to purchase virtual coins with real money. You can then use these to send virtual presents to others.
Try Different Types of Content on TikTok for Business
It’s time to develop content for your business after you’ve researched your rivals and determined that your target demographic uses TikTok. While a comical lip-sync video is a great way to market your brand, there are many additional choices you should consider:
- Introduce yourself and your staff with a catchy theme music that encapsulates your company’s personality.
- Give your followers a sneak peek inside your office so they can see how the magic happens.
- TikTok is a fantastic platform for sharing motivational stories. Do you have a success story about how you got your company off the ground?
- Instead of telling people how fantastic your product or service is, see if some of your most loyal customers would be willing to share their thoughts on film.
- Do you have a unique name for your company? Make a video that explains why you choose that name and the tale that goes with it.
- Pets can be found in a lot of small companies. TikTok viewers are huge fans of cute animal videos.
- Does your company give back to the community by donating time, money, or products? Tell us about it and why it’s significant to your company.
- What is the manufacturing process for your product? Show people how to complete the process in a step-by-step manner. On TikTok, time-lapse videos are extremely popular.
- Do you want to encourage others to establish their own company? Make tutorials available on how to accomplish this.
On TikTok, you may communicate information about your company in a variety of ways. It’s important to remember that TikTok consumers enjoy entertaining and unique videos. They aren’t interested in hearing a talking head explain how to utilize a product or why yours is the best. They want to witness a compelling product story with catchy music in the backdrop.
It’s a no-brainer to tell a tale to your audience. To begin, create a picture that will act as bait, entice people to move forward and watch the entire film. After you’ve chosen the correct photo, make sure to add professional effects to it. There are a plethora of free filters available online; simply brush up on how to install Photoshop actions and get creative.
Use the Appropriate Hashtags
You should perform some hashtag research if you want your work to be discovered. What hashtags are trending, what hashtags do your target audience use, and which hashtags are relevant to your company? You can’t just use any hashtags because they’re trending; hashtags must be relevant to your video. Users who click on it will be disappointed, and they will not want to return to your account.
Make sure to use hashtags that are relevant and popular whenever you submit a video on TikTok. Keep in mind that TikTok is primarily intended as a source of entertainment rather than a sales pitch. They’re looking for enjoyable content to keep them entertained. To get your audience’s attention, strategically use hashtags. Here are some of TikTok’s most popular hashtags.
Organize and curate user-generated content
While making your own films is a great method to promote your company and raise brand recognition on TikTok, you can also use the material of your consumers. Here’s where hashtags come into play once more. Make a hashtag for your company and ask your customers to use it whenever they post something about your items on TikTok. You may also run a paid hashtag challenge (see below for more information!)
As a result, prospects learn about your business through the most effective marketing vehicle available: word of mouth. Let’s assume a prospect views a TikTok video in which a user wears your designer dress; they’ll want to learn more about those garments by following your company’s hashtag. Because of a TikTok video, they may eventually make a purchase on your website.
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Discover the Platform’s Ads on TikTok for Business.
Businesses can now advertise on TikTok, just like they can on other social media platforms. That’s a great method to encourage new users and prospects to notice your brand. There are four major ways to promote on TikTok for your business:
- When a user first opens TikTok, the brand takeover ad appears before any other user content. If you’re creating a unique TikTok offer, you can link the ad to a landing page.
- Native ad: This is an ad that appears in the middle of user content. Keep in mind that consumers can quickly skip this form of ad by just scrolling past it.
- Businesses can sponsor a specific hashtag challenge and advertise on the Discover page with a sponsored hashtag challenge. This is a fantastic approach to increase brand and hashtag interaction.
- Branded lens: A branded lens is a type of filter that your company creates for people to use on their videos. It’s ideal to choose something that is relevant to your company and resonates with your target audience.
TikTok for Small Businesses is a good place to start.
TikTok for Small Business is an excellent approach to expose your business to new customers. TikTok users are highly engaged, enjoy sharing content, and use the app numerous times every day. Small businesses can use music to connect with their target audience, show off their creative side, and add humour to their messages. Remember, this is a forum for having fun and being creative, not for making serious high-pressure sales.
TikTok for Small Business assists you in creating commercials, presenting your brand to the relevant people, and providing engagement and follower-growth advice. Don’t wait to join your audience and show off your fun-loving side on TikTok, which is increasing on a daily basis.
About the author
PAUL SMITH - For over 20 years I have worked with businesses, enterprises and brands in Australia, NZ, UK and US to drive digital marketing growth using organic and paid traffic strategies. No fluff or BS, just straight-forward return on investment.
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