Online Business With Tiktok: ‘Social media has become a useful tool for many small businesses that want to get their name out there and find new customers. Instagram and Facebook are two of the most popular, mostly because they have been around for a long time, are easy to use, and are free. This makes them great for small businesses that want to get the word out and reach more customers.
If you haven’t heard of TikTok, it’s a popular video-sharing app that lets people show others bits of their lives. If you used Vine, it’s like that, but videos can be longer than a few seconds. It’s a platform that keeps getting better and more creative uses. And the most influential people can make thousands of pounds per post.
For example, The Pool Guy became famous after posting videos of himself cleaning pools around the UK. His TikTok posts are so popular that he has almost 8 million followers and can make up to £11,187 per post. Brownie God, an influencer in the baking world, can make up to £229 per post, while Paint Warrior can also make up to £702 per post.
How can I get started with TikTok?
TikTok is easy and free to use. Here’s what you need to do:
- You can obtain the application for free from your app store.
- Sign up and log in with your email, Facebook, or Twitter.
- Then, TikTok will give you a unique username by chance, which you can change if you want. When coming up with a name for your business account, make sure it is as close as possible to the name of your business. This will make it easy for other people to find your account.
- You can change your profile picture, write a catchy bio, and tell your followers about your business by clicking on the “me” button at the bottom of your screen.
- Then you can start exploring content. TikTok automatically collects videos that are relevant to you, but you can also search for different people and also follow them.
- Press the “+” button at the bottom of your screen and start recording to make your first TikTok.
Once you’ve set up your TikTok account and seen how it works, it will be clearer how you can record your content and build your brand on the platform. But to help you get started, this guide is made to help small businesses like yours figure out how to use TikTok to market your business.
10 tips to help your small business make the most of TikTok
Do some research
At first, any new technology can seem scary, and you might wonder where to start with TikTok. The good news is that you don’t have to be a pro at making videos to make content that people will want to watch. Spending some time on TikTok and watching what other businesses post will give you an idea of how they come up with their ideas.
Seeing what other people are doing can give you great ideas and help you develop ideas that are good for you and your customers. TikTok is easy to get from the app store, and also setting up an account is free. You can search for other users and watch videos suggested for you.
If you tap the “+” button in the bottom center of your screen, you can start making your content and also choose from various editing effects and filters. Researching other businesses like yours first can be helpful.
If you run a café, there’s no reason to look up a clothes shop’s account and be impressed by how well their TikTok videos show off their new summer clothes. Spend time looking around the app to see if you can find other shop owners like you and how they are using TikTok to get known.
Use TikTok to change your tone.
TikTok is one of the newer social media apps, and its users tend to be younger than those who use Facebook and Twitter, which have been around for a long time. A study found that the average TikTok user is between 18 and 24 and spends about 89 minutes daily watching videos on the app.
But because most TikTok users are young doesn’t mean you can’t market to a wider audience or use a newer style. TikTok gives you a unique chance to try different tones and see if a more playful approach works better. It’s meant to be fun and will require you to market your business differently than you might on LinkedIn, Facebook, or even Instagram.
Why not try something different and develop some new ideas using video? If you own a store, you could give customers a virtual tour of your store and also show them your best-selling items while telling them a little about why they are so great.
You could show people what goes on behind the scenes, tell them how to set up a shop window, explain how you made the store feel friendly, or teach them how to wrap gifts like a pro. Have fun making your videos; you’ll likely get more people to watch them.
Continue the trend
When using TikTok for business, it’s a good idea to pay attention to what’s popular now and see if you can use those same topics in your marketing. If British Summertime is popular on the app because of the recent heatwave, try to think of some content that ties your business to the idea of summer.
This way, you can stay up to date with what individuals are talking about online and also stay relevant. If you’re a florist, this could mean making a video about the best flowers for summer or the ones you should plant now for fall and winter. If you are a butcher shop, why not show your TikTok followers how to make some delicious BBQ food before it gets hot again?
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Talk to people who have influence.
