Finding it hard to get the perfect TikTok marketing strategy to boost sales for a startup or small business? Then, this article is a deal-breaker. Here, sellers, retailers, or dropshippers will see ten ways to beef up existing marketing strategies.
Businesses facing challenges in reaching their targeted customers and boosting sales can also benefit from this article.
Keep reading to find out all the ten profitable ways. But before then, here’s a solid reason that shows why sellers should include TikTok marketing in their online brand or business campaign.
Table of Contents
Why should businesses use TikTok for marketing?
How to capitalize on TikTok marketing strategies
Final words
Why should businesses use TikTok for marketing?
It’s no surprise that TikTok, with its over one billion users, is the go-to for most millennials and Gen-Z users, who are currently the biggest online spenders. So, from 2020 in the US, TikTok was projected to grow from 66.5 million users to 89.7 million by 2023, registering a CAGR of 11 percent. According to the report, millennial folks amount to 21.93 percent of the US, with 44 percent shopping online every week with a minimum of USD 61.24 for every sale.
But that’s not all. 67 million is the estimated number of Gen Z or zoomers in the US, with 73 percent shopping online every year.
Also, a report shows that 65 percent of Gen Z or zoomers base their purchasing decisions on suggestions from social media influencers. A business stands a higher chance of going viral faster on TikTok thanks to its fun-filled, entertaining, and short videos that reach more users.
No doubt, there are a plethora of benefits associated with TikTok marketing. Below are ten key marketing strategies sellers can use.
How to capitalize on TikTok marketing strategies
Have a defined target audience
First off, sellers must understand that the audience on TikTok is way younger than those on other social media apps. According to reports, 37.3 million users on TikTok are zoomers, projected to hit 48.8 million.
To get a targeted TikTok audience for a business, retailers need to identify their key challenges and opportunities. Then, thay have to create marketing content that perfectly suits them.
Study what the competition is doing
Sellers can have an effective TikTok marketing strategy by thoroughly analyzing their competitors’ content. That way, sellers will understand what their competitors are doing differently, hone, and apply it to their businesses.
Sellers can run a comprehensive analysis by reviewing every content their competitors upload. For instance, check their TikTok posts with the most engagements, likes, and impressions to discover the common key factors that brought about the success.
Bonus; consider competitor’s failed posts and identify what factors caused the failure.
Here are vital questions to ask when analyzing your TikTok competitors:
- What time do they publish their TikTok content?
- Do they tag people on their posts? If yes, who?
- Do they reply to comments?
- Are their posts user-generated content?
- What hashtags do they use for each post?
Create original content
Brands on TikTok must take authentic content production seriously, especially if they plan to target a certain niche audience. Users always want something fresh and original. They feel less connected when brands use corporate video content, fancy edits, 4K videos, etc.
And it’s because TikTok is a community of people who love to have fun, be informed, and stay happy. Hence, sellers should focus on creating non-salesy videos. That way, it’s easier to build a strong connection and sell to users’ emotions.
Leverage TikTok Ads
Sellers can get the best of TikTok marketing by leveraging TikTok Ads, a new feature that allows brands to run Ads on the platform to targeted audiences.
Interestingly, TikTok offers three categories of Ads, which suit different brands depending on their needs. They are as follows:
- Brand Takeover Ads: This ad type utilizes a combination of videos, GIFs, and still images that link back to a seller’s landing page or hashtag ad.
- Hashtag Challenge Ads: This ad is a good fit for sellers who want to target specific users. With this ad type, users see a banner ad that directs them to a page with a set of instructions for a specific hashtag challenge.
- In-feed Native Ads: Closely related to the conventional ad type, the in-feed native ads are skippable ads to whcih sellers can add links to their website or a Shop button.
Post regularly
TikTok usually awards regular postings on the platform. Hence, it’s ideal for sellers to post more videos consistently on TikTok. As a result, TikTok’s algorithm will naturally put the content in the faces of relevant users—which translates to more followers.
A survey was carried out on over one hundred thousand successful TikTok accounts, and they were able to deduce timeframes (Eastern time) ideal for posting content.
They are as follows:
- Sunday: 7 a.m, 8 a.m, and 4 p.m
- Monday: 6 a.m, 10 a.m, and 10 p.m
- Tuesday: 2 a.m, 4 a.m, and 9 a.m
- Wednesday: 7 a.m, 8 a.m, and 11 p.m
- Thursday: 9 a.m, 12 a.m, and 7 p.m
- Friday: 5 a.m, 1 p.m, and 3 p.m
- Saturday: 11 a.m, 7 p.m, and 8 p.m
Use the right gear for better results
Businesses can create a great first impression with quality videos and excellent sound. A seller can achieve this feat by investing in the right gears and filming in well-lit spaces. Bonus tip; replace the original sound with a trending track if you can’t get clear audio.
Boost human connection by using the TikTok LIVE feature
Businesses must include the TikTok LIVE feature in their marketing strategy. It’s a reliable way to put a face to the business, creating a human connection with the audience. In addition, it’s a great way to stand out amongst competitors. TikTok helps businesses push notifications to their followers about live streaming, which are pinned at the top of the audience page.
Interestingly, TikTok promotes this feature massively, and it’s quite easy to use. One of the easiest ways of using the going-live feature is by writing down FAQs and updating the list with every session. Also, it’s important to answer the questions appropriately during a LIVE and thank followers who send emojis/stickers. Scheduling LIVEs is vital because it helps businesses build a community around the stream.
In short, businesses can run LIVEs in a way that pleases the TikTok algorithm. Starting a Livestream based on followers’ time zones is another way to increase viewership.
Use the comments section to boost interaction
The comments section on TikTok is a great place for explaining, conversing, and communicating. Sellers can check this section often to communicate with viewers. When brands comment on a post, the responses usually show a username and Creator badge—which thrills users.
Likes are another function that comes in handy when businesses want to acknowledge comments without typing a response. If the comments are too many, likes are ideal for responding to reasonable and recurring comments in a video post.
Businesses can gain a huge following from commenting or liking with verified accounts. No doubt, comments are a huge part of the TikTok experience. So, businesses have to leverage them as their channels grow.
Study the trends on the platform
The TikTok discover page is a good place to check before posting any content. And that’s because the page informs businesses about hashtag challenges or TikTok trends of the day that are useful for producing content. Also, the social media platform’s algorithm helps to increase followers. So, the goal is to stay attuned to trends and look more human, displaying relevance to followers.
TikTok doesn’t use keywords or hashtags to find content for the audience. Instead, the platform uses clusters to feed videos from the For You page. Cluster refers to audiences with similar video interests. The hashtags are useful for pushing the videos to specific clusters.
Businesses should create video content with trending hashtags to increase views.
Be creative with categorizing to increase viewership
It’s quite common for successful business accounts on Tiktok to bake in titles at the beginning of their videos. They do this to give their audience a preview of what to expect as they scroll through the profiles. Hence, businesses can employ colored titles for categorizing their videos to help viewers explore the content of interest and boost viewership.
It’s also vital to ensure that the titles are in the middle of the screen, considering that TikTok’s user interface overlays on the right side and bottom. No doubt, different smartphones have various aspect ratios. However, the rule of thumb is to keep crucial content away from the edges to allow the audience to see it properly.
If brands plan to create content that will be accessible to all audiences in all contexts, they can use closed captions on the videos where needed. TikTok’s timed text feature is also resourceful for making the process super easy.
Final words
TikTok is more than a dancing or skit app. The social network stands out for its stylistic difference, allowing businesses to connect with their audience personally. In other words, TikTok is a goldmine for businesses that know how to balance marketing and originality.
