TikTok is one of the major trends and the most popular apps out there. Even though it got its first place in the ranking of the free apps in early 2018, its popularity is still rising! TikTok brings 689 million monthly active users together for both enjoying great content and creating it.
Therefore, it is not surprising that brands are actively using the platform to make themselves visible. It works so well so far. Brands become more relatable, adds are as close to organic as possible, and it is still new and full of potential.
In this article, you will get to know why you should use TikTok, what business features it has to offer, and how to use it. TikTok has a lot of potentials and we are going to prove it.
Spice up your marketing game with TikTok for business.
Why Should You Use TikTok for your Business?
TikTok became the most downloaded app in August 2020. This fact alone can make you seriously consider this social media platform for self-promotion. However, it is not only about numbers:
The Younger Generation Is Here
It is a platform where you can easily target Gen Z who are tired of the perfect looks on Instagram. TikTok users are all in for messy dances, non-polished feed, and authenticity. However, you can easily find Millenials and even boomers in there now.
Become Relatable
Content on TikTok is quite easy to create and is very light-hearted. You do not need professional cameras and hours of editing to produce picture-perfect content. That is how brands become more relatable: they share funny content while using the same tools as everyone on the platform.
Show the Face
The power of brands is in the people who create them. However, they are typically hiding behind graphics and stock photos in its worst case. However, TikTok is more about personalities. You have a great opportunity to show your team.
More Engaging Content
Even advertisements on TikTok are shareable. Here it is: you offer dissertation writing services but instead of showing the price list, you show how people write dissertations in a funny way: procrastinating till there is no time left, drinking way too many energy drinks, pulling all-nighters, crying while sourcing the paper, etc. You will both promote the services and create shareable content.
These were only top-3 reasons to use TikTok as a business. Other ones like wide influencer marketing opportunities, a full-screen format that prevents users from being distracted by the content of someone else, and the new niche in marketing are too obvious to mention.
Business Features on TikTok and How to Use Them
Now that you are inspired and motivated to explore marketing on TikTok, let’s find out what it has to offer for the brands.
How to Create a Business Account on TikTok
- Get TikTok App
- Tap the “Me” button in the bottom menu bar
- Sign up with a phone number, email address, or a registered social media account
- Click “…” on the top right of the “Me” section
- Go to “Manage my account” – “Switch to Pro Account” – “Business Account”
- Choose the category for your brand
- You are all done!
After you have created the business account use the following features:
Business Information
You can tell more about your business by providing various information. Firstly, you can state your country/region/address to target local consumers and tell them where to find you exactly. Secondly, you can state the name of the business to increase recognition (the name should be the same as in your legal documentation). Lastly, put a link to your website to make the shopping process easier.
Statistics
Seeing how your advertisement performs is a key stage for future planning and deciding on the pros and cons of the previous campaign. TikTok has an Ads Manager that makes analyzing the data as easy and convenient as possible.
You can get an overview of all the campaigns on the “Dashboard”. Here, you can see the status of the campaigns (Active or Not Delivering), the performance by gender, age, operation system, interests, etc., and suggestions.
In “Campaigns” you can analyze the performance of every single campaign and ad. You can access the data in charts, tables, graphics, or whatever works best for you by customizing.
You can also access the data on how your content is working to readjust the content plan if needed. However, keep in mind that no historic data will be shown. and you have to wait 7 days to get the first statistical overview.
In-Feed Ads
In-feed ads mean a video of a brand that appears in the feed of a user on the “For you” page. It lasts between 9 to 15 seconds and has a button with a call-to-action like “Buy now”. The link will take customers to your website, shop, or app.
You have only 2 or 3 seconds to convince the customer to not scroll past. You can ask questions, show your influencers who you partnered with, or establish the problem that your future customer will relate to.
Do not forget to put text on it to connect with people with disabilities.
Branded Takeover
Can you imagine that every user who opens the social media app sees your ad? TikTok made it possible! For the entire day, every time a user opens an app, the first thing that they see is a full-screen ad of a brand.
You can hardly not notice the ad. If you can easily scroll down in-feed advertisement or not even get to the point where ads appear on the “For You” page, with the branded takeover, you will be forced to see the ad every time you want to use an app.
However, only one brand per day can use this feature. It costs a lot as well, obviously. Do think about the overwhelming reach though…
Branded Hashtag Challenge
It is not that you suggest a hashtag to your audieaccountnce and they make content around it for prizes or something like it works on Instagram or Facebook. TikTok knows the power of hashtags and gave the opportunity to monetize them.
Branded hashtags are featured on the discover page. After you click the hashtag, you get to the brand page, read the description of the challenge, and see the most popular videos so far.
You have to think about the challenge that one create easily TikToks videos around it. It may raise awareness about the issues related to brand causes and values or be light-hearted and relatable.
You have an opportunity to reach a potential audience that otherwise may not discover your brand and let the users speak themselves about your business. However, this type of advertisement is expensive as well.
Branded Effect and Songs
Lenses, filters, and masks are often used in TikToks to make someone pretty and cute, fix the lighting, or add the fun part in the video. You can create something brand-related like a makeup filter with the products of yours or something that you know will be widely used.
Another big part of TikTok is music and sound effects. Sometimes songs are trending, especially in the dancing videos, but more often than not certain phrases and sound effects are used. If you come up with something funny or something that can apply to various types of content, you are likely to get very popular very fast.
Conclusion
TikTok is still trending and, thus, becoming a solid platform for marketing. You can reach the uncatchable Gen Z in there, become more relatable, show the people behind your brand, and even get your advertisement spread if you come up with a less selling way of selling.
TikTok offers interesting business features that will help your brand become more visible. It breaks down to such basics as business information and in-feed ads. However, there are pretty intriguing types of advertisement as well. For example, an ad of your brand can pop up every time every single user opens an app for the entire day with Branded Takeover or get your Hashtag Challenge Featured.
TikTok is a truly amazing platform that has so much potential. Just grab the opportunity and become one of those who discovered it earlier than other brands.
