As a business owner, you are certainly no longer far from using social networking platforms as a marketing tool. Among them, TikTok is one of the youngest platforms that has made the most significant impact in the last three years. It is a short video platform that allows users to post videos under 60 seconds and in a vertical format.
With more than 1 billion monthly users, TikTok brings thousands of golden opportunities to many businesses. But do you know how to use TikTok for business or how to start a TikTok business? If you still need to, you’ve come to the right place.
In this guide, we will detail nine steps to use TikTok for your business, which is:
- Step 1: Create a TikTok Business Account
- Step 2: Get to know your target audience and the TikTok community
- Step 3: Set your goals
- Step 4: Create content that people want to watch
- Step 5: Master the TikTok SEO
- Step 6: Engage with your audience and grow your following
- Step 7: Leverage TikTok Shop
- Step 8: Use TikTok’s advertising
- Step 9: Dive into TikTok Analytics
Let’s explore thoroughly now!
Why Should You Use TikTok for Business?
Before exploring how to use TikTok for your business, it is vital to understand why you should do that.
As you know, TikTok has revolutionized the social media landscape with its short-form video content and user-friendly interface. While initially popular among Gen Z users, TikTok has gained significant traction among businesses as an effective marketing platform. Below are the main reasons why businesses use TikTok so much:
- Massive user base: With over 2 billion downloads worldwide, Tiktok clearly owns a significant user database. This is an excellent opportunity for tiny businesses to reach large audiences and diversity. It can be said that using TikTok for business is a way to help expand their brand’s reach like never before.
- High engagement rates: TikTok users are highly engaged compared to most other social networks. They spend an average of 52 minutes per day on TikTok. This engagement level allows businesses to contact their target audience and build brand awareness.
- Trendsetting platform: TikTok is known for setting trends and viral challenges. Jumping on these trends and challenges can significantly boost your brand’s visibility. This is also how you can create buzz around your products or services.
- Influencer marketing opportunities: TikTok is home to many influencers who have amassed large followings. Influencer marketing on TikTok has proven highly effective, with many campaigns going viral and generating massive brand exposure. Thus, collaborating with TikTok influencers can help businesses gain more reach and increase customer trust.
How To Use TikTok For Business?
The process of how to use TikTok for business includes nine steps.
Here are 9 simple steps to use TikTok for your business:
- Step 1: Create a TikTok business account
- Step 2: Get to know your target audience
- Step 3: Set your goals
- Step 4: Create content that people want to watch
- Step 5: Master the TikTok SEO
- Step 6: Engage with your audience and grow your following
- Step 7: Leverage TikTok Shop
- Step 8: Use TikTok’s advertising
- Step 9: Dive into TikTok Analytics
Now, let us explore in detail each step in the process of how to use TikTok for business:
Step 1: Create a TikTok Business Account
Of course, just like using any other platform, how to use TikTok for business needs to begin with an account.
Follow these simple steps if you don’t know how to set up a TikTok business account:
- Download and open the TikTok app on your device.
- If you don’t already have a TikTok account, you can establish a new personal account by following the instructions displayed on the TikTok signup screen. You can utilize your email address or log in through your Google, Twitter, or Facebook account
- Once you have created a personal account, tap on your profile icon at the bottom right corner of the screen.
- Tap on the menu icon (three horizontal lines) at the top right corner of the screen.
- In the menu, choose Settings and Privacy.
- Under Settings and Privacy, tap on Account.
- In the Account settings, tap on Switch to Business Account to convert your personal account into a TikTok Business Account.
- Now, use Tiktok for business login
Step 2: Get to know your target audience and the TikTok community
Once you complete how to create a TikTok business account, the next step in how to use TikTok for business processes is to comprehensively your target audience on this platform. But how is that? Here are useful tips to help you understand who your target audience is and how they behave:
- Spend time on the TikTok platform: By actively using TikTok and exploring the content, you can gain insights into the interests, preferences, and behaviors of the TikTok community. While surfing TikTok, you should take note of the types of videos that are popular, the trends that are emerging, and the hashtags that are frequently used. This will help you easily brainstorm and create ideas that hit customer insights later.
- Explore the For You page (FYP): The For You page is a personalized feed on TikTok that shows content based on users’ interests and interactions. By scrolling through the For You page, you can discover some of trending videos.
- Discover page: The Discover page on TikTok provides a curated content selection based on categories and interests. You can explore different categories and hashtags related to your target audience to understand their preferences and the content they engage with.
- Research relevant hashtags and subcultures: It would be better to use the search bar on TikTok to find hashtags related to your industry, niche, or target audience. For example, if you operate a cosmetics store, #makeuptutorial, #beauty, should be your hashtags. By exploring these hashtags, you can discover subcultures and communities within TikTok that align with your target audience’s interests.
