If you’re a small business owner looking to expand your online presence, you may want to consider leveraging the power of TikTok. This social media platform has over one billion active users, making it an excellent tool to reach new audiences and boost your brand awareness. In this blog post, we’ll explore five creative ways small business owners can use TikTok to grow their businesses.
Showcasing Your Products or Services
TikTok is an ideal platform to showcase your products or services in an engaging and creative way. You can create short, attention-grabbing videos that highlight the unique features of your products or demonstrate how your services work. You can use creative editing and music to make your videos more appealing and memorable to viewers. By showcasing your products or services on TikTok, you can pique the interest of potential customers and encourage them to visit your website or make a purchase.
Creating Behind-The-Scenes Content
Another way to use TikTok to boost your brand is by creating behind-the-scenes content. This can include showing the day-to-day operations of your business, introducing your employees, or giving a sneak peek of upcoming products or services. By giving viewers a glimpse into the inner workings of your business, you can build a sense of transparency and trust with your audience. You can also use this type of content to humanize your brand and show the people behind your business.
Running a Contest or Challenge
TikTok is well-known for its viral challenges and trends. As a small business owner, you can leverage these trends to create a contest or challenge that’s related to your brand. For example, if you run a bakery, you could create a challenge where users have to create a TikTok video of themselves baking and decorating cupcakes using your products. By creating a fun and engaging contest or challenge, you can increase brand awareness and encourage user-generated content.
Collaborating with Influencers
Partnering with TikTok influencers is another effective way to boost your brand on the platform. Influencers have a loyal following, and their endorsement can help increase your visibility and credibility with your audience. To find the right influencers to collaborate with, you should look for those who align with your brand values and have a similar target audience. You can offer them free products or services in exchange for creating content that showcases your brand.
Using Hashtags and Trending Topics
Finally, you can use hashtags and trending topics to boost your brand on TikTok. Hashtags can help your videos reach a wider audience and increase your visibility on the platform. You can also use trending topics to create content that’s relevant and timely. By creating content that’s aligned with current events or popular trends, you can increase your chances of going viral and reaching a broader audience.
TikTok is a powerful tool for small business owners looking to boost their brand awareness and reach new audiences. By using the platform creatively and strategically, you can increase your visibility, build trust and credibility with your audience, and ultimately grow your business.
Examples of Brands
Elf Cosmetics (@elfyeah)
Elf Cosmetics is a well-known makeup brand that has successfully leveraged TikTok to boost their brand. They use the platform to showcase their products, create makeup tutorials, and participate in viral challenges. Elf Cosmetics has also collaborated with TikTok influencers to reach a wider audience and increase brand awareness. By using TikTok, Elf Cosmetics has been able to reach a younger demographic and increase engagement with their brand.
Chipotle (@chipotle)
Chipotle is a fast-food restaurant chain that has become popular on TikTok for their creative and humorous content. They use the platform to create funny skits, showcase their menu items, and participate in viral challenges. Chipotle has also used TikTok to promote their loyalty program and encourage user-generated content. By using TikTok to create entertaining and engaging content, Chipotle has been able to increase brand awareness and engagement with their audience.
Gymshark (@gymshark)
Gymshark is a fitness apparel brand that has successfully used TikTok to reach a younger demographic and increase brand awareness. They use the platform to showcase their products, create workout tutorials, and participate in viral challenges. Gymshark has also collaborated with TikTok influencers to increase their reach and promote their brand. By using TikTok, Gymshark has been able to create a sense of community around their brand and increase engagement with their audience.
Ocean Spray (@oceansprayinc)
Ocean Spray is a beverage company that went viral on TikTok after a video featuring their product became a popular trend on the platform. They capitalized on this trend by creating their own TikTok account and creating content that was aligned with their brand values. Ocean Spray has used TikTok to showcase its products, create engaging content, and participate in viral challenges. By leveraging the popularity of its viral video, Ocean Spray has been able to increase brand awareness and engagement with its audience on TikTok.
Coin Master Guru (@coinmasterguru)
To show how TikTok works for small blogs as well, we included CoinMaster.guru. They are mostly providing gamers with tips and tricks for this popular game. What differentiates them from regular magazines is they also provide fans with daily Coin Master spin links, rewards, and other bonuses. They also have an iOS and Android app. Recently, there are many brands like this making the step to TikTok. Another one, similar to the mentioned ones above is WeClash.
Marketing differences from TikTok to Instagram
TikTok is different from Instagram, and the approach to using these platforms for brand promotion needs to be different as well. Here are some ways in which TikTok differs from Instagram:
Video Content: TikTok is a platform that is solely dedicated to video content, whereas Instagram has a range of content formats such as photos, videos, and stories. TikTok’s short-form video format encourages users to create engaging and entertaining videos that are highly shareable. Brands that want to be successful on TikTok need to create video content that is engaging, funny, and shareable.
Algorithm: TikTok’s algorithm is designed to promote content that is highly engaging, regardless of the number of followers an account has. This means that even small brands can go viral on the platform if they create highly engaging content. On the other hand, Instagram’s algorithm is more focused on showing users content from accounts they follow or have engaged with in the past.
Hashtags: Hashtags play a significant role in both platforms, but TikTok’s use of hashtags is different from Instagram’s. On TikTok, hashtags are used to categorize content and make it easier for users to find videos related to a particular topic. Hashtags can also be used to participate in trending challenges or create branded challenges. On Instagram, hashtags are used to make content more discoverable, and they’re often used to reach new audiences.
Influencers: Influencer marketing is a powerful tool for brands on both platforms. However, the type of influencer that works on TikTok may differ from Instagram. TikTok influencers are often young and relatable, and they have a loyal following that trusts their recommendations. On Instagram, influencers are often more established and may have a larger following, but their content may be less engaging.
Metrics: TikTok and Instagram have different metrics for measuring success. On TikTok, views, likes, and shares are the most important metrics to track, whereas on Instagram, engagement rate, reach, and impressions are more important. This means that brands need to track different metrics on each platform and adjust their strategies accordingly.
In conclusion, brands need to approach TikTok differently than Instagram. TikTok’s short-form video format, engaging algorithm, and hashtag challenges create a unique opportunity for brands to reach new audiences and increase engagement. By creating engaging and shareable video content, participating in trending challenges, and collaborating with TikTok influencers, brands can build a loyal following on the platform and increase brand awareness.
