Editor's note: After we published this blog, information came to light around TikTok's potential data privacy concerns. You can read more about those here.
Your business is present on Facebook. It’s rocking the Instagram world. And you recently found the power of LinkedIn and are growing your following steadily. There can’t possibly be another social media channel that you should consider promoting your brand on - right?
Enter TikTok, the decade’s fastest-growing social media channel! You have downloaded the app, seen the amazing short-form videos that others are creating, and seeing the engagement they are receiving from their work. Should your business enter the world of TikTok too?
What is TikTok?
Launched in 2016, TikTok is a creative and trend-driven social media app that allows users to create, share and watch short video clips (15-60 seconds, to be exact). TikTok users include independent content creators, small business owners and large corporations in all industries. The most popular demographic using the app includes people 30 years old and younger. However, 42% of users are now 30 - 49 years old - and this group is expected to grow!
Many TikTok users use this channel to creatively promote their work, products, personalities and ideas. The app provides different ways to spice up your content with music, filter overlays, effects and text.
Should My Business be on TikTok?
In 2021, TikTok had approximately 78.7 million users in the United States alone. This figure is projected to increase by roughly eight percent year-over-year, reaching 84.9 million users in 2022. As a business owner or marketing professional, TikTok could potentially be a gold mine for engagement and exposure, especially if your target audience is Gen Z.
TikTok is real people expressing themselves in creative – and often silly – ways. Even if you’re a serious B2B company selling serious products or services, using TikTok for business to showcase your brand can bring some serious benefits.
For instance, you can develop a fun campaign that brings likeminded people, your target audience, together. Sage, a business solutions company, created a campaign using the hashtag #SageTellMe Challenge. This challenge encouraged business owners and supervisors to start chatting about their experiences while sharing Sage’s message and and brand name.
Also, your TikTok videos can be repurposed and used on other platforms. They can be easily shared to your connected Facebook and Instagram stories for more exposure. You can also download the video to your phone and share on other social channel newsfeeds.
3 TikTok Video Ideas To Get You Started
Not sure what type of videos your business should create? We have you covered.
What’s trending?
The first thing you should always research is what is currently trending on TikTok. You can scroll through TikTok’s Trend Discovery to learn more about trends that are high performers at that current time. You can find all of the top hashtags, songs, creators, and videos from the previous day, previous 30 days, or previous 120 days. This is where your creativity will come into play. Brainstorm how you can take the current trend, and tie it to your company.
Example - Scrub Daddy, a sponge company that got its rise to fame on ABC’s Shark Tank in 2012, has over 1.8 million followers on TikTok (me being one of them). They are excellent at keeping up with all of the latest trends. In this example, they used a sound that has been used in over 278,000 videos and counting.
Give them a behind-the-scenes look at your company.
TikTok users love learning about how things are made and how things work. This is a great opportunity to show the human side of your business and create a more personal connection with your business by showcasing the attention, effort, and care that goes into you business.
Example - Peachybbies, a slime company out of Austin, Texas, has over 4.7 million followers on TikTok because of their videos showing how their products are made and engaging with their audience through comments. In this example, they even made a slime for The Steelers NFL team after they commented on a video.
Answer Your Most Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a question your customers always ask that you could creatively answer? This is a great opportunity to demonstrate or personally answer their questions
Example - The.law.says.what is a TikTok account run by 2 Harvard law graduates (who happen to be married) that has over 840,000 followers. They use their platform to explain the law and different court cases in a way that everyone can understand. In this example, they talk about a new state law in California protecting bees…categorized as fish.
How To Get Started
Ready to get started with TikTok? The first thing you will need to do is create a TikTok Business Account.
- Download the TikTok app from the Apple App Store or Google Play store. In the app, tap “Me” in the bottom menu bar, then click “Sign Up” to register with your phone number, email address or a registered social media account.
- Within the app, click “...” on the top right of the “Me” page, then click “Manage account” and select "Switch to Business Account." Choose the category that best fits your business to receive customized content, events, and solutions.
- You're all set! You can start posting content using TikTok's suite of creative tools, and share information about your products and services.
Need assistance fitting video marketing into your business strategy? We can help! Get to know our video and photography services and request a free consultation with our experts to help you get started.
