How To Harness The Power of TikTok For Your Business: A Comprehensive Guide

Have you ever scrolled so long on social media that you’ve found yourself down a rabbit hole of conspiracy theories? Or perhaps you found yourself watching a 3-hour concert in a different timezone on a grainy livestream (Shoutout to The Eras Tour!)? TikTok has rapidly become one of the most popular social media platforms, but it’s not just a platform for entertainment—it can also be a powerful marketing tool for your business!

The Power of TikTok

TikTok offers unprecedented opportunities for widespread reach, viral content, and authentic engagement from a very active and diverse user base. Whether you’re looking to increase brand awareness, drive traffic to your website, or build a loyal community, TikTok provides the tools and features that can help your business achieve its goals.

Getting Started on TikTok

Getting started on TikTok for your business might sound good, but what if you’ve never been on the app or have no idea where to start in terms of marketing to get those sweet, sweet views? Let’s take a look at how you can set up a business account and unlock the marketing power behind this viral app.

How to Set Up Your Business Account on TikTok

1. Download the TikTok App

• If you don’t already have the TikTok app, start by downloading it from either the App Store (iOS) or Google Play Store (Android).

2. Sign Up or Login

• If you don’t have an existing TikTok account, you’ll need to create one. You can sign up using your email, phone number, or third-party platforms like Google, Facebook, or Apple.
• If you already have an account, log in using your existing credentials.

3. Switch to a Business Account

Once you’re logged in, follow these steps to convert your account to a business account:

• Go to Your Profile: Tap the Profile icon at the bottom right of the screen.
• Open Settings: Tap the three dots (or three lines) in the top right corner to access settings.
• Access “Manage Account”: Under the settings menu, tap on “Account” (or “Manage Account”).
• Switch to Business Account: Tap on “Switch to Business Account”. You’ll be given the option to choose a business category that best represents your brand (e.g., Retail, Health, Food, Technology, etc.).
• Complete Your Profile: After switching, you can add more details about your business, including your website link, contact information, and other business-related information to your profile.

Now that the business profile has been set up, you are one step closer to creating content! First, let’s see how you can better focus your ideas.

Determine Your Target Audience

In order to maximize your time and effort when posting videos to TikTok, you first need to understand who your target audience is. Here are some helpful tips before you start creating:

Define Your Brand Goals and Niche

• Start by determining what type of content you’ll create—whether it’s education, fitness, fashion, comedy, etc. Make sure it aligns with your brand goals.
• Next, you will need to set clear objectives. Are you aiming to raise brand awareness, generate leads, or increase sales? Different goals might have different audiences, even on the same platform.

Check Out Your Competition and the Influencers in Your Niche

• Look for similar accounts on TikTok that create the content you want to make. Note what type of audience they attract by checking out their comments, followers, and demographics if available.
• Take note of hashtags, video styles, and formats these accounts use to help your content make more of an impact.
• Influencers are a great way to get your business in the spotlight. Consider partnering with these creators to boost your viewership. We’ve included more tips on partnering with influencers later in the blog.

Create Engaging Content

The next step is to start creating! Most TikTok viewers want to see creative and authentic content. Here are some steps to make your TikTok content more engaging:

1. Hook Viewers in the First Few Seconds: Attention spans on TikTok are short, so grab your audiences’ attention immediately. Use compelling visuals, an intriguing statement, or a surprising action within the first 2–3 seconds. Sometimes even “watch until the end” prompts or teasers encourage viewers to stay longer.
2. Use Trends and Challenges Creatively: Participate in popular TikTok challenges, use trending sounds, and add hashtags to your caption that are relevant to your business. It goes a long way when brands are “in the know”. On the flip side, it’s important not to force trends. If it doesn’t align with your brand or style, maybe skip that trend. Authenticity resonates more with audiences and can make your content feel more natural and engaging.

Important Note: Business accounts on TikTok have limited access to music because of licensing restrictions. TikTok does offer business accounts access to a “Commercial Music Library” (CML) with sounds specifically licensed for commercial use.

3. Experiment with Different Content Formats: What makes TikTok enjoyable to users is the variety of content on the app. Try mixing up your content by including tutorials, Q&As, or behind-the-scenes. Variety can help you find new ways to connect with your audience. Testing different formats allows you to see what type of content works best for your target audience. Analyze the results and adjust your content strategy based on which types of videos get the best response.
4. Have Fun: TikTok is a platform where authenticity and creativity shine. Don’t be afraid to allow your brand to have a personality! Being spontaneous and fun translates well on TikTok and will make your content more engaging.