Step 3: Set your goals
Once you clearly understand your target audience in particular, as well as the TikTok community in general, setting your goal is the next step in how to use TikTok for business. To set the most reasonable goals, you need to consider the following factors:
- Define your objectives: You have to start by identifying what you want to achieve with your TikTok marketing efforts. Your goals could include increasing brand awareness, driving website traffic, generating leads, boosting sales, or engaging with your target audience. We note that:
- Your objective should be formulated according to the SMART formula. SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Let us give you an example of a SMART goal as follows: “Our objective is to get 50,000 traffic for our shop from our TikTok account by 2 months. We will accomplish this goal by following in how to use TikTok for the business guid.”
- You should set only a few goals. This avoids overloading you and making it possible to achieve good results for your purposes. It should have less than three goals at best.
- Allocate your resources: Determining the resources you are willing to invest in your TikTok marketing strategy is essential. Why? This will help keep the TikTok campaign for your business from running out of capital or producing lower-quality content. In short, maintain a stable TikTok channel. Resources mentioned here may include budget, time, and personnel.
Step 4: Create content that people want to watch
Now, we move to the core step in how to use TikTok for business: generating content. Basically, there is no general formula for creating compelling content for business on TikTok. However, there are some things you should follow, at least to ensure that your content has a chance to reach your audience, including:
- Follow TikTok trends: You ought to stay up-to-date with the latest TikTok trends and challenges. Incorporate popular trends into your content to increase its visibility and reach. Nevertheless, verifying that the trends match your brand and remain pertinent to your intended audience is crucial.
- Tell a story: Storytelling never seems out of style in the marketing industry. And when you market for business on TikTok, this technique is still very effective in captivating your audience. An engaging narrative has the potential to foster an emotional bond with your audience and enhance the memorability of your content.
- Keep it short and snappy: Keep in mind that TikTok is a short video platform. Therefore, although TikTok videos have a maximum duration of 60 seconds, shorter videos tend to perform better. We suggest you grab viewers’ attention within the first few seconds with a hook and deliver your message concisely.
- Use captions and text: Due to the typically brief nature of content on TikTok, it can occasionally challenge the audience to grasp your content completely. Using clear and concise text or captions can complement your visuals and enhance the viewer’s understanding of your content.
- Leverage music and sound effects: Music and sound are crucial in creating moving visual content, including TikTok videos. Music and sound can set the mood, evoke emotions, and make your videos more enjoyable. Using trending sounds is also a way to push videos to trend.
Step 5: Master the TikTok SEO
Like other platforms, for content to reach the largest audience for TikTok business, SEO is a must. So, the next step in how to use TikTok for business is profoundly understanding and applying TikTok SEO. So, how to master TikTok SEO? Please follow these steps:
- Research keywords: You can start by researching keywords relevant to your content and target audience. You can use the TikTok Keyword Insights tool to discover top search terms in your niche. Additionally, you can type in a search term on TikTok and see what comes up in the predictive text to get keyword ideas.
- Optimize video content: TikTok is a visual platform, so optimizing your video content is crucial. Here are some optimization tips you can learn:
- Use captivating thumbnails: We suggest you choose an eye-catching thumbnail that entices users to click on your video.
- Include relevant keywords: You have to incorporate relevant that you have searched in your video keywords captions and descriptions to improve search visibility.
- Add hashtags: Including relevant hashtags in your video captions to improve discoverability would be better.
Step 6: Engage with your audience and grow your following
We keep on going on the journey of how to use TikTok for business by interacting with your audience to expand your followers. This is quite a difficult step but can be achieved through various strategies. Here are some tips to help you:
- Reply regularly with your audience or comment on other channel’s videos: You need to take the time to read, react, and reply to comments on your TikTok business videos. This shows that you value your audience’s feedback and encourages them to continue engaging with your content. Meanwhile commenting on videos of other channels is a way to increase your presence on TikTok.
- Host live streams: Hosting live streams on your TikTok business account lets you connect with your audience more personally in real-time. During live streams, you can answer questions, discuss specific topics, and build a rapport with your viewers. Also, you can sell your product or give special deals for your audience
- Post frequently and consistently: Consistency is key on TikTok. Posting content frequently and regularly helps keep your audience engaged and increases the likelihood of your videos appearing in their feeds.
- Collaborate with other TikTok creators, especially Influencers: Teaming up with other creators can help you tap into their audience and gain exposure to new followers for your business on TikTok. You can contemplate duets, stitch videos, or other forms of collaboration to expand your reach. It would help to find influencers similar to your ideal customers.
Step 7: Leverage TikTok Shop
TikTok Shop is an optional step in the journey of how to use TikTok for business marketing. However, TikTok is booming and is expected soon to become one of the top eCommerce platforms worldwide. It would be a shame if you did not use it to increase revenue for your business. Here are some small steps to leverage the TikTok shop:
- Register for TikTok Shop: You must navigate to the seller registration portal and complete the application. You will need to upload the required documents, including your ID, proof of residency, and proof of business ownership
- Wait for the results: After submitting your application, you will receive an email about the results within one to two days. Once accepted, you will be able to use TikTok’s shopping features.
