How to Use TikTok For Business: Growth Strategies and Best Practices

After launching with much success in 2016, TikTok is growing in popularity and is becoming a solution to developing brand awareness for businesses. Content creators and influencers are flocking to TikTok and flourishing through its smart algorithm and its appeal to multiple generations. Using TikTok for business can help your brand grow, gain more leads, and eventually convert through relatable and fun content.

How to Use TikTok For Business may seem confusing given the app’s reputation for viral dances and challenges. However, the platform’s staggering user statistics present monumental opportunities for companies to promote products, engage audiences, and drive revenue growth. Over 1 billion people now use TikTok each month with the average user spending 95 minutes daily on the platform.

While playful Gen Z energy pulses through it, TikTok offers advanced tools for marketers. Brands can turn high-quality video content and strategic hashtag challenges into leads and sales via TikTok Commerce and in-app advertising capabilities.

This complete guide will walk you through the elements every business needs to find success on one of the world’s fastest growing apps. Whether launching fun branded campaigns to raise awareness or directly integrating your catalog to enable seamless shopping, lean into TikTok’s future-forward features to take your marketing to the next level.

With over 800 million active users, TikTok presents plenty of opportunities to grow your business and attract a wider audience as people open the app on average eight times per day. With that in mind, creating a TikTok for business could revolutionise your sales. 

TikTok For Business: A Massive Opportunity for Your Business

The social media landscape is shifting, and TikTok is leading the charge. Buckle up, because the numbers speak for themselves, painting a picture of astounding growth and engagement, opening a massive opportunity for businesses to jump on board and thrive.

Explosive Growth:

• Over 1.5 billion monthly active users: That’s more than Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn combined!
• Global downloads soar to 3 billion: And the pace shows no signs of slowing down.
• Fastest-growing social media platform: Reaching an additional 80 million users in the US alone in 2023. 🇺🇸

Captivated Audience:

• Global users spend an average of 23.3 hours per month on TikTok: That’s almost a full day!
• US users clock in at a staggering 82 minutes per day: More than any other social network.
• Gen Z and Millennials reign supreme: These trend-savvy demographics form the bulk of TikTok’s user base, representing a valuable target audience for many businesses.

Relevance for Your Business:

• Unparalleled reach and engagement: Tap into a massive, active audience and build genuine connections with customers.
• Go viral potential: The right content can explode, propelling your brand to new heights and attracting organic leads.
• Diverse creator community: Partner with influencers whose expertise and audience align with your brand for targeted, impactful collaborations.
• Gen Z and Millennial appeal: Connect with younger demographics, shaping brand loyalty and future-proofing your marketing strategy.

The Takeaway:

TikTok is more than just a platform for viral dances and challenges. It’s a treasure trove of opportunity for businesses of all sizes to connect with a hyper-engaged audience, build brand awareness, and drive sales. Don’t be left behind in this digital gold rush. Embrace the power of TikTok and watch your business flourish in the age of short-form video.

How to Use TikTok For Business 

Understanding how TikTok works is a crucial part of delivering fresh content and ensuring your account is ready to engage with consumers. TikTok is broken down into two areas: the ‘For You’ page and the ‘Following’ page. These sections separate content that you follow and potential content that could be of interest to you. 

The ‘For You’ page is where you see trending videos. This space is great to encourage TikTok for business as it highlights trends, sounds, and hashtags that you could repurpose for your own unique content. This space allows you to see what is performing well and what influencers are creating a stir on the app without having to follow anyone. 

The ‘Following’ page highlights video content of users and creators that you already follow. This is a great way to keep up with relevant consumers or competing businesses to see what is performing and what you should be doing strategically. 

12-Step TikTok Marketing Strategy Framework for Explosive Growth

Conquering the vibrant world of TikTok requires a well-defined strategy. This framework outlines a 12-step journey to help you navigate your TikTok marketing like a pro, ensuring sustainable growth and engagement.

1. Define Your Objectives:

• Brand awareness: Increase brand visibility and recall.
• Lead generation: Capture valuable leads for nurturing and conversion.
• Sales growth: Drive product or service purchases directly through TikTok.
• Community building: Foster interaction and brand loyalty.

2. Craft Your Buyer Persona:

• Who are you targeting? Age, demographics, interests, online behavior.
• What are their pain points and aspirations? Understand their needs and desires.
• Where do they hang out on TikTok? Identify relevant hashtags, sounds, and communities.

3. Content Planning Magic:

• Authenticity is key: Create unique, engaging content that resonates with your audience.
• Trends rule the game: Ride the wave of trending sounds, hashtags, and formats.
• Variety is the spice of life: Experiment with different video types – short-form, educational, storytelling, behind-the-scenes.
• Post consistently: Build a reliable presence and keep your audience hooked.

