Tiktok Marketing For Small Business

Many people love watching videos, and for the past few years, a video-based social network called TikTok has become very popular, especially for Gen-Z and Millennials.

For your business to reach a broader but younger audience, you will have to figure out how to use TikTok marketing for your small business products and services.

This post, therefore, explains everything you need to know about marketing and growing your small business or startup on TikTok.

What is TikTok for Business, and Why is it Important?

TikTok for business is a centralized platform used for advertising on TikTok. The platform guides marketers instead of allowing them to devise their TikTok marketing strategy. They are guided through the entire process of creating ads, reaching the right audience, setting budgets, and analyzing campaign data.

The platform’s goal is to help online brands showcase their creative side by showing them how to create authentic ads that will give them more views and engagement and increase the brand’s awareness. An e-learning center also teaches users how ads are made on the Ads Manager platform.

Advertisement is the sole marketing strategy that helps businesses grow their brands on TikTok. The Ads Manager platform helps marketers create these ads and gives them five different formats. These five formats are:

Top View Ads

Top View Ads are video ads that appear just once each day when a user launches the app. The ads can last for up to a minute with the sound on. The length of its videos is usually longer than the average time of standard videos, making Top View Ads best for advertising products that require longer attention, such as movie trailers.

In-Feed Ads

In-Feed ads usually appear on the For You page of users. The For You Page is that page that is seen by users when they first open the app. It features content that the algorithm of TikTok believes will interest the user, which is usually based on the user’s browsing activity.

In-Feed ads can have a duration of between 5 to 15 seconds and are shown for only one day in the user feeds. Marketers who want to advertise can use in-feed ads to get more conversions by adding Call To Action to the videos. A finance company called Acorns used an in-feed ad with a Call To Action to make users download their app.

Hashtag challenges

Hashtag challenges allow brands to create unique challenges and invite other users to create content around that TikTok challenge. Brands that use this ad format have complete access to the hashtag, but this isn’t the case for brands on other social media platforms. Hashtag challenges have a duration of six days to run.

Brand takeover

The brand takeovers of TikTok capture the user’s attention with a full-screen dynamic display to deliver a powerful visual impact for your brand. To advertise, users can use a static image, GIF, or a 3 to 5 seconds video for the ad, and a link can be added to the ad to help take viewers to your website.

Branded effects

Advertisers can use branded effects like 2D, 3D, or AR effects to add images of the products they sell to their TikTok videos. Brands can, with this effect, create stickers of their products and design bespoke filters that can be used by TikTokers when they make videos. The use of these branded effects causes an increase in engagements and boosts brand awareness.

Tips on how small businesses use TikTok Business

To be able to use TikTok, it’s key to understand some principles that will help you get started. Three (3) of these tips you can take with you are:

1. Determine Your Goals

The first tip that would help you get started with TikTok for Business is understanding what you want your brand to achieve on the platform.

You may or may not have your goals determined yet or may have determined but have plans of changing them with time. No matter the group you’re in, it’s good that you have an idea of what initial direction you want to move in. 

Some of the ideas for goals that will help you in laying the foundation for your business TikTok business account: Educate Target Audience, Target Future Employees, Grow Brand Awareness, Target Future Clients or Customers, Increase Sales, Increase Clicks to the Website, Stay On-Brand, Increase Your Audience Reach.

2. Share Valuable Information

Now that you have achieved your goals, valuable content must be created that can be used for these goals. Think of this goal as a growing plant, and each TikTok video is uploaded as watering that goal. The more value the content offers, the lesser time it takes you to achieve your goals.

It is therefore imperative to consider your audience when you create content and always provide what they are searching for in your videos.

If your content does not give value to your target audience, it will most likely not perform well in the algorithm or might end up on a user For You Page who is not likely to be interested in your brand. Content with little or no value is usually not rewarded and should be avoided at all costs.

3. Be Consistent

Consistency is key. Be deliberate to post regularly if possible and if not, stay consistent with the days you choose. When you start, it’s normal to feel like your content isn’t receiving enough attention, and this can be discouraging and may make you want to quit but stick with it.

Pay attention to your content that performs (even slightly) better than others, and evolve your TikTok marketing strategy accordingly. It’s a never-ending learning process, but you’ll be rewarded for perseverance and willingness to try new things.

Importance of TikTok for Business

The benefits of TikTok for Business are a lot, but you will need a clear view of what they are and how they can work for your brand. 

Using TikTok strategically can significantly benefit your business by allowing you to create diverse, engaging content that comes across as genuine to your consumers.

