In a digital world dominated by Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram, it’s hard to imagine any other app reaching the same or higher level of success. However, that all changed when TikTok, a social media app that started as a platform to showcase short video content, disrupted the digital marketing and content creation industry, amassing over a billion users since its inception in 2016.
The app’s emergence as a mainstream social media staple has led to many organizations using the platform to expand their target markets and share their value offerings in 60 seconds or less. With the platform’s userbase rapidly growing, TikTok for business is steadily becoming an established practice in many industries.
Unfortunately, most people fail to see the flip side of the equation and think of the app as a platform for sharing montages, comedic shorts, and duets. Let us show you the power of TikTok for business so you can gauge whether it’s worth investing in.
How Businesses Can Use TikTok
The following are two ways businesses can use TikTok for Business:
1. TikTok Influencer Marketing
One of the best ways to turn your audiences into potential buyers is through targeted digital marketing. In the modern age, this requires people who can appeal to and influence consumer behavior. This is where influencer marketing comes in, especially if you’re targeting a youthful demographic. Like YouTube, TikTok is a platform for sharing videos. Therefore, businesses can hire influencers to make, share, and even live stream promotional videos to attract their followers. The platform is still in its early stages as a marketing channel, but hundreds of major brands, including Chipotle, NBA, the Washington Post, and Calvin Klein, are working with influencers worldwide to extend their reach. Since the platform is relatively new compared to Instagram and YouTube, TikTok influencers charge considerably less than their counterparts, making them potentially more cost-effective.
2. TikTok Advertising
TikTok is rapidly becoming a full-fledged advertising platform, opening tons of opportunities for brands of all sizes to invest and extend their reach. The platform offers five different ad formats – in-top, brand takeover, branded effects, top-view, and branded hashtag challenge. These formats are quite similar to Instagram adverts and offer a lot of options for small to medium businesses, in terms of cost and quality.
The Main Benefits of Using TikTok for Business
Perhaps the only reason most people aren’t aware of the several benefits TikTok offers is due to the nature of the content it showcases.
However, with over a billion users to target, many businesses are taking advantage of the features and opportunities it offers. Let’s check out some of the main benefits:
1. Originality
Perhaps the biggest benefit TikTok offers to businesses is that they don’t have to create high-quality, professionally edited videos. Marketers can use their smartphones to come up with engaging, original content that aligns with their organization’s goals and branding strategy. The platform’s casual nature also presents a great opportunity for solopreneurs to showcase their value offerings without necessarily providing in-depth follow-up blog posts or infomercials. In the fast-paced retail world, all you need is a 60-second video highlighting the main features of your product or service.
2. A Huge Audience Base to Target
In less than half a decade, TikTok has gained nearly a billion users ranking the platform as one of the most downloaded apps in recent history. Due to its immense, rising popularity, businesses have a huge, connected audience that is still familiarizing itself with the tending platform. With attention shifting from Facebook and other competitors, TikTok is now the place to market your products and services.
3. Advanced Delivery Algorithms
TikTok is one of those businesses that learned from the best and tried to introduced a better product in the market. Due to its unique delivery algorithms, users can get higher engagement on their videos with barely any effort. Even if your business account is new with zero followers, your videos can go viral much faster, compared to YouTube or Facebook, which is great for startups and small businesses.
4. Better Localization
Consumer sentiment and behavior have evolved in the last decade, with shoppers looking to learn more about a business before splashing their cash. This is where localization comes in for startups and small businesses. Many TikTok users have localized audiences in their communities, meaning companies can hire their services to create local campaigns highlighting the culture, food, style, religion, and language, etc. TikTok now has hundreds of influencers from small towns and cities with thousands of followers. All you need is one whose niche is in line with your brand so you can attract your target audiences.
5. Dedicated Branding Channel
Just like YouTube, businesses can create a company account TikTok, have it verified, and use it to create branded videos instead of hiring influencers. With a relatively faster growth rate, you can extend your reach using short videos as long as the content is qualitative. You only have a few seconds to grab the attention of users to ensure they learn more about your value offerings.
Wrapping Up
In an age where short-form video marketing and consumerism are at their peak, TikTok has become a revolutionary platform for businesses as it has simplified the overall digital marketing and advertising process. The app proved that all you need is a smartphone and a 60-second-or-less video to sell your products and services.
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by Bobby J Davidson
I love our companies and we love what we do. For more information on the Davidson Family of Companies, visit www.bobbydavidson.com/about. Sign up for my Newsletter at the bottom of this page.