TikTok is currently one of the biggest social media platforms out there, so disregarding it when it comes to small business marketing is a big mistake.
If you’re trying to build a small business, or a following as an influencer or personality, TikTok is a strong platform use.
However, it can be a bit tricky to get started with. But if you’re ready to target the biggest new social media network, and one that is even said to be challenging Google for delivering search results, read on for our TikTok for business tips….
Quick, fast, memorable
The main element of TikTok is that it shows the user short videos. These can only last up to 3 minutes but it’s very clear that people’s preference tends to be way below that, somewhere around 30 seconds or even lower. This leaves you with very little time to catch a person’s attention and make them listen.
Obviously the trick is to make entertaining videos, designed to hook your target audience. Who is your target audience? Well, that’s for you to work out…
Small businesses and ads are all over the platform, so you do need to work out how you can be unique and stand out. But it still remains a place where you can make your mark before everyone else realizes the potential.
Top tip: Be efficient with your video runtime and be memorable to your audience. Using humour is one of the best ways to do this, as comedy videos tend to do the best.
Pay attention to the audience
TikTok users are mostly between the ages of 16 and 24, which means that your audience will mostly consist of Gen Z and Millenials. If you have been following the latest online trends then you will know that canceling people is huge at the moment within the younger generations and you don’t want that to happen to your own business as well. Especially not because of a small mistake or some insensitivity.
When people criticise you in the comments, listen to them and react thoughtfully and with care. Like all social media platforms there are obviously issues with rude people and trolls. But handling it like a pro, especially for TikTok business accounts, will go a long way to winning fans and followers.
Use current trends and sounds
Keep an eye on trending issues or subjects that you can capitalize on. Some of these will help you inform your future clients and customers while others will only be good for picking up some visibility at the time.
Both of these results can help push your content to the For You page, which for most marketers will be your biggest target. The For You page is where your audience who have never seen your content before can finally discover it and maybe (hopefully) even follow you.
A key strategy for business owners trying to build their TikTok audience is to focus on creating reactive, trending or meme worthy content. You might have seen hashtag challenges, or maybe noticed a trend that is worth jumping on for laughs.
Be brave, be funny and remember that TikTok is primarily all about entertainment content. Pushing your brand message ain’t gonna win you many fans.
Engage with people
This serves several purposes. First of all, it helps your audience understand your business, what you do and generally, you can just inform people what’s where and how they can get to you. This will eventually lead people towards following your brand and hopefully even purchasing your goods and services.
The second purpose is that it keeps your engagement up. What I mean by that is, the TikTok algorithm will see that people are commenting on a certain video more and more as the discussion goes on. The TikTokalgorithm will eventually think that your video is interesting enough or engaging content – which means it will draw in a broader audience. This will once again put you on people’s For You page more often, which is exactly what you need. You might even end up with an unexpected audience.
If you’re kind and caring towards your commenters you can also start to have a good relationship with them, which is key to having regular customers. You should be paying attention to this, especially if you have large ticket items in your shop, since people who come back to a store start to build trust and spend more money.
Don’t ignore controversy
There is a right and a wrong way to do controversy, and sometimes a little bit of controversy can be a good thing. These things can quickly blow up, and if you ride the waves right, you could be hooking in more than just your target demographic.
Have your say on political matters, weigh in on a debate, offer your support or criticism of a new initiative. But bear in mind who your target audience is…
Also, again, remember that TikTok is a platform mostly populated by Gen-Z and millenial internet users. So things like racism, homophobia, misogyny and exclusionary politics are unlikely to go down well.
Saying all that, the recent case of Andrew Tate did show how even a total sexist douchebag saying the dumbest shit can still build up a strong following. But do you want that brand personality?
Ignoring controversies is an easy option. But it makes for fun and engaging content. And if you can add something meaningful to the discussion then it’s great for marketing your own business.
Informative videos
Having these on your page is absolutely necessary, however your page can’t consist only of these. Informing people on what your business is and how things work will take up quite a few minutes, especially if you want to go into some nitty-gritty stuff. Only upload one or two of these a week and don’t repeat yourself over and over again.
It’s more likely that someone will find a shorter and funnier video of yours and ask something about your business there. This is your time to shine. Don’t guide them to your other video, don’t tell them to click through to your page. Make a stitch and answer their question head on and afterwards you can tell them that everything is on your profile. This makes you look better and will also get your engagement up.
Be authentic
Gen Z and Millenials are the exact people who are slowly starting to have enough of marketing and advertising. Because of this, having the classic customer service mentality in your TikTok video is not a good idea. We’ve had enough of ads on Instagram and Facebook, thanks very much.
Be direct, kind, but don’t strip your personality from yourself just so you can fit the usual mold that comes with being a business owner or advertising manager.
Being human and relatable will add some spice to your content, which people will catch onto more easily. After all, we like to see humans, not brands or companies.
We hope you’ve enjoyed these tips for using TikTok for business marketing. Got your own suggestions? Drop them in the comments below…
