Making Your Business Shine 15 Seconds At A Time: Learning To Use Tik Tok For Business

If you haven’t heard of TikTok by now, you’ve either been living under a rock or off the grid on a deserted island. The world has become obsessed with TikTok, and that’s no exaggeration. The popular app was downloaded 693 million times in 2019 and 850 million times in 2020. For 2021, the numbers have reached into the billions.

We can’t say that everyone is on TikTok, but with these numbers, there are not a lot of people who aren’t.

People have grown accustomed to going to the video-sharing app to consume all sorts of short videos, from recipes, to comedy, to dancing, singing and lip-syncing, to how-to's and more. If you’re not careful, you can click on TikTok to just “watch this one quick video” a friend sent you, and hours later, find yourself still scrolling through video after video, unable to detach. This platform is an attention keeper for billions of people around the world every single day.

These facts should speak nothing but opportunity to entrepreneurs seeking to position their products and services in front of a captive audience.

When small businesses use TikTok platform as a part of their marketing strategy, they can boost their exposure, sales and business success in significant ways. But practically speaking, how can TikTok be used for business?

Here are some keys to succeeding in using the world’s most popular social media platform for your business advantage 15 seconds at a time.

Get in the Game.

The very first thing you’ll need to do is establish your won TikTok business account. Note that this is different from a personal account. A business account falls under TikTok’s Pro Account setting and allows you to choose a “Business” or “Creator” account.

Learn the Ins and Outs of the Platform’s Features.

Succeeding on TikTok is about more than just uploading a short video. You’ll need to learn how to use the platform’s various effects, filters and editing features to create attention-grabbing videos that will make your content stand out from the rest and boost your visibility in the TikTok algorithm.

Spend Some Time Browsing.

Browse through the app to see what other businesses are doing. Study what types of videos are trending, what they have in common, and how you can integrate similar elements into your content. Study the marketing videos of your competitors and “borrow” some of the elements that make them effective for your own strategy. Rather than just jumping right in with both feet, spend some time surveying the land of the social network.

Create a Unique TikTok Marketing Strategy.

Thinking of simply taking your content from Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and post it on TikTok? Big mistake. This platform is an entirely different world for content developers with different rules, so your video marketing strategy will need to be uniquely tailored to the market that consumes content from the platform, particularly Gen Z, but not excluding other age groups.

Develop a Unique TikTok Brand.

From the logo in your profile photo to your bio and the name you choose to go by on the platform, ensure that everything is custom tailored to the TikTok marketplace. This is your public face to the community, so keep it clean, professional and representative of your business’ personality. In fact, if you’re not a member of Gen Z, contract an avid TikTok user from this demographic to consult with you on what effectively engages this demographic.

Let Your Business Personality Shine 15-seconds at a Time.

After you do your due diligence in learning the platform and surveying what works and what doesn’t don’t overthink it; start creating! Create entertaining, instructional, informational, content that lets people know who you are, what you do, and what you are expert in as a business. Ensure that your video is high quality and has clear sound and great lighting.

Don’t try to be like anyone else; let the authentic personality of your business shine through your videos. Be sure to use TikTok hashtags, because this will increase your view counts and help your videos to reach your target audience.

Practice Social Listening and Interact with Viewers.

Don’t just schedule a video for posting every day and walk away. Businesses that grow their sales and success on TikTok engage their audiences through consistent interaction. Respond to questions and comments that viewers leave on your posts. Post your own questions and polls that invite user interaction. Engage with the TikTok community by commenting on the accounts of those with interests similar to your own business.

Whatever you do, be sure to listen, listen, listen! Listen to criticism, comments and complaints and use them as valuable feedback for the products and services you provide to consumers. If you listen closely, your viewers will offer up tidbits that could increase your sales and profitability!

Marketing your business through social media is only one of the helpful topics that the Texas Black Expo will feature during our monthly Virtual Lunch & Learns, which will launch in 2022. To receive notifications or receive more information, contact [email protected].