Creating a TikTok account for your small business has shown to boost brand awareness and increase sales. Believe it or not, the app has become a go-to site for e-commerce and branding. This is why we suggest you make an account, even if it seems a little silly. Keep reading for our three tips on making the most out of your small business TikTok account.
1) Create a TikTok Shop
In last week's blog post, we explored TikTok Shop. The feature enables TikTok users to browse and purchase products without ever leaving the app. Obviously, this makes things incredibly convenient. It eliminates the step of being redirected to another webpage leading to more decision making tasks such as potentially having to retrieve payment information, potentially deciding "eh I'll buy/book it later," potentially completely forgetting the ad or promo. The convenience factor is HUGE. Speaking of convenience, TikTok Shop also has a LIVE Shopping Feature. This is essentially TikTok's version of a home shopping network, incredibly streamlined and accessible for users. If you're not feeling LIVE video shopping, TikTok still has you covered with shoppable videos. These are video posts that link directly to the product page for their featured item.
2) Find Your Niche
One of the things that makes TikTok stand out for business (or branding, or just about anything else), TikTok is broken into communities (usually referred to as "___-Tok") based on the subject of posts and users. This makes it incredibly easy for anyone to find their niche. In our blog post exploring BookTok, we talk more about how these tight-knit communities have fostered success for small businesses. Many authors directly attribute their notoriety to being part of the BookTok community. Finding your niche on the app is a great way for any small business to connect with an already-targeted audience. Some popular “toks” are: Booktok, Teacher TikTok, DIY TikTok, Skincare TikTok, and Cottagecore, but there are so many more!
3) Connect with Influencers
There are plenty of influencers to connect with on any social media site, but TikTok is one that really encourages interaction between accounts. With things like Duet, Stitching, and Video Reply to comments, TikTok creates spaces specifically for users to reach out and talk with each other. The go-to collab between a brand and influencer tends to involve free products, which can be a solid way to boost your business. On the other hand, we also suggest reaching out to other accounts in your niche and interacting with them. We've had some larger accounts tag us in videos asking their followers to follow us (all unsolicited) because we connected in DM’s and became friends. Never underestimate the power of honest networking! The key here is that these need to be genuine connections. Do NOT just spam people on TikTok asking for followers.
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