- Link your account and start selling: You have to link your TikTok business account to your TikTok Shop to start selling on this platform. You can add products and promote your shop in your bio and content.
- To optimize your TikTok Shop by:
- Use high-quality images consistent with your brand’s style across TikTok and other best-selling platforms as well as social media channels.
- Fit within the 34-character limit and clearly describe each product title.
- Use the description to provide as many details about the items as possible.
Step 8: Use TikTok’s advertising
Similar to TikTok Shop, TikTok advertising is also an optional step in how to use TikTok for your business. However, it’s worth a try as a way to reach a larger audience in less time. It also may become one of your eCommerce strategies best practices. TikTok offers a variety of advertising selections for businesses looking to promote their products. These options include:
- In-feed ads: In-feed ads are native ads appearing in users’ TikTok feeds as they surf the app. They may be up to 60 seconds long and involve features like clickable links and call-to-action buttons. In-feed ads are a great way to reach a wide audience on TikTok.
- Branded hashtag challenges: Branded hashtag challenges are a popular form of advertising on TikTok business. Brands create unique hashtags and encourage users to create and share content. This type of ad can generate high levels of engagement and user-generated content.
- Branded effects: Branded effects allow brands to create custom filters, stickers, and augmented reality (AR) effects that users can apply to their videos. This type of ad can help increase brand awareness and engagement on TikTok.
- TopView Ads: TopView ads are full-screen video ads that appear when users first open the TikTok app. They can be up to 60 seconds long and are an obvious and impactful advertising option on TikTok.
- Branded takeover: Branded takeover ads are similar to TopView ads but are limited to one advertiser per day. Full-screen ads appear when users first open the TikTok app and can include images, videos, and links.
- In-app purchases: TikTok also offers in-app purchases as an advertising option. This lets users to make purchases directly within the app, providing an opportunity for businesses to sell their products or services to TikTok users.
Step 9: Dive into TikTok Analytics
After spending a considerable amount of time on TikTok, it becomes crucial to assess your progress objectively as a TikTok business manager. That’s why exploring TikTok Analytics and optimizing your TikTok channel become the final step in how to use TikTok for business. It would help if you analyzed your reach and engagement metrics. Doing so lets you understand who is watching and following your content.
Besides, analytics data eliminate the need for guesswork in content strategy by providing concrete evidence of what is effective and what is not. In short, TikTok’s built-in analytics tool offers a range of fascinating metrics that can assist you in making informed decisions for your future endeavors.
How To Use TikTok For Business: FAQs
- Is a TikTok business account free?
Yes is the final answer to the question, “Is TikTok for business free.” When you switch to a TikTok Business Account, you gain access to a suite of features that can help you create content and manage your account.
These features include analytics to review detailed metrics about your account’s growth, the ability to display your email address directly on your TikTok profile, the option to share a direct link to your website on your profile, a post scheduler to schedule TikTok posts in advance, and access to a commercial music library with over 100,000 songs free of copyright fees.
- Is TikTok good for business?
Yes, TikTok can benefit businesses, such as:
- It offers various advertising solutions.
- TikTok’s platform provides a unique opportunity for businesses to engage with a large and diverse audience, including through automotive marketing.
- Businesses can access real-time metrics and audience insights and add more information to their profile. W
- With a billion people of all ages actively using the app, TikTok generates a potential platform to reach a wide audience
- How to use TikTok for marketing?
To know how to use tiktok for business marketing, you can follow these steps:
- Create a TikTok Business account to access analytics and additional features.
- Understand the TikTok algorithm to increase the chances of your content appearing on users’ For You page.
- Leverage influencer marketing by collaborating with popular TikTok creators to promote your brand or product.
- Utilize TikTok advertising options, such as Video Shopping Ads, to reach a wider audience.
- Create engaging and viral content that resonates with TikTok’s diverse user base.
- Remember, TikTok is a dynamic platform, so staying up-to-date with trends and user preferences is crucial for successful marketing.
- Can I use personal TikTok for my business?
Yes, you can use your personal TikTok account for your business. However, it is recommended to create a separate business account to maintain a clear distinction between personal and professional content and to access additional features and analytics specifically designed for businesses.
Get Success with Your TikTok For Business Today!
Overall, how to use TikTok for business is a relatively long process and requires a lot of investment in time and effort. However, this investment will likely bring positive results to your business performance. Furthermore, our how to use TikTok for business is very detailed, your job is just to read carefully and follow each step. If you want to discover more interesting online business knowledge, follow our blog and join our Facebook community.
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