TikTok might not be your first choice of social media platforms on which to market your small business. After all, TikTok is a place where kids hang out, right?
Well, it might surprise you to learn that there are approximately 80 million active users of TikTok in the United States, and almost 38% of those users are over the age of 30. In addition, TikTok is growing fast, and business competition is relatively low on the site. So, it might be time to reconsider your opinion of TikTok as a marketing opportunity.
What is TikTok?
TikTok allows users to share short videos and interact with friends and followers. Videos on the site are limited to 60 seconds. But TikTok recently announced that this limit is to be extended to 3 minutes.
There are plenty of editing and special effects options provided for creators on the site. So, it is relatively easy to produce cool-looking videos without any special equipment or software. And, if people like your videos, they can share them and comment on them as they would on other social media platforms.
How to Use TikTok to Market Your Small Business
The crucial point to remember is that TikTok is about creativity and fun. So, this is not the platform for hard-sell tactics. Instead, use your imagination and sense of humor to create content that will be exciting and engaging. And, of course, like all social media platforms, engaging with your audience is critical to success on TikTok. Here are some tips to help you get started using TikTok to promote your small business.
- Familiarize Yourself with TikTok
It would be best to familiarize yourself with the platform if you have never visited TikTok before. So, set up a personal account before you begin marketing your business, and spend a couple of weeks finding your way around and viewing content on the site. Being an observer for a few weeks will allow you to discover what content resonates with TikTok users. It will also help you understand how to compress content into short, engaging videos for use in your TikTok marketing campaigns.
- Finding Topics for Your Videos
Selecting topics for TikTok videos is no different from any other format. You will want your TikTok content to be on-brand, and you will want to target your videos to the relevant audience. But finding topics that will interest or inform your audience is much the same process for TikTok as for a blog, YouTube, or Facebook. The crucial difference being that TikTok videos are short and must be exciting and entertaining.
- Optimise Your Profile
The first step to marketing your business on TikTok is to set up a free business profile. And when you set up your profile, make the most of all the available options. For example, upload a high-quality image or logo, and make full use of the bio by including relevant keywords. You can also add links in your bio to your YouTube and Instagram profiles and one link to your website.
- Keep Content Short and Engaging
People don’t visit TikTok for long-winded in-depth content. So, even though the maximum video length is now 3 minutes, it is still best to aim for 15-30 seconds. That may not seem like a long time. Even so, if you stick to the crucial points, you will be surprised how much you can get across in 30 seconds. And remember, you can break the content down into a series of shorter videos if needed.
- Use Hashtags Wisely
Hashtags work the same on TikTok as they do on other platforms. However, you only have 100 characters to describe a video, so the number of hashtags you can use is limited, and it is best to ensure that the video description makes sense to a reader. So, embed relevant hashtags into video descriptions in such a way that sentences still make sense.
- Follow the Trends
TikTok tends to be dominated by trends. For example, a particular type of music or dance might be trending. There will be popular hashtags associated with these popular videos, the use of which could increase views of your content.
Of course, some TikTok trends will not be suitable for your brand, and it would be best if you stayed true to your brand rather than blindly following trends. Even so, there will be some trends that you can use to your advantage. So, keep an eye on what is trending by browsing the TikTok Discover tab.
- Aim To Grab Attention Immediately
TikTok users generally flick through content until they find something that interests them. So, it would help if you had something that will grab people’s attention in the first few seconds.
The first way that you can create attention-grabbing videos is to be original. So, if you follow a trend, create content with your own take on that trend. Try to plan your video to entice visitors in the first few seconds, so they hang around to learn more.
- Be an Active User
Some of the most successful TikTok users post content daily. However, daily posting might be a bit much for small businesses. Even so, it will still help extend your reach if you post new content regularly, and it would also help if you interact with the TikTok community. So, post to a schedule, comment on other people’s content and reply to comments left on your content. And follow other users who post content related to your niche.
- Entertain and Inform
TikTok users have a reputation for ignoring advertisements. So, you will get better results from your TikTok marketing if your videos are entertaining or informative rather than straightforward ads.
You can still make product-centric videos. But instead of advertising the product, provide tips on how to use it. Or, show how some of your customers have used your product and the surprising benefits they gained. The crucial thing to remember is that people visit TikTok to be entertained, not bombarded by advertisements.
- Be Genuine
Finally, TikTok is a platform for user-generated content. So, it is generally best not to make your content appear too polished, professional, or corporate. Instead, create content that is accessible and conversational.
Of course, it is still best to create good quality content. However, think of it as creating one-to-one content for a friend rather than an advertisement for mass consumption. And don’t try to be someone you are not. Instead, create content that is natural and authentic.
Conclusion
TikTok does have a younger user base than most of the other big social media platforms. However, it would be a mistake to assume that all TikTok users are children. Indeed a significant number of TikTok users could be prospective customers for your business.
So, check out TikTok first and spend some time familiarizing yourself with the site. Develop content that entertains and informs and will catch people’s eyes. And then, try a few different content formats on the site, interact with users, and see how it goes. You might find that TikTok provides you with another valuable source of leads and sales.
