TikTok For Business 101

Do you know that the #fentybeauty hashtag has over 44 million views on TikTok and #fentybeautyhouse has gained 10 million views in three weeks without any paid media on the platform? We are sure that you probably have known about TikTok before if you are into social media. Even if you are not, you’ve still undoubtedly heard of it.

Anyone can go viral is one of TikTok’s most intriguing features. It’s not impossible for someone with zero followers and zero views to publish a TikTok video one night and get a thousand or even a million views the next morning. With over 1 billion active users, a limitless pool of influencers, and a birthplace of trends, it’s impossible to ignore the power of TikTok to bring your business approach to large potential customer segmentation. 

So, what is TikTok?

TikTok, also domestically known as Douyin in China, is a short-form, video-sharing platform where you can become a content creator and unleash your brand’s creative side. Originally, the name of the app was Musical.ly changed to Tik Tok when the developers aimed to launch the product internationally. All of the content and users presented on Musical.ly were automatically transferred to the Tik Tok app. By doing that, Tik Tok had a pretty substantial injection of audiences.

Since its launch, the popularity of TikTok has been developing tremendously. As of March 2022, Tik Tok is available in over 150 countries and has over 1 billion users and over 200 million downloads only in the US. With its popularity, Tik Tok is transforming itself into a marketing weapon for businesses. Thus, no matter how big or small your business, no matter what you’re making or selling, on Tik Tok, Gearment believes your business can create your brand and market your products, and importantly, deserves to be discovered here.

How to use TikTok For Business

Step 1: Get on Tik Tok

Go to the Apple App Store or Google Play Store to download the TikTok app. Then, open it, and in the bottom menu bar, click “sign up”, so you can instantly register with Facebook, Gmail, Twitter, or even with your phone number. Besides, you can also sign up with a standard username and password if you don’t want to connect with your registered social media and email accounts.

Step 2: Switch to business account

On the top right of the “Me” page, click “…”, then, click “Manage account” and choose “Switch to Business Account”.Next, choose the category that best describes your business to receive customized content, events, and solutions and click “Next”. Then, you can add a bio to your profile, your email, and your social media link by clicking “Edit Profile”.

Congratulations! You’re all set. 

Get to know TikTok

Step 1: Identify your target audience

Before going to make your video, you must thoroughly understand Tik Tok users so that they identify your target audience.

1. Tik Tok users also use other social media platforms.

2. Tik Tok’s user base is 57% female. That figure rises to 61% for TikTok users in the US.
3. The percentage of U.S. – based TikTok users by age: 10-19 (32.5%), 20-29 (29.5%), 30-39 (16.4%), 40-49 (13.9%), 50+ (7.1%). This means that the TikTok user base is aging up.
4. TikTok is now available in 154 countries worldwide and in 75 different languages.

Step 2: Create a winning TikTok strategy

Even if you’re an Instagram or Facebook marketing pro, keep in mind that TikTok is its own gorgeous, chaotic beast that necessitates a unique strategy. Let’s dive into and truly understand TikTok to create a winning TikTok strategy.

Understand TikTok algorithm in 2022

What is the TikTok algorithm? Tik Tok algorithm is a recommendation engine deciding which videos display on your For You page. On their For You tab, no two users will watch identical videos, and the videos you see may change over time depending on your viewing choices and even your present mood.

Like other social media platforms, TikTok algorithm is a way of sorting posts in a users’ feed based on relevancy instead of publishing time. You might think social media platforms keep their algorithms secret. But, the good news is that social algorithms aren’t as spiteful or mysterious as you might think. TikTok doesn’t want spammers and other shady characters to be able to game the algorithm to get more attention than they deserve.

And, ​what factors influence the TikTok algorithm. The TikTok algorithm serves videos to users based on some different factors, including:

• Likes, comments, shares, and re-watches: The more views, likes, and comments a TikTok video receives, the more likely the video will reach larger audiences.
• Subject matter: when it comes to approaching potential viewers on Tik Tok as the app categorizes the content according to user interests. 
• Device settings: The algorithm recognizes a user’s device settings such as posting location and language — typically sharing local content.
• Audio and effect: Your video will likely be served to a larger audience when it includes a trending sound, effect, or song.
• Hashtags and caption keywords: Add hashtags and keywords in your video caption informs the algorithm what your video is about.
• User Activity and “Not Interested” Feedback: The TikTok algorithm is always attempting to provide high-interest content to each user, and it does so by analyzing prior user behavior. The number of likes, comments, shares, and re-watches are all important clues about the type of content the user likes or does not like. 

Step 3: Optimize your TikTok profile

When it comes to TikTok, your bio is the first and best chance to introduce yourself or your brand to potential new users. 