Plus, the importance of TIktok marketing for small business cannot be overemphasized in this our present age. Let’s consider the following:

• Audience Reach

The number of users and the rate of TikTok’s growth means it can provide your brand access to a large audience and makes it easier than other channels to create video content that reaches thousands of people and goes viral.

TikTok is a platform used in over 150 countries, so when a video goes viral on the platform, it can reach people worldwide. Therefore, if you aim to reach international markets, then TikTok is a good platform you could use to connect with new audiences in other countries.

• Video marketing is a priority.

The video marketing trend is becoming very popular and won’t disappear anytime. Research has proved that 86% of people prefer to see more videos from brands.

85% of brands already use video as a marketing tool, so for your video content reach to increase, TikTok is a good platform. And if you’re not using video as your marketing tool, it provides an accessible way to put videos into your exibusinessrketing strategy.

• It’s easy to connect with an audience.

With trends like hashtag challenges, it is pretty straightforward for your Business to be promoted and reach an audience. An idea or theme can be chosen for your brand, and users are encouraged to create or recreate videos using your preferred branded hashtag. This is a good way of increasing interactions with your brand and encouraging engagement.

• Consumer engagement

Users who download the app actively engage with content on TikTok, which results in a high engagement level. The average user spends about 858 minutes monthly on the app, which increases dramatically yearly. Also, because of the unique delivery algorithms of TikTok, you now can see high brand engagement.

• Cbusinessopportunity

Once your brand’s content is entertaining, it can thrive on TikTok, allowing you to explore the different parts of your Business, like what makes you fun and interesting. TikTok also provides a platform that welcomes these fun aspects and can also get you to make money.

Tips for using TikTok for small businesses

TikTok is a valuable social media marketing tool that any business can quickly adopt. For higher engagements when using TikTok for your Business, here are some tips to follow:

1. Research popular trends amongst users in your target audience.

This strategy benefits TikTok but can be used on any social media platform. TikTok sees high volume around topics like entertainment, dance, pranks, DIY, travel, and learning.

Examine your target audience to know what content they engage with the most, and use that knowledge to influence the kind of videos you make.

Let’s say you notice your target audience highly engages with prank videos; you can create and post videos of your employees playing pranks in the office.

2. Use a less commercial approach.

TikTok rejects polished, high-quality content, unlike other social media platforms. Due to this, it is now seen as a casual platform where users are comfortable expressing themselves.

CEO of Tinysponsor Mike, said “The beauty of TikTok is that it’s an accessible creative space. That means it thrives on a tobusinessuirkiness and avoids heavily commercial-style productions.”

Try to engage with your audience even as you share the fun part of your Business.

Head of corporate communications at Charming Charlie, Madelyn Fitzpatrick, said “TikTok is a hub of creative, fun, and sometimes crazy ideas, so try to soften the brand tone and join the playful community. Avoid being overly formal and stiff.”

3. Participate in TikTok challenges.

A simple way to increase engagement and visibility is to be a part of TikTok challenges. You could find out which song or activity is trending and create your own brand’s version of one to post on your TikTok. This increases your visibility and makes your brand seem more relatable and down to earth.

The younger part of TikTok’s audience prefers brands they connect to. Participating in challenges helps you connect to your audience, especially if teens or young adults are your target demographics.

Don’t forget to include the relevant hashtags when you post a challenge video, as it increases your chances of getting to peoples’ For You pages.

4. Post about your location.

Location can be a key driver for brand awareness, especially for small local businesses. Talbusinessyour location in your videos, which can also be used in your caption and hashtag.

This will help people in your location find your Business. It is helpful to create videos unique to your lobusiness and makes your product or service more relatable to locals.

How to set up a TikTok business account

• Get a TikTok Business Account

If you already have a personal TikTok account, it is pretty simple to switch to a Business Account: skip right to step 4.

1) Download and open the TikTok app.

2) Create a personal account. You can use your email or log in with your Google, Twitter, or Facebook account.

3) Tap ‘Me’ in the lower right corner, then tap ‘Edit Profile’, which is where you can add a profile picture and bio and also links to other social accounts.

4) Then switch to a Business Account by tapping on the three dots in the upper right corner, then tap Manage Account.

• Manage Accounts on TikTok

5) Select Business or Creator by tapping Switch To Pro Account.

6) Choose a category that best describes the account. Include your company’s website and email in your profile.

7) Welcome to your businessusiness account.

TikTok Marketing Strategy for Small Businesses

Here are 10 TikTok marketing strategies you need to take your business to the next level. 

1. Use The Most Relevant Hashtags for Your Brands

There are a lot of advantages TikTok offers brands for marketing success. These are: 

– It helps you know your competitors 

– It increases the reach of your content

– Helps you get more followers

So, as a growing small business owner who wants to build your brand on TikTok, you need to add relevant trending hashtags to your video caption.

Avoid adding the most popular hashtags because it might cause your videos to get drowned in a sea of content. It’s, therefore, best to have your videos stand out in less popular categories.

Any marketing campaign aims to get your videos viewed by the most relevant people to your campaign. So don’t just focus on hashtags because they are popular.

2. Post Regularly Captivating Videos with Very Detailed Descriptions

Reaching a large audience on TikTok doesn’t just happen when you post. How consistently you post your videos also impacts how your content is distributed on the platform. It is recommended to post on TikTok 1-4 times a day.

Never forget that consistency is vital to growing your audience. This also goes for any paid ads you run. Don’t just post blatant ads. Even the official ads posted should add value to your target audience. 

The description of your video in a good way is also very essential for search engine optimization because it’ll tell Tiktok about your videos when it indexes and help suggest them to your preferred audience.

Also, don’t forget to add your most important keywords in your descriptions which should make sense and not just be random words.

As screen space is restricted, prepare brand descriptions and ensure they are concise and to the point. In the end, make sure your TikTok video is appropriate for the audience you’re attempting to reach.

3. Include TikTok Influencers in Your Campaign by Working Together

Like Instagram, TikTok has many influencers that have established themselves by the caliber of their content.

As a result, most firms establish fruitful working connections with the influencers of their future clients. Even more influential on today’s teens and tweens than the traditional movie or TV stars, the introduction of TikTok has given rise to a new generation of influencers.

These are the exact influencers that you should work with when launching your TikTok marketing initiatives.

4. Engage Regularly With Your Audience

This can be done by encouraging your audience to comment on your videos.

Like on other social media platforms, you can also engage with people commenting on your videos. This is done to help you establish conversations with your customers.

You should also take time to watch other people’s videos and make constructive and thoughtful comments.

TikTok ranks the comments of users based on the number of likes each of the comments received. The more your comment is insightful, the more likes and comments it will get.

Therefore, ensure you have thought through your comments and made out their meaning before posting. Avoid commenting blandly like “nice post.”

5. Keep Up With Current Trends On TikTok

Like we said before, you can use hashtags as a part of your marketing strategy on TikTok to help keep track of the most trending ideas.

Finding trending hashtags is not a complicated task. All you need to do is go to the Discover tab and tap on “Trends” at the top of the screen. You can now create videos that relate to these trends and share them.

Trends change very fast, so make sure to regularly follow trends on TikTok so you can also change your content as they change.

Hashtag challenges are advantageous because they are an excellent way to develop new content ideas and send good trending vibes to the algorithm.

Find out different ways of making your videos unique and stand out. Make sure to not just copy other people’s videos and act like everybody, and never forget that it is essential to stand out.

6. Leverage TikTok Ads  

TikTok now has a new feature called formal ads, making it easy for businesses to advertise on the platform. The types of ads TikTok offers include: 

– TikTok’s Branded Hashtag Challenge 

This challenge, also known as HTC, is gradually changing the nature of the advertising space. The user is given a banner ad that directs them to a page with instructions and rules guiding the challenge.

HTC is changing how companies interact with their audience and turning consumers from passive spectators to active participants.

– Brand takeover ads

The ads you receive immediately when you open your TikTok app are brand takeover ads. Brand takeover ads use a mixture of images, GIFs, and video clips that have a link to a landing page or hashtag challenge.

When you open the application, they appear and show a full-screen video to your target audience. This ad allows you to raise awareness and drive direct sales. Using this type of ad, you can place your message in front of your target audience.

– In-Feeds Ads

These are video ads that appear between users’ videos when you scroll down your “For You” page. These are the ads that are closest to a traditional ad on TikTok. 

– TopView Ads 

These are the ads that are the first message in the feed. When you open your app, it appears 3 seconds after. These are different from Brand Takeover Ads.

7. Add a Link To Your Website

Immediately you get 1,000 followers, TikTok offers you an opportunity to add a link to your website on your profile page, and you can also add a link in the caption of every video you post. 

If you create a video that speaks of a specific perfume brand, you could add the link to the perfume brand on your website in the video’s caption.

You can connect your TikTok profile to your Instagram account if you have an account. This would help you increase your audience on both platforms. 

Prepare your descriptions and keep them short, showing that screen space is limited. Finally, ensure your video is relevant to the target audience on TikTok.

