Some studies by TikTok have shown that 56% of users feel closer to brands that publish “human” content.

With TikTok, brands can easily publish this type of content. However, how can small businesses use TikTok for marketing? 

Throughout this guide, we’ll dive into everything you’ll need to know about TikTok marketing for small businesses. Some of what we will cover include TikTok business accounts, ad types, the benefits, and more.

Keep reading, and you’ll have your brand on TikTok in no time.

Benefits of TikTok for Small Businesses

Keep reading to find various tools and benefits TikTok offers for small businesses. Throughout this section, we’ll cover basic information about each tool. And what scenarios best work in.

Mold Your Brand’s Identity: Through Video

Since TikTok relies on short-form video content, you don’t have to spend forever editing videos to post on platforms like YouTube. You can also show your users what your brand is like behind the scenes.

Here’s an example.

Let’s say your company has a recycling program, and you want to show users that your company is environmentally-conscious. You can post a video that shows your program in action.

Users Who See Your Content Will More Likely Like Your Brand

With TikTok’s ‘Not Interested’ button, users can better filter what videos appear on their feed. And because of this, you’re at an advantage. Users who see your video are more likely to engage with your content.

TikTok Business Account: Do I Need It?

TikTok’s business account offers small businesses various tools inaccessible to typical accounts, such as:

• Commercial music library: royalty-free music to add to your videos
• Run paid ads: we’ll cover the types of TikTok ads in the next section
• Analytics: see how users react to your brand’s content
• External links: place links to your website, products, or services

Every business that wants to promote on TikTok will need this account. Otherwise, you can’t use TikTok’s ad platform and analytics. To register for a TikTok business account, you will need to follow these steps:

1: When opening the TikTok app, tap the ‘Me’ tab toward the bottom of the screen.

2: Open ‘Manage Account’ and tap ‘Switch to Business Account.’

3: When selecting an account type, choose ‘Business.’

From there, TikTok will ask you questions about your business. Fill in all of the information you can.

TikTok Ads: Your 5 Options

TikTok offers five ad types that small businesses can utilize. These include:

1. Brand takeovers: full-screen ad that appears when a user first opens TikTok
2. Top view ads: sound-enabled videos that last up to 60-seconds
3. Branded effects: create effects with brand logos (in Closed Alpha testing)
4. Branded hashtags: create Branded Hashtag Challenges for your audience
5. In-feed ads: embed videos to automatically play for audiences on the ‘For You’ page

You’ll want to practice caution when selecting a TikTok ad type to run for your marketing campaign.

Here’s an example.

Branded hashtags will best serve you in campaigns where you want to generate interest around a particular product or cause.

Like a charity.

TikTok Marketing Tips for Small Businesses

Here are a few TikTok marketing tips to help your business take off on this social media platform.

Choose To Present a Comedic or Technical Personality

Pick your brand’s voice and stick to it. Otherwise, you may send your audience mixed messaging. And this can cause people to lose interest in your brand before they get to know your company.

Pick the Right Hashtags for Your Videos

Like many other social media platforms, users will use hashtags to find videos. If you want your videos to appear in their feed, you’ll need to choose the most relevant hashtags. Meanwhile, you want to avoid popular (and generic) hashtags.

Going with hashtags with too many videos will likely cause your content to get lost amid your competitors’ content.

We recommend using 3 to 5 hashtags on TikTok videos. Without taking too much space in your video descriptions, you’ll have more room for captions and the rest of your description.Do you need a social media marketing firm in Shreveport, LA, who can help you with your TikTok marketing strategy? Look no further. Reach out to us today. We’ll help you with reputation management, lead generation, and more.