TikTok has seen incredible growth in popularity since it was founded in 2016. Despite the continued growth, many people and businesses continue to label the app as something for kids and overlook the platform.
But, the truth is, that all of the top social media platforms that we use today gained popularity first by attracting a younger audience. For example, Instagram started as a platform that was geared towards teenagers and young adults, but today people of all ages as well as businesses use it. So why would TikTok be any different?
Why You Should Use TikTok for Your Business
With over 2.6 billion downloads and over 1 billion active users, TikTok is an incredible social media platform where users, influencers, and businesses can all make their own content as well as build and join continually growing communities.
The Algorithm
One of the things that makes it so incredibly appealing is the algorithm. This algorithm is meant to intentionally make you spend as much time on the app as possible. This works because the combination of the visual and auditory stimulation of the app and the constant stream of videos tailored to match your preferences as accurately as possible (thank you advanced technology!) make it easy to mindlessly consume.
As a business, you can use this addictive nature of the app to your advantage — you just need to be making the right content to get onto people’s For You Pages (FYPs).
Authentic and Creative Content
So, what is the “right” content? Well, for TikTok users (and the younger generations in general), there is an emphasis placed on authentic content that is relatable and valuable. People want trustworthy interactions with real people with real experiences — even when they’re online.
TikTok offers a great platform where people can be themselves and interact with others who have similar interests or experiences or simply valuable content that can improve their lives — you can be that, just remember to be transparent and responsive to trends and your audience.
Connection with Your Target Audience
TikTok allows businesses of all sizes to easily tap into and understand what kind of content their target audience wants to see. You can use this knowledge to come up with content ideas that will be valuable to your audience and connect more effectively with them.
Advertising that Doesn’t Look like Advertising
People are tired of the traditional over-the-top “Billy Mays” style of advertising. They want entertaining but still valuable content — which means engaging and less aggressive advertising. Focus on creating creative and authentic content more than selling products to your audience.
TikTok provides an incredible platform for this less obvious advertising method because there are so many trends and hashtags that you can use to still get your point across (and advertise your brand) without hitting your audience over the head with it.
How to Use TikTok for Your Brand
TikTok is not going anywhere any time soon, it has even influenced other social media platforms to create their own short video-style content (such as YouTube shorts and Instagram Reels) to keep up with the rising popularity of TikTok. So, if TikTok has already had such sway over other top social media platforms, think about what it can do for your business and your audience!
Without further ado, here are seven tips to follow to use TikTok effectively for your business.
1. Format Your Posts for the Platform
Just like with any other type of content for your business, you want to make sure that your TikTok videos look good. So, shoot your video vertically. The platform is meant for mobile devices, so all videos will be shown that way.
This means that if your video is shot horizontally, it will be shown to your audience with two big black bars on the top and bottom — which can make it difficult for people to see what is happening in your video or even make them scroll past it entirely.
2. Keep Your Posts Fun
The entire focus of TikTok is a fun and entertaining way to connect with other people and be creative. So, use this platform as a way to show people a more creative and fun side of your brand. This will help people want to engage with your brand.
3. Keep Your Posts to the Point
As can be seen by YouTube and Instagram’s adoption of the short 15-second videos, people like brief and entertaining videos. You want to get your point across quickly and humorously — after all, people use TikTok for entertainment, so you’ve got to entertain them if you want them to stick around!
4. Use Sounds
Music has always been a big part of TikTok. Just like so many other businesses and influencers on TikTok, you can use music or even trending sounds to make your videos more interesting and engaging for your audience.
5. Trends and Challenges
Content that is trending is trending for a reason — people like seeing it. Use that to your advantage when you’re thinking about content ideas for your business and mimic some of the trending TikTok videos.
Challenges are another great way to engage your audience (and gain some new followers as well). Try creating a challenge that calls on other users to upload their own TikTok videos that are related to the challenge. A good way to keep track of these and make sure their TikTok users know what these videos are for is to use a #Challenge. This also makes it easier for users to invite others to do the challenge as well. Also, make sure that you are also participating in challenges established by other companies as well.
6. Collaborate with Influencers
A lot of influencers already have a loyal following on TikTok. You can collaborate with these influencers to help you reach new audiences and boost audience awareness and engagement with your brand dramatically.
7. Be Consistent
Just like any other social media platform, posting regularly is extremely helpful in not only helping you understand what is performing well but also keeping your audience engaged with your brand. If you only post once in a blue moon, people are going to forget about your brand.
Whether you’re looking to get started with TikTok for your business or you’re already on the platform and are just looking to get all the benefits you can from it, contact us at APS Central to see how we can help you stay on trend on TikTok and all of the other latest platforms and technology.
