TikTok Marketing: How Small Businesses Can Use It to Grow Sales

If you haven't heard of TikTok yet, it's NOT that catchy-but-kinda-annoying song by Kesha. The TikTok app is being called the "new Vine" because it allows creators to make short, :15 videos using special effects, music, filters, and more. So who is using this platform anyway? Is it worth pursuing for your small business? The short answer is - YES!

By The Numbers

TikTok currently has over 500 million monthly users, and had 1.1 billion installs as of March 2019. Analytics firms speculate that TikTok grew its in-app spending by 521% in the last quarter of 2019.

It was also the most downloaded non-game app in the Apple app store globally in the first quarter of 2018.

Who's On TikTok?

Most users are suspected to be between 16-24 years old, reportedly skewing female. No surprise since the app originally targeted tweens and teens. Most users are from the USA, India, and China. It started with music as an app called Musical.ly and evolved into TikTok, showing a huge variety of different things.

Yes, this app has actually been around long enough to have success stories. Check out this one from Lauren Godwin, a 19-year-old TikTok "star" who has 17 MILLION followers. Yep, 17 million.

Check out this list of the most popular people on TikTok - celebrities in their own right but not typical A-list types. The top user - Loren Gray - has 34.7 million.

What about regular old celebrities? Some celebs you may want to follow on TT include Cardi B., The Jonas Brothers, Post Malone, Will Smith, Britney Spears, Meghan Trainor, Kesha.

Best Practices on TikTok

• Use hashtags no matter what! This is especially important if you're doing a challenge, participating in a joke, and really doing anything trendy. Don't forget the hashtags, remembering to target niche audiences in your area.
• Focus on unbranded hashtags. While #MomsCupcakesIrvine might be relevant to your brand, it's unlikely that that keyword is getting a lot of search volume. Instead, try tags like #Irvine, #OrangeCounty #OC #OCBakery #OrangeCountycupcakes, etc.
• Remember that the goal of this platform is to gain VIEWS, not followers. People open this app with the intention of being amused by a fun video rather than committing to following a brand or person.
• Make your content HYPERLOCAL with regional hashtags. For example, if your business services Atlanta, Georgia be sure to use city names in that region: #georgia #atlanta #atl #alpharetta #milton #roswell #johnscreek #woodstock #EastCobb etc. etc.
• Follow accounts you love, especially local ones. We personally love following Will Smith! He's always on top of whatever TikTok users are loving today.
• Keep your videos fun, casual, and light-hearted. This platform is all about FUN and spontaneity rather than crafted perfection like Instagram.

Tactics for Small Businesses

• Creating "response" type videos. This video carries an original video and shows your reaction at the same time. This can get you into trending streams and onto the "Discover" page. See how you can create this video type, remember to include audio to get the full effect!
• Using the "duet" function (see above) - this is where you duplicate videos and add yourselves to