Research Hashtags and Craft Keyword-Rich Captions

Hashtags and keywords are crucial tools for reaching your target audience and improving your visibility on TikTok. Here are a few reasons why:

Enhance Your Discoverability

TikTok’s algorithm uses hashtags and keywords to promote content to users with those interests. When you use trending hashtags or specific hashtags/words that align with your brand, your posts will appear in search results and on the “For You” page (FYP), increasing the chance that potential customers will see your content.

Build Brand Awareness and Community

Your business can create a unique hashtag to represent your campaign, which encourages user-generated content and builds a community around your brand. This is also a way for your audience to promote your business to others easily.

Need help coming up with hashtags and keywords for your post? Here are some tools to get you started:

1. Browse the Trending Hashtags on TikTok: Research hashtags in the TikTok Creative Center
2. Browse the Trending Keywords on TikTok: Research some of the trending keywords in the TikTok Creative Center

Advertising Opportunities

You can choose from a variety of ad formats on TikTok. While each offers distinct advantages, some may be more suitable than others for your specific needs. Here is a breakdown of the main types of ads and the benefits of each:

In-Feed Ads

TopView Ads

Branded Hashtag Challenges

This type of ad involves creating a branded hashtag that encourages users to participate in a specific challenge based on your business. This could include a dance challenge or product demonstration. The goal of Hashtag challenges is to drive engagement and user-generated content. These challenges are promoted on the Discover page which can help extend your campaign’s reach organically.

Bidding Strategies

Another factor to consider when advertising on TikTok is the type of bidding strategy you should use. Let’s take a look at some strategies available to your business:

• Cost Per Click (CPC) Bidding focuses on paying for each click on the ad. It’s best suited for businesses looking to drive traffic to their website.
• Cost Per Action (CPA) Bidding is a performance-based model where businesses pay when users take specific actions, like signing up or making a purchase. This is best for businesses aiming for high-quality conversions, as you only pay when users complete desired actions, ensuring better ROI.
• Cost Per Mille (CPM) Bidding, also known as Cost Per 1,000 Impressions, focuses on views or impressions rather than specific actions. This is effective for increasing brand awareness, as it prioritizes high visibility.
• Cost Per View (CPV) Bidding charges businesses only when users view their videos for a specific length of time. This type of bid works well for businesses focused on engagement and ensuring users actually view their ads for a longer period of time.

Influencers

Last, but certainly not least, let’s take a look at how influencers can help add a fresh spin to traditional ad campaigns.

TikTok Influencers can bring an authentic brand connection. These influencers have built a trusted relationship with their followers so when you partner with them, your brand can benefit from authenticity. This makes your ads feel more genuine rather than just a promotional video.

Influencers bring a built-in audience with specific demographics, interests, and behaviors. Your brand can strategically choose influencers whose followers align with your target audience, allowing your ad to reach the right people and expand your reach to someone who might have never seen your ad.

Influencers are experts when it comes to creating engaging, creative content that aligns with TikTok’s current trends. Their followers are already used to engaging with their favorite influencers’ content, making influencer-led campaigns more likely to drive higher engagement levels.

Using influencers is a powerful way to boost your business’s credibility, reach, and engagement through creative and authentic content.

Measure Your Success

If you’ve made it all the way to the end, congratulations! You are now ready to harness the power TikTok has to offer. One last important step after posting is to break down how well your videos have performed. Here are a few key things to consider:

KPI Goals

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) might look different from business to business. Make sure you understand your KPI goals beforehand. Each KPI should be measurable, realistic, and closely tied to your overall objective. Some common KPI goals include:

• Brand Awareness (impressions, reach, video views, view duration)
• Engagement (likes, shares, comments)
• Traffic (click-through rate, landing page views, website visits)
• Lead Generation (from submissions, sign-ups) 
• Conversions (sales, add-to-cart actions)

Use What You’ve Learned

After combing through the numbers and gaining insight into how well your videos have performed, you can use this information to help guide future projects. By using these data-driven insights you can make more informed decisions, improve efficiency, and increase the effectiveness of future TikTok ad campaigns.

Contact Solution Agency for Expert Social Ads Management

If you need assistance with your business’s paid social media ads strategy and management, Solution Agency is here to help! If you have a problem, we have a solution. It’s in our name. Contact our digital marketing team today.

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