To stand out from the crowd and grab your audience’s attention, check out these six top tips:

1. Name a Clear Username and Display Name
2. Describe your brand account
3. Add a link in your bio
4. Choose a profile picture that presents your brand
5. Add a Call-to-actions – CTAs
6. Connect TikTok account with Instagram, Facebook, or Youtube accounts

Step 4: Create engaging Tik Tok content

There’s no secret recipe for making a successful TikTok video, but there are some good tips of thumb you should follow.

Be authentic and leverage user-generated content 

Keep it real, keep it organic, and create something truly engaging. Don’t focus on “branding” it too much; instead, create something which would drive lots of user-generated content. You don’t need to be original all the time as TikTok is a complementing and collaborative platform where everyone is continuously creating on what is already on the app, then, turning these into something completely new. Think about leveraging user-generated content as it is as important as initiating a trend yourself. But, remember that you should add your twist to keep it authentic, related, creative, and engaging. 

User-generated content is a kind of win-win content marketing strategy, especially in the era where customers are ready to rave about your products or services online. User-generated content is considered social proof and seeing reviews from real customers increases your credibility and brings your brand’s promises into perspective. Giveaways, duets, challenges,…are some ways to leverage user-generated content to market your brand on TikTok.

Take Vessi – a Canadian shoe company, as an example, Vessi is doing a great job on TikTok. One of its most successful campaigns has been its duet giveaway. It’s a win-win. They get to expand their reach and show off their amazing products, and the followers get to win free prizes. 

Make sure your video looks good

The higher the quality of your video, the more likely it will appear on the For You Page of your target audience. The reason for this is obvious: watching a video with clear sound and high-quality filming will be more gratifying for viewers. If your clips are well-liked by viewers, TikTok’s algorithms will recognize them and direct them to more and more viewers. 

However, this does not mean that you must overspend on expensive cameras and audio equipment. Just be sure to record in a quiet location so the audio is clear, and remember to film in well-lit areas for the best quality. If clean audio isn’t attainable, replace the original audio with a trending sound. 

Embrace the entertaining experience

Be creative! The important tip for building a successful Tik Tok video is to make it entertaining and interactive as Tik Tok is more about making users entertained. So if you can keep your followers amused, the opportunity to make your community grow is increasing. Before doing a video, you should pick one key message you want to deliver because you need to make a big impact in a short amount of time, up to 180 seconds on TikTok. 

Instead of primarily focusing on product and brand promotion, you should try to showcase your product in new or surprising settings. Adding an interactive element by inviting your followers to share posts that review your products is an interesting idea to not only increase interactions but also promote your products. If you’re new to making videos like this, consider if you can include your items into a trend or challenge that’s currently trending on TikTok rather than starting from scratch. You can also look to influencers for inspiration—they’re expert content creators who have mastered the short-form video format. Remember to utilize branded hashtags to increase the reach of your content!

Dunkin’ was one of the first brands to employ influencer marketing on the platform by partnering with TikTok megastar Charli D’Amelio. Together, they launched new menu items at Dunkin and collaborated on several videos.

After posting content about the partnership, Dunkin experienced a 57% increase in app downloads and a 20% sales boost for all cold brew coffees. 

Step 6: Dig into analytics

It’s vital to look critically at how things are going after you’ve been playing with TikTok for a time. What are your metrics for reach and engagement? Is it true that those training videos are genuinely working? Who is truly looking at and engaging with your content? 

Analytics removes the uncertainty from content planning by demonstrating what works and what doesn’t. The in-platform analytics tool on TikTok may provide you with some extremely fascinating stats to help you decide what to do next.

Step 7: Learn about TikTok’s advertising 

Advertising isn’t one-size-fits-all, but if the paid reach is something you’re interested in, check out our guide to TikTok ads here.

More than 43% of TikTok users are aged 18 to 24. Women in that age category account for approximately one-fifth of TikTok’s advertising audience. So if you’re marketing to younger adults, especially women, advertising on TikTok is a natural fit.

The United States is the largest audience for TikTok with 120,768,500 people. But what’s more interesting is that the percentage of the adult population that TikTok ads can reach is outside of North America, especially in the Middle East and Asia.

TikTok For Business is the best marketing strategy for getting your business discovered by targeted customers, as TikTok gains momentum throughout the world. Remember that TikTok is primarily about entertainment and creativity, so you should be distinctive and enjoyable to stand out on this platform.

Reference:

Beveridge, Claire. “160+ Social Media Statistics Marketers Need in 2023.” Hootsuite, Hootsuite, 26 Jan. 2023, https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-statistics-for-social-media-managers/.