TikTok is one of the leading social media platforms today, with a whopping one billion active users all over the globe. Not only is it a place to watch, create, and share different video content but when used in the right way, TikTok can also be an avenue for knowledge and growth. Yes, you can use TikTok for your business.
Considering that this continuously growing social media outlet covers a wide reach, several individuals decided to maximize their TikTok usage to promote their businesses as well. TikTok boasts that its platform offers a huge opportunity for businesses. When you join the TikTok community, you can accelerate your business growth with its digital marketing resources. According to the platform, these digital marketing resources allow businesses to reach more engaged audiences, expand their brands, and increase sales.
According to a study conducted by InSites Consulting in 2020, 52 percent of TikTok users who come across small and medium-sized business (SMB) content on TikTok made a purchase through the platform. In the same study, 82 percent of TikTok users claimed that they discovered an SMB on the platform before seeing them elsewhere. These claims go to show that TikTok is an effective medium for both small and medium-sized businesses in terms of advertising.
In this feature, learn how you can start and grow your business using TikTok.
Get discovered
Of course, making your business thrive with TikTok will not be possible without creating a business account on the platform. The first thing you need to do if you want to partner up with TikTok is to set up an account on TikTok and make sure that it gets verified. Second, you need to build out a profile to understand what your audience responds well to. In business, you need to consider if you cater to the needs of your target audience. Then, you must tailor your content strategy and drive traffic to your site. How are you going to do this? You must carefully curate the content you will put out. Ensure that the kind of content you will post on TikTok is fresh, fun, and engaging.
Since you’ve just started using TikTok for your business, you should also learn about your audience through TikTok Insights. To carefully plan your brand campaign strategies, you have to know who your audience is, including their behaviors and interests. Through TikTok Insights, you can explore top hashtags and interest categories that resonate with your audience. You may consider incorporating these hashtags or interests when planning your brand campaigns and themes. You may also add trending hashtags in your video content for more views and more audience, leading to more consumers. TikTok Insights also allows you to find new audiences beyond those you usually target to create brand awareness and drive sales.
Grow your business
In growing your business with TikTok, creating interesting content is not enough. The ones that hit the key to success do so through engaging and connecting with their audiences at a deeper level. In short, you have to showcase authenticity in the content you put out. Let your business do the storytelling. It will get you to places. Being authentic doesn’t require big budgets or polished production. You just have to keep in mind to structure your content around narrative formats that are simple to execute. It will save both your time and money.
Creating a TikTok video is similar to creating a story. You have to put a beginning, middle, and ending to it. Below are some tips from TikTok on how to create a good narrative structure for your videos.
Image from Unsplash
Now you know the steps to create a narrative structure, here are seven steps you need to follow to create a TikTok video:
- Open the TikTok app and tap the ‘+’ sign at the bottom.
- Record footage or upload your own videos and photos.
- Choose a sound.
- Click ‘Adjust clip’ to edit your video.
- Add text and transitions.
- Write a short description and add hashtags to make it discoverable.
- Post your masterpiece!
To start promoting your products and services and managing your brand campaigns on TikTok, don’t forget to set up an Ads Manager account. Here’s how:
- Visit the Ads Manager sign-up page.
- Fill in your details then click ‘Send code’.
- Enter the verification code sent to your email or phone.
- Tap ‘Sign up’.
- Fill in your business info and the correct time zone (it can’t be changed later).
- Click ‘Register’.
Image from Unsplash
Engage your community
Aside from producing authentic content on TikTok, another way you can engage your community is to learn from your peers. Get inspiration from other brand success stories, and see how they took social media marketing to the next level.
Also, take note of the videos, hashtags, songs, and creators trending in your region to better cater to your audience’s needs.
Now that you know how to get discovered, grow your business, and engage your community on TikTok, all you need to do is to let your creative juices flow and put your ideas into action.
Miles Nicole See is a fourth-year student at the University of the Philippines Baguio. She is a Bachelor of Arts in Communication student with a major in Journalism and a minor in Broadcast Communication. In her free time, Miles is fond of visiting coffee shops, reviewing films on Letterboxd, and playing with her dogs.