Influencers, or users with many followers, can be a big part of social media marketing, and brands frequently use them to promote their products. If you work with influencers, they can help your business and show it off to thousands of people who follow them.
The key is to find influencers who are good for your brand and share your values. For example, if you own a construction company, you’ll want to find influencers like Paint Warrior who can show you how to paint different buildings.
They won’t work for anything (remember, the Paint Warrior can make £700 per post), but if they tell their followers about your service or product, link to your brand, or even mention your channel, the partnership could pay for itself.
Create your original content
TikTok is a place where anyone can share small bits of their lives. Most videos are made on smartphones because there’s no need for fancy equipment, great lighting, or a planned-out script. To make good TikToks, you must be yourself and keep things fun.
TikTok users want to be entertained, so try what you start sharing and give your audience fun backstage clips to show off your brand’s personality. It would help if you got used to taking vertical videos so that they fit the app, but you can also have fun by adding music or popular TikTok songs to them.
Thoughts on paid posts
Even though it’s free to use social media platforms, most businesses will have to pay to boost definite posts if they want to reach and engage more people. This way, TikTok is the same as Instagram and Facebook because you can pay to boost posts or ads.
This is usually good for businesses because it lets them reach more people and get their posts seen by more people who could become customers. It’s easy to do, and some businesses pay for ads on top of what they normally post. Go to TikTok for Business to learn how to set up paid amplification.
Post regular content
The key to any social media marketing is to post often and be active so that your customers and potential customers know you are there. Set a schedule and stick to it. Consistency is important when running an online business.
It’s important to make a plan and pay close attention to the times and days you post. It is a good idea to set up a spreadsheet that keeps track of what you posted when you posted it and how many likes or shares it got. Then you can sit down and figure out when your audience will most likely see your content and when you should put your content out there.
Use the platform’s special features.
If you’ve started using TikTok, you’ve probably seen duets and videos of people reacting to things. A TikTok duet is when you document yourself and post it as a split-screen video with another TikTok video, either your own or someone else’s, if they allow duets.
Here are the steps you need to take to make a TikTok Duet:
- Find a video and watch it.
- Tap the button to the right of the video that says “Share” (this is only visible if the creator allows sharing)
- Tap Duet
- Tap the red Play button to record a clip.
- Add effects to it to change it.
- Several times, do steps 4 through 5 again.
- Click on the Next button.
- Please change your settings, like whether you want it to be private or public.
- Tap Post to make your Duet public.
Like reaction videos, you can record yourself reacting to a TikTok if the person who made it lets you. Picture-in-picture style is how their video is shown.
Here are the steps you need to take to make a TikTok React:
- Find a video and watch it.
- Tap the button to the right of the video that says “Share.” (You can only see this if the creator lets you)
- Tap Respond
- Tap the red Record button to record a clip.
- Change it, add effects, etc.
- Several times, do steps 4 through 5 again.
- Click on the Next button.
- Please change your settings, like whether you want it to be private or public.
- Tap Post to send your response.
Find your friends
Like any other social network, having more TikTok followers means your videos will reach more people and, hopefully, get more likes and shares. If you already have a Facebook account, follow these steps to connect with Facebook Friends:
- Use the menu bar to go to Me.
- Tap the plus sign in the corner to add a person.
- Tap Find Facebook Friends
- Please scroll through the list of friends and click Follow to keep up with them.
It’s also worth checking to see if anyone on your phone’s list of contacts is on TikTok. Here’s how:
- Use the menu bar to go to Me.
- Tap the plus sign in the corner to add a person.
- Click on Find Contacts
- Scroll through the contacts and click “Follow” to keep up with them.
Make TikTok gifs
Gifs are all around us. Each online network has its built-in gif option, so you can use gifs to reach people on more than one platform. You can easily make your gifs from TikTok videos, and they will have your name. Follow the instructions below to make a gif with TikTok:
- Find a video and watch it.
- Tap the button on the right that says Share. It’s only visible if the person who made it lets others see it.
- Tap GIF to share.
- You can choose where to share or save it.
Using TikTok can be a great marketing tool, and if you know how to use it well, it can be a very effective way to grow your business.