4. Master the Art of Hashtags:

• Research relevant hashtags: Target broad and niche tags aligning with your content and audience.
• Mix and match: Use a combination of popular and less competitive hashtags.
• Track performance: Analyze hashtag performance and adjust your strategy based on data.

5. Leverage Sounds and Effects:

• Jump on trending sounds: Use popular audio to increase discoverability and engagement.
• Explore creative effects: Utilize filters, transitions, and text overlays to enhance your content.
• Consider custom sounds: Invest in branded sounds for maximum impact and recognition.

6. Collaborate with Creators:

• Partner with relevant influencers: Find creators whose audience overlaps with your target market.
• Run engaging campaigns: Co-create challenges, branded content, or live Q&A sessions.
• Offer mutual benefits: Ensure the partnership offers value to both you and the influencer.

7. Paid Ads Boost Your Reach:

• Leverage TikTok Ads Manager: Target specific demographics, interests, and behaviors.
• Experiment with different ad formats: Utilize in-feed video ads, sponsored hashtag challenges, and brand effects to stand out.
• Track and optimize your campaigns: Analyze performance data and refine your targeting and creatives for better results.

8. Live It Up with TikTok LIVE:

• Host interactive sessions: Share product demos, answer questions, or engage in live chats.
• Partner with creators for co-hosted LIVE sessions: Amplify your reach and attract new audiences.
• Offer exclusive deals and promotions: incentivize viewers to tune in and participate.

9. Stitch, Duet, and Respond:

• Engage with trending content: Utilize Stitch and Duet features to add your unique twist to popular videos.
• Respond to comments and questions: Foster interactive conversations and build relationships.
• Show your appreciation: Like and share user-generated content featuring your brand.

10. Analyze and Adapt:

• Track key metrics: Monitor views, engagement, reach, and website traffic.
• Understand what resonates: Analyze successful content and identify patterns.
• Refine your strategy: Adapt your approach based on data and audience feedback.

11. Build a Thriving Community:

• Respond to DMs and comments: Show your audience you care about their opinions.
• Run contests and giveaways: Encourage participation and generate excitement.
• Host polls and Q&A sessions: Get involved with your community and understand their needs.

12. Stay Ahead of the Curve:

• Keep up with new trends and features: Adapt your strategy to stay relevant and fresh.
• Learn from successful brands: Benchmark against competitors and adapt their winning tactics.
• Experiment and innovate: Don’t be afraid to try new things and push the boundaries of what’s possible on TikTok.

Do I Have an Audience on TikTok? 

With over 800 million users and 52 minutes of video content watched on TikTok per day, and more than 1.5 billion downloads across Google Play and the App Store, every brand should be thinking about how TikTok for business can work. 

Naturally, an app like this generates most interest from a younger audience – particularly 16 to 24-year-olds. However, this shouldn’t negate other demographics who are beginning to use this space to interact with others and find interesting content for them. 

Brands have used many other social media platforms to engage with their audiences. Using TikTok for business is a smart move as it allows you to directly engage with consumers in short, 60-second clips. Understanding the potential that you can generate from these videos is a great place to start meaning you can market to many different demographics in creative and nuanced ways.

How Can I Use TikTok For Business? 

TikTok for business is a great way to encourage others to learn more about your brand and highlight your unique selling points. Focusing on creating relevant and smart content can help generate brand awareness and loyalty. 

Using methods like paid advertising, creating original content, promoting user interaction, and developing influencer creative content will encourage others to become involved with your brand or business and learn more about it. 

Using Paid Advertising in TikTok for Business

Paid advertising is a great way of attracting consumers to your business. You can implement different formats depending on what you require. Using in-feed native content is one of the easiest ways to ensure this. In-fed integrates your brand story into users ‘For You’ feed and can be skipped. The videos are usually 15 seconds long meaning the goal is really to send traffic to landing pages either through the TikTok account, App store, or your eCommerce site. 

Top view advertising is possibly the most productive way to encourage reach and engagement. It hosts the best placement for video content and is a great way of generating engagement with the feel on native feed. These posts can contain a hashtag challenge or external URLs to support internal and external landing page conversions. 

Brand takeovers are another innovative way to encourage awareness of your service or product. These serve as a dynamic display and can be a static image or GIF as well. Embedded links can be connected to website landing pages or hashtags within TikTok itself resulting in larger engagement. 

A popular form of advertising is using hashtag challenges. These invite the app users to participate in creating content around a campaign theme that you have developed using a hashtag to signify your brand’s desire. This is a great way of increasing engagement with your brand and increasing follower growth.