8. Create Videos With Vertical Form

TikTok is a platform for vertical videos, unlike YouTube. Video formats are designed as videos shot directly from your smartphone. So to begin your creation of content with the right dimensions, you don’t need cameras or external equipment.

Contents created for other platforms should not be used again on TikTok. You are to create videos meant for TikTok specifically.

9. Add TikTok Effects in Your Videos Posts

To create more attractive and unique videos, you would have to always consider adding a different touch to your videos so they stand out from the crowd. 

This could be done by adding effects to your videos. These effects could be found under the Effects tab, which is divided into the following categories: Trend, New, Interactive, Edit, Beauty, Funny, World, and Animal.

TikTok also offers a green screen effect which allows you to use any image of your choice to replace the background of the video. 

10. Track Results Regularly To Optimize Your Tiktok Marketing Strategies

In the “Settings and Privacy” section, tracking and exploring your account’s analytics for over the last 7, 28, or 60 days or for a customized period can be done. 

The collected data allows you to see the videos that have generated the most interest from your audience. This information can now be used to shape the content you create in the future.

UTM tags could also be added to ebusinesshe links on TikTok. These tags track the number of clicks these links receive and the user’s behavior.

Small Business Brand Examples On Tiktok 

• Pwuffyshop

This small Business functions from Atlanta and displays its adorable apparel on its vibrant TikTok account. Pwuffyshop has a range of accessories and stationery, which has cute designs. 

The shop owner creates all her designs, like the macabre, a blend between a rabbit and a macaron. Pwuffyshop also sells a collection of high-quality enamel pins which feature some of their best-selling designs.

Joyce, the shop owner, also talks about their manufacturing process and describes the highs and lows of setting up an online business. Having 762.7K followers, pwuffyshop has used TikTok’s interactive features to create a profitable business venture. 

• Starfallcandleco

Over the last few years, Artisan candles have been a key trend that has inspired independent candle makers to develop their range of scents. starfallcandleco has 131.9K followers due to their eclectic assortment of candles and room sprays.

They provide scents like Frosted Sugar Cookie and Bourbon Butterscotch, whicbusinessto distinguish themselves from other candle producers on the market. 

Starfallcandleco also uses TikTok to check its growth, showing how each product has changed since the Business first launched in 2020. Because they are a 100% vegan company, the owner of this account showed how their wide range of products are made, and an ethical manufacturing process is ensured with every product.

• Reluxeandco

This company has taken upcycling to the next level by transforming vintage luxury goods into contemporary accessories. Their store has a wealth of high-end items like Chanel pendants and Dior bracelets. They remove various pendants and logos from older items and recreate them into attractive jewelry pieces.

This has stopped a large number of designer items from ending up in the trash. Their TikTok teems with up-close shots of their most popular products, which creates a more immersive experiencebusinessential customers.

reluxeandco’s intuitive business strategy has given them 55.4K followers, impressive, and an additional 1.4 million likes. 

• Idewcare

This ingenious small Business uses the TikTok platform to promote unique skincare products to their target market of Gen Z customers. 

Idewcare sells products such as Get To The Root(its exfoliating sea salt scalp scrub) designed to remove build-up and stimulate the hair follicles. They also sell various accompanying accessories like the Bristle Boost Scalp Massager.

The various contributors to this account have used TikTok in a very successful way which is to provide demonstrations on how to use each product accurately and safely.

This is for their 458.8K followers to get the most out of their purchases. Idewcare has also moved into mainbusinesstores, stocking its products in Target and Ulta Beauty. 

• Sugar.republic

This company is based in Southern California, it sells a variety of handmade phone cases. This small Business produces phone cases for iPhone and Android users to help cover the full scope of the smartphone market.

Their designs are usually packed with color and off-beat designs, like flame and butterfly cases, that follow a signature Y2K style. sugar. republic also creates phone cases related to popular TikTok trends, such as their humorous range of pastel Ghost Face cases.

Their TikTok account shows the distinction of each style, helping their 216.2K followers choose the best case for themselves. Also, they sell phone accessories such as pop sockets and phone case charms.

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TikTok has predominantly been seen for the youthful demographic, but things have changed. businesse a lot of Gen-Xers on the platform now, unlike before.

TikTok for Business is indeed an essential social media platform. Its force ibusinessg to be considered by your business to help you connect, engage with, and interact with target customers who are part of your audience and make them more aware of your Business.

With this TIktok marketing for small business guide, your sojourn to run a successful tiktok marketing campaign has jus being made simple!

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