Step into the world of TikTok and discover effective strategies to captivate and grow your audience for business success.
TikTok is a short-form video-sharing application where users can create and instantly share 15-second videos on just about every topic imaginable. The app offers its users a variety of convenient features, including a wide selection of songs and sound snippets and the option of adding videos directly from their phones.
Since it was introduced to the market in 2016, TikTok’s popularity has been on a steady rise. In fact, it was the most downloaded app in 2022, with 672 million downloads globally. The app currently has more than 1 billion monthly users, 60% of which are Gen Z, with the majority of them located in the United States.
What are the benefits of TikTok for small businesses?
TikTok has become a great marketing tool for small businesses around the world and is becoming an integral part of today’s marketing campaigns. Considering the huge number of active users each day, small businesses can take advantage of the app to quickly and easily create unique and diverse types of content for their customers to market their new products and services.
Here are some of the reasons why TikTok is a smart choice for small business marketing:
- Audience reach. It’s no secret that TikTok ranks as one of the most popular social media platforms. Its approximately 1 billion active users span more than 140 countries. All these users significantly increase the chances that potential customers will be exposed to your products through the videos you post on the app, known as TikTok marketing.
- Consumer engagement. People who download TikTok don’t do so just to passively watch videos—they also actively engage with and share the content, which allows your products to be seen by a wider audience. An average user spends about 45 minutes a day on the application, and this number keeps increasing.
- Creative opportunity. Most businesses on TikTok thrive because the app is user-friendly, which gives them the ability to create entertaining and whimsical content with ease, allowing them to reach more customers using less energy and resources.
What’s the best way for small businesses to use TikTok?
Succeeding with TikTok videos requires a mastery of certain skills. Below are some of our top tips for helping small businesses harness the full marketing potential of TikTok.
Study the popular trends among users in your target group
On any given day (or month), TikTok users upload lots of fresh content that may focus on certain topics, such as pranks, DIY videos or other TikTok trends. If you observe that your target demographic is mostly engaging with DIY content, you can adjust your videos to align with your audience’s interests.
Engage in TikTok challenges
One of the best ways of increasing visibility and engagement is by participating in TikTok challenges. Try to identify activities or songs that are trending and create your own version on TikTok. Young people like supporting brands that resonate with them.
Use a less commercial approach
Unlike other social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok doesn’t necessarily favor high-quality, polished content. That’s one reason why it’s gained a lot of popularity as a casual platform where a variety of users feel comfortable expressing their ideas in short video formats. As such, content creators should allow themselves to be driven by what’s trending on the platform without spending too much time making a video that looks overly professional.
Post about your location
Location is an important driver of brand awareness. Including your location in hashtags and captions will encourage local customers to share your video, building a loyal community of followers. You should also be sure to mention the location of your business during your videos whenever possible.
How to get started creating a TikTok strategy for your business
Although you may be well versed with Facebook or Instagram, it’s important to remember that TikTok is a completely different platform, with a completely different user experience, that requires some unique planning and strategizing.
Some of the steps you should follow when getting started include the following:
- Familiarize yourself with TikTok by taking some time to play around with the app.
- Spend time researching how TikTok’s algorithm will affect the visibility of your videos and which metrics you will use to evaluate performance.
- Understand who your target audience is on TikTok and spend some time studying which types of videos and influencers they engage with.
- Learn about some of the key players on TikTok related to your product niche, whether or not they are TikTok influencers, and study how they engage with their audiences.
- Check out your competitors’ videos to see which ones are working well and which ones aren’t.
- When you’re ready, create fresh videos that will connect with your target audience, and encourage users to share them.
- Respond to user comments as much as possible to keep your audience engaged.
- When you’re first starting out, consider paying for TikTok ads or influencer marketing to reach a wider audience quicker.
Marketing help for your business
While social media platforms like TikTok are excellent tools for marking your products and business, how you implement your social media marketing strategy will largely determine its effectiveness. Hiring a social media marketing company can help take your business to another level, saving you time and money in the process.
Are you considering the leap into video marketing? Look no further. At Brown Bag, we’re a dynamic team of digital storytellers ready to propel your brand to new heights. As a full-service digital marketing agency, our know-how lies in breathing life into brands through the power of video. Let us help you harness this influential medium to engage, inspire, and accelerate your business toward its goals. Get in touch with us to transform your marketing strategy today.