Due to its gigantic user base and easy-to-consume media format, TikTok has quickly become an effective marketing tool for many businesses. Whether you’re a small business or a large enterprise, learning how to use TikTok for your business can significantly boost brand awareness and customer engagement.
Here, we will provide you with the basics for getting started using TikTok to improve your business.
Table of Contents
Why businesses should consider using TikTok
Getting started with TikTok
Creating a TikTok strategy
Creating quality content on TikTok
Engaging your audience
Analyzing and improving your output
Running TikTok ads
Summary
Why businesses should consider using TikTok
We already know that social media marketing is an important marketing tool for businesses. But why choose TikTok if your business is already on other social media platforms? Well, it’s a no-brainer: TikTok is currently the most popular social media platform, with more than 1.7 billion monthly active users. Additionally, TikTok’s unique algorithm and diverse user base allow content to go viral quickly, making it a cost-effective platform for marketing.
But do those users turn into customers? According to recent statistics, 67% of TikTok users say the platform inspires them to shop even when they weren’t planning to.
Getting started with TikTok
If you haven’t already, the first step is to set up a TikTok business account. This gives you access to advanced features like TikTok Ads and analytics, which are crucial for tracking performance.
Click here for an in-depth guide on how to set up a TikTok account.
Creating a TikTok strategy
The next step is creating a TikTok strategy. If you already have a social media marketing strategy for other platforms like Instagram or YouTube, adapting these for TikTok is a good place to start. But first, take the time to familiarize yourself with the TikTok community, if you aren’t already, and make sure your strategy fits the platform’s specific content style and user preferences.
If you’re new to TikTok, take the time to engage on the platform. Look at what your competitors are posting and the types of content your target audience is engaging with. This will help inform your strategy.
Understand your target audience
While many TikTok users are Gen Z, there is a wide variety of people on TikTok from every generation. Take the time to consider how your target audience may differ on TikTok compared to other platforms. Are there particular segments of your target audience you should focus on?
Set goals
A big part of your TikTok business strategy is setting goals. Before you start creating content, it’s important to first determine what you’d like to achieve as a business on TikTok. Note that while TikTok can be used to promote your business, it isn’t a sales-focused platform, and audience engagement is generally seen as the most important factor.
Define your TikTok business style
As you scroll through TikTok, you’ll begin to understand the niche ways that people create content and the unique language used depending on who their target audience is. Before starting to create content, it’s important to build a brand visual identity that aligns with your brand image and helps you to create consistent content that makes your brand easily identifiable.
One good thing about TikTok is that you don’t necessarily need a big production setup like you might with YouTube. In fact, as many as 65% of TikTok users think that overly -professional-looking videos tend to look out of place on the platform. So, it’s likely to be beneficial to be more authentic and less polished when it comes to content.
Creating quality content on TikTok
Once you have a strategy, it’s time to start creating content.
Creating engaging content on TikTok requires a mix of creativity, authenticity, and an understanding of the platform’s trends. While there is no one way to do this, here are some strategies to get you started:
- Use trending sounds and hashtags: Participate in popular challenges and use trending sounds to increase visibility. However, ensure they relate to your brand and are consistent with your brand’s voice and messaging.
- Tell stories: Short, compelling stories resonate well with TikTok users. Use narrative techniques to create emotional connections, but remember that short videos that grab the audience’s attention in the first 10-15 seconds tend to perform best.
- Collaborate with influencers: Partnering with influencers can help you reach a broader audience and add credibility to your brand.
- User-generated content: Encourage your followers to create content related to your brand, and feature their work on your profile.
- Behind-the-scenes content: Show the human side of your business with behind-the-scenes videos that give followers a glimpse of your operations, team, or creative process.
When it comes to creating content on TikTok, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel; popular formats and templates exist on TikTok for a reason – don’t be afraid to use them. Looking for some more ideas? Click here for more tips on how to create engaging content on TikTok.
Remember, when creating content, it’s important to use captions to make the content easy to digest and accessible to all audiences.
Tip: While highly produced content isn’t necessary, it is important to ensure quality video and sound. Many marketers use smartphones to create TikTok content; however, they will still consider lighting and sound quality when shooting.
Should I directly promote my products on TikTok?
While TikTok is a great place to promote products, it’s important to remember that it isn’t a sales-first platform. So, take the time to consider unique ways to show off your products in more appealing ways than you would in a traditional sales ad.
Some examples could include:
- How-to videos on using the product
- Customer testimonials or other content creators directly engaging with or using the product
- Behind the scenes of how the product is made
- Behind the scenes of a customer’s product being packaged for shipping
- Answering customer questions about the product
Engaging your audience
Engagement is crucial on TikTok. Respond to comments, collaborate with influencers and other TikTok creators, and encourage user-generated content. The more you interact with your audience, the stronger your brand’s presence will be. But make sure to engage authentically.
Analyzing and improving content
Using analytics on TikTok can help you track performance and understand what content resonates with your audience and where improvements are needed. Here’s how:
- Track key metrics: Focus on metrics like views, likes, shares, comments, and follower growth. These metrics indicate how well your content is performing.
- Analyze audience demographics: Use analytics to understand who is engaging with your content. Tailor future content to match your audience’s preferences.
- Identify top-performing content: Review your most successful videos to identify patterns – such as specific themes, formats, or times of posting – that you can replicate.
- Monitor trends over time: Look for trends in your analytics over weeks or months to adjust your strategy for continuous improvement.
- Test and optimize: Experiment with different content styles, lengths, and posting times, and use the analytics to measure their impact. Continuously refine your strategy based on what works best.
By regularly reviewing your TikTok analytics, you can make data-driven decisions to enhance your content and boost engagement.
If you’re new to social media marketing or TikTok, click here for a guide on how to understand TikTok metrics.
Running TikTok ads
Once you’ve been posting on TikTok for a while and feel more confident in your strategy, you can start to run ads (click here for an in-depth guide on how to).
On TikTok there are a few different ways of running ads for your business:
- Promoting individual posts (similar to boosting on Instagram)
- Partner with content creators (connect with existing creators through the Content Marketplace)
- Running traditional ad campaigns through the TikTok Ad Manager
Before getting started with running ads, you will need to set up a TikTok Ads Manager Account.
Summary
TikTok is more than just a trend – it’s a powerful marketing tool that can help your business reach new customers. Start experimenting with different content types, stay on top of trends, and don’t be afraid to get creative. With consistency and a clear strategy, TikTok can become a significant part of your digital marketing toolkit.
