How to Use TikTok for Business: A Beginner’s Guide

Given the newness of this platform, using TikTok for business still seems cloudy for some. But the reality is, social media users have flocked to the casual, video-friendly platform.

Why should you get TikTok for business?

Since its inception in 2016, TikTok has amassed more than a billion users worldwide! In 2020 alone, the app was downloaded 850 million times.

Wondering if TikTok is the right platform for your business? Here are some quick stats on TikTok user demographics:

With the diversity of ages and the high volume of users, TikTok has quickly become an important part of marketing strategies for businesses around the world.

Great insights into your customers

Best of all, TikTok has made developments within its platform to help business users make the most of it. As a brand or a creator, you can view an array of analytics about your content directly within the app. TikTok marketing analytics include:

• Engagement statistics such as your total likes, profile views, video views, comments, and shares
• Follower counts and analytics, including gains, losses, and demographics
• Detailed analytics for each individual post, including likes, comments, and shares
• Detailed analytics for live videos you’ve posted

How to use TikTok for business

Even if you’re a social media guru, TikTok can be a complicated platform to get the hang of. Below, we’ll cover what you need to know and some of the most important aspects of TikTok for brands that are just getting into the platform.

1. Get to know TikTok and your niche

Source: Veed

Knowing more about how TikTok’s algorithm works is vital when it comes to creating content for your brand’s TikTok channel. Here are some algorithm facts:

• TikTok’s algorithm categorizes content based on user interests, so it’s important to get to know your audience
• TikTok’s algorithm uses device settings, including language and location, to place local content in users’ feeds
• Videos that include trending sounds and songs are more likely to be viewed by a larger audience

To ensure your content is seen, it’s important to choose a niche and stick to it. Take some time to view other videos within your niche and take note of those that are getting the most views and comments.

And of course, make sure that the videos you post are well-suited to your brand’s style and personality. If your brand is funny, make people laugh with your videos. If it’s fashion-forward, post videos that are classy and trendsetting.

2. Watch your competitors

Just as with any other marketing strategy, it’s important to keep your eye on the competition. Make a list of your top competitors on TikTok and take the time to dissect their content.

When you watch competitors’ videos, list out a few ways their content could be better and use that as a guide when you’re creating your own content.

Here are some things to consider when viewing competitor content:

• The influencers they’re working with
• Video formats and filters they’re using
• The audience engaging with their videos most

Of course, there’s more than one way to use TikTok for business. Creating your own authentic content is generally best, but you can still find success by curating and sharing content that’s generated by other TikTok users.

Nike is a good example of a brand using user-generated content (UGC) on TikTok to garner millions of views.

Create a TikTok marketing strategy

When it comes to marketing on Tik-Tok, consistency is key. That means staying consistent with the content you post and branding on other social media channels.

Create a content calendar

Source: later.com/tiktok/

Consider creating a content calendar and staying on schedule with your posts. Whether that means posting once per week, once per day or somewhere in the middle. Choose a cadence that works for you and stick to it!

Use social media schedulers like Later or try TikTok Scheduler for free!

Use hashtags

Using hashtags that are trending can help you gain views and follows from users that might otherwise miss your posts. But, it’s also important to consider creating your own branded hashtags!

If you gain enough exposure, branded hashtags are a great way to attract new followers and attention to your brand with user-generated content.

A fun and successful example of a branded hashtag is the #eyeslipsface trend by E.L.F. It has over 8.9 Billion Views!

Leverage influencers and paid ads

If you have the budget for it, consider paid ads or hiring influencers to appear in or share your TikTok videos.

Regardless of your strategy, be sure to include goals and objectives within your marketing plan, and as you achieve them, set the bar higher.

Check out some real-life successful ad campaigns on TikTok, like Puma, Guess, and No Issue., both have different but successful marketing strategies.

Source: TikTok

4. Create view-worthy content

No matter how much you strategize, your videos won’t gain engagement and exposure for your brand if they’re not interesting to watch.

Some of the most viewed types of videos on TikTok are tutorials and how-to videos. If how-to videos aren’t in your wheelhouse, think about before and after videos, unboxing videos, or viral trends that can make your followers smile.

Have fun with it, and check out past trends like #fliptheswitch to get inspired!

Regardless of the approach you take in creating your content, remember to keep your videos on-brand. That means using the same color combinations, fonts, and text for each video. Check out Glossier’s branded TikTok account below!

Make sure you have a goal in mind before you start recording videos. Think about what you want your users to feel and what action you want them to take.

Are you trying to gain followers? Post diverse content formats. Want to Increase shares? Make your videos super relatable! Focus on your goal when structuring your video formats and brainstorming ideas.

If you’re looking for examples of some great brand videos that went viral, check out the Arcteryx Challenge or the Chipotle Guacdance.

5. Engage with your audience and influencers

Source: youtube.com/watch?v=j398i5IoyXs

TikTok gives your business plenty of ways to engage with viewers and followers. Use features such as questions and polls to ask or answer viewer questions directly within your videos. Take time to respond to comments left by your viewers! They’ll appreciate it.

It’s also important to engage with accounts in other ways, too. Spend time scrolling videos within your niche and leave comments or likes, follow other brands and influencers, and collaborate with other accounts using the duet feature.

You can also gain more engagement by hosting live streams with other users within your niche. Use these opportunities to cover topics that commonly interest your followers.

6. Keep an eye on analytics

When you’re learning how to use TikTok for business, one of the most important aspects is taking time to understand how analytics work.

Tiktok marketing is easy if you know what to look for and what metrics you should be watching. Be sure to use the appropriate toggles when monitoring your views and followers, as TikTok gives you the option to choose between seven-day trends and 28-day trends.

Taking time to view your follower demographics can help you determine if your videos are reaching the right target audience.

If things aren’t looking the way you expect when you review your analytics, it might be time to go back to the drawing board and rethink your approach.

Time to use TikTok to generate brand awareness!

When it comes to social media marketing, TikTok is becoming a top-tier option for businesses. If you haven’t gotten started with TikTok yet, now’s the time! Remember to:

• Pay attention to the kinds of content your audience engages with
• Analyze competitor content to see what you could do better
• Consistently posts new videos to TikTok
• Take charge of the algorithm by using unique feature like going live, duets, questions and polls
• Use relevant hashtags as well as branded hashtags
• Keep an eye on your analytics to see how your content is performing

Setting up a well-branded TikTok will immediately encourage people to follow you. Use Looka’s logo maker to design a logo you can put on your business TikTok account!