TikTok Marketing for beginners

How to start your small business using TikTok

ONLINE BUSINESSTIPS AND TRICKSTIKTOKSOCIAL MEDIAENTREPRENEURSHIP

7/11/20234 min read

black and white nike smartphone
black and white nike smartphone

TikTok is steadily gaining popularity amongst most markets and many businesses and brands are starting to figure out how to have a strong TikTok presence to promote their products and services.

The TikTok app is still relatively new and has less automated marketing tools than the other social media platforms. This means that big businesses have not yet come up with an effective TikTok advertising strategy.

The fact that the platform leans towards sharing short videos makes it challenging for larger companies and brands to create marketing content that matches TikTok's content type. But this makes it ideal for small businesses to get ahead in the TikTok marketing trend.

However, like every type of marketing, TikTok marketing and advertising requires proper planning to get the best results. If you are not sure how to start using TikTok to market your business, product or service, the tips below can be your starting point.

Open Your TikTok Account
Even if your social media marketing strategy leans more towards TikTok advertising or hiring influencers, you still need to create your business's TikTok account and profile where you can share some self-generated TikTok marketing videos and share your content organically

Unlike the videos for other marketing platforms, your TikTok videos should communicate your intended messages within a short time and with a creative flare — remember TikTok is designed for an age group that gets bored very quickly, so you need to quickly get their attention and engage with them.

Follow Current TikTok Trends
Keeping yourself up-to-date with the current trends and events on the TikTok platform can help you identify marketing opportunities and take advantage of them. For example, you can use a trending hashtag to create a video that not only jumps on the trend, but also promotes your brand at the same time. Since trends come and go within a short time, you should always check what is new and be ready to create content that relates to the trending content.

While you are trying to make your videos relate to the current trends, always make sure that you retain the originality and uniqueness of your content by avoiding copying other people's ideas directly.

Collaborate with Creators
The main reason why some people become social media influencers is the quality of their content. Due to their content, these people attract a huge following: people who enjoy viewing, commenting, and sharing the influencer's content. As a business, you can benefit greatly by partnering with these influencers and getting them to build your TikTok campaigns for you. Influencers can very easily create attention-grabbing and engaging content that resonates with their audience, and their followers will spread it further through sharing, likes and comments.

But, TikTok has also led to the generation of user generated content and personal branding. This has led to over 65% of users stating that they have bought something they had seen advertised on the platform, but only from trusted creators. The rise of the microinfluencer is here, and TikTok is a platform that likes the share don't sell.

Build Up Conversations with Your TikTok Audience

Like any other social media platform, you can only create a strong TikTok community through frequent engagement, and TikTok is striving to become known as the REAL community platform. Comments can help build conversations that will help you learn more about consumer's perception of your product or brand. Thoughtful, helpful, and meaningful comments will have a higher impact than bland statements since TikTok ranks comments by the number of likes received. Engagment in your following is rewarded, as the community atmosphere on the platform, the personal brand and relatability is what converts

Post TikTok Videos Regularly
With frequent posts on TikTok, you are more likely to increase your followers since many more people are likely to come across your videos. If your content is exciting and unique, more people who find your TikTok account will follow or even share your videos for others to enjoy.

Be Entertaining on TikTok
When posting content on TikTok, you should never forget that the platform is meant for education and entertainment, not advertisements. Also, most TikTok users are younger, who will ignore ads and anything close to conventional advertising. Therefore, you should come up with highly creative ways to market your product indirectly. For example, you can start a TikTok challenge for people using your product correctly – or silly ways on how not to use it!

TikTok Marketing for Beginners – Quick Takeaways

· TikTok is steadily gaining popularity among young people and many businesses and brands are starting to figure out how to have a strong TikTok presence to promote their products and services.

· The TikTok app is still relatively new and has less automated marketing tools than the other social media platforms. This means that big businesses have not yet come up with an effective TikTok advertising strategy.

· The platform leans towards sharing short videos. This makes it ideal for small businesses to get ahead in the TikTok marketing trend.

· Even if your social media marketing strategy leans more towards TikTok advertising or hiring influencers, you still need to create your business's TikTok account and profile to share organic content.

· Your TikTok videos should communicate your intended messages within a short time and with a creative flare.

· Keeping yourself up to date with the current trends and events on the TikTok platform can help you identify marketing opportunities.

· You can use a trending hashtag to create a video that not only jumps on the trend, but also promotes your brand at the same time.

· As a business, you can benefit greatly by partnering with influencers and getting them to build your TikTok campaigns for you.

· Like any other social media platform, you can only create a strong TikTok community through frequent engagement.

· Thoughtful, helpful, and meaningful comments will have a higher impact than bland statements.

· With frequent posts on TikTok, you are more likely to increase your followers.

· If your content is exciting and unique, more people who find your TikTok account will follow or even share your videos.

· When posting content on TikTok, you should never forget that the platform is meant for education and entertainment, not advertisements.

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