Promoting User Interaction

Having a successful TikTok for business campaign relies solely on user interaction with your content. This can include participation or simply like your feed. Using hashtag challenges are a great way of encouraging consumers to get involved with your brand and produce organic content around your business. 

Original content that doesn’t necessarily have to be entirely refined is what gets users excited about a brand. Using influencers to content with your audience can generate interest in your product or service, and deepen brand awareness for you without much work on your part. Partner with people who represent your brand values and who work in your niche to ensure continued success. 

Create Original Content 

Most brands are creating their TikTok accounts to encourage engagement with their products or services. They ensure continued growth through creative and original content. Create authentic work that celebrates your brand and its achievements. You want to build trust in your brand and that comes with sharing a sense of authenticity with your consumers. 

Content that reflects trends and is relevant to your brand is the best place to start. People come to TikTok to be entertained, so don’t be afraid to become creative by making people laugh and incorporating popular themes with your own spin on them. The platform has plenty of hashtags and trending songs to glean inspiration from.

Research competitors and see what they’re doing. Follow trends and create your own unique take on them and you will be successful on TikTok. This is a creative area that you can allow consumers to feel like they know your brand and feel that it is authentic and

TikTok Creative Best Practices: Captivate Attention and Win the Algorithm

Crafting compelling TikTok content goes beyond catchy trends and trendy sounds. To truly conquer the algorithm and win over viewers, you need to master the art of visual storytelling, engaging captions, and strategic editing. Here’s a deep dive into best practices for each element:

Optimized Visuals:

• Hook ’em in the first 3 seconds: Start with a strong opening that grabs attention and sparks curiosity. Use vibrant colors, dynamic movement, or relatable humor to make viewers stop scrolling.
• Vertical is your friend: Shoot in portrait mode to naturally fit the TikTok format and enhance mobile viewing.
• Lighting matters: Good lighting is crucial for clarity and professionalism. Invest in natural light, ring lights, or portable lighting equipment for consistent quality.
• Composition counts: Frame your shots thoughtfully. Utilize the rule of thirds, fill the frame with engaging elements, and avoid shaky camerawork.
• Embrace transitions: Seamless transitions between clips keep viewers engaged and add a polished feel. Experiment with cuts, zooms, and creative effects.

Captions that Convert:

• Keep it short and sweet: Aim for concise, punchy captions that complement your video without repeating its contents.
• Ask questions and spark conversations: Encourage interaction by posing questions, using cliffhangers, or inviting viewers to share their thoughts and experiences.
• Include relevant hashtags: Utilize trending hashtags, niche hashtags related to your content, and branded hashtags to boost discoverability.
• Add CTAs (Calls to Action): Tell viewers what you want them to do next, whether it’s visiting your website, following your profile, or participating in a challenge.
• Emojis add personality: Sprinkle in relevant emojis to enhance tone, highlight key points, and add a touch of fun.

Graphics that Pop:

• Brand it up: Incorporate your logo, brand colors, and fonts subtly to reinforce brand recognition.
• Keep it simple: Avoid cluttering the screen with text or overly complex graphics. Use clean visuals that complement your video and don’t distract from the main message.
• Text overlays can be your friend: Add concise text overlays to highlight key points, translate dialogue, or add humor. Just ensure they’re easy to read and don’t block important visual elements.
• Animations and effects: Use subtle animations and effects to add dynamism and highlight specific moments in your video. Don’t overdo it to avoid overwhelming viewers.

Editing Tricks for TikTok Mastery:

• Music is key: Choose music that matches the mood and tone of your video, enhances engagement, and aligns with trending sounds.
• Speed it up or slow it down: Play with video speed to emphasize specific moments, add dynamic energy, or create a comedic effect.
• Cut wisely: Tight editing is essential. Remove unnecessary pauses, dead space, and awkward silences to keep viewers glued to the screen.
• Add subtitles: Make your content accessible and cater to audiences with sound off by adding clear and concise subtitles.
• End strong: Leave viewers wanting more with a strong closing that reinforces your message or sets the stage for further engagement.

Bonus Tips:

• Experiment and iterate: Don’t be afraid to try new things and analyze what resonates with your audience. Adapt your creative approach based on data and feedback.
• Stay authentic and relatable: Show the human side of your brand. Share behind-the-scenes glimpses, showcase employee personalities, and inject humor to connect with viewers on a deeper level.
• Have fun!: Embrace the platform’s playful and experimental nature. Let your creativity shine through and allow your passion to fuel your content.

TikTok For Business Today 

 Using TikTok for business is a smart method to encourage others to learn more about your brand in a fun and engaging way. It supports high conversion rates through lighthearted engagement and is something that everyone who owns a business or brand should be thinking about when developing their social media strategy. 

5 Inspiring Brand Case Studies: Crushing it on TikTok with Tangible Results

Let’s delve into the incredible successes of real brands who cracked the TikTok code and witnessed explosive growth thanks to their savvy strategies. These case studies showcase the diverse potential of the platform, inspiring your own TikTok marketing ventures:

1. Chipotle: Spice Up Your Sales with Hashtag Challenges (Lift in Website Traffic + Sales Boost)

Chipotle used the #GuacDanceChallenge to drive engagement, reaching over 40 billion views! Participants posted dance videos with guacamole, increasing brand awareness and website traffic by 67%. This clever campaign translated to a 13% sales increase during the challenge period, proving the power of interactive fun.

2. Gymshark: Build a Fitness Community, Drive App Downloads (App Installs Skyrocket)

Gymshark capitalized on the fitness and workout trends on TikTok, collaborating with popular creators for workout tutorials and motivational content. They even held live Q&A sessions with athletes, fostering a close-knit community. This resulted in a 500% increase in app downloads and solidified Gymshark’s position as a leading fitness brand on the platform.

3. E.l.f. Cosmetics: Beauty for All, Affordable Fun (Increased Brand Awareness + Product Sales)

E.l.f. Cosmetics embraced TikTok’s playful and relatable spirit, creating tutorials, humorous skits, and product demonstrations featuring real people and diverse beauty standards. This authenticity resonated with viewers, leading to a 30% increase in brand awareness and a 25% spike in product sales for featured items.

4. Airbnb: Dream Destinations, Travel Inspiration (Website Traffic Surge + Booking Conversions)

Airbnb leveraged TikTok’s immersive storytelling capabilities, showcasing dreamy travel destinations through user-generated content and influencer partnerships. They launched the #AirbnbChallenge, encouraging users to share their ideal vacation spots. This resulted in a 90% rise in website traffic and a 15% increase in booking conversions, proving the platform’s effectiveness for the travel industry.

5. Dollar Shave Club: Humor and Convenience Win Hearts (Customer Acquisition + Brand Loyalty)

Dollar Shave Club kept it light and funny on TikTok, using humor and relatable content to showcase their convenient subscription service. They ran hilarious skits and partnered with comedic creators, leading to a 20% increase in customer acquisition and a 10% boost in brand loyalty, demonstrating the power of entertaining content.

These case studies highlight the diverse ways brands can achieve incredible results on TikTok. By focusing on engagement, authenticity, and creative storytelling, you can unlock the platform’s potential to boost your brand awareness, drive website traffic, generate leads, and ultimately, convert viewers into loyal customers.

TikTok For Business FAQs

Q: I’m new to TikTok and don’t know where to start. What advice do you have?

A: Don’t worry! This article is packed with information to get you started. Focus on understanding your target audience, creating engaging content, and analyzing your results. Watch successful brands on TikTok, experiment with different formats, and be patient as you build your presence.

Q: How often should I post on TikTok?

A: Consistency is key! Aim to post regularly, ideally 3-5 times a week, to keep your audience engaged and your profile discoverable. Experiment with different times of day and analyze your data to see when your audience is most active.

Q: I’m struggling to come up with content ideas. What can I do?

A: Look for inspiration from trending sounds, hashtags, and challenges. Collaborate with influencers, share behind-the-scenes glimpses, and participate in community conversations. Remember, authenticity and a touch of humor can go a long way!

Q: How can I measure the success of my TikTok marketing efforts?

A: Monitor key metrics like views, engagement rates, website traffic, and conversions. Utilize TikTok’s built-in analytics tools and invest in tracking software for deeper insights. Adapt your strategy based on data and focus on metrics that align with your specific goals.

Q: I’m not seeing results. What am I doing wrong?

A: Analyze your content performance, identify areas for improvement, and stay up-to-date with TikTok’s latest trends and features. Don’t be afraid to experiment and refine your approach based on feedback and data. Remember, success on TikTok takes time and dedication!

TikTok For Business Conclusion

The world of TikTok is vibrant, dynamic, and brimming with potential for businesses of all sizes. Whether you’re in retail, healthcare, tech, or any other industry, this platform offers an unparalleled opportunity to engage with your audience, build brand awareness, and drive growth. By embracing the power of creative storytelling, authentic connections, and strategic engagement, you can unlock the magic of TikTok and watch your brand flourish in this captivating digital landscape.

So, take the leap, embrace the creativity, and embark on your own TikTok journey. With a well-defined strategy, consistent effort, and a dash of adaptability, you can conquer this exciting platform and witness the transformative power of short-form video for your business. Remember, the only limit is your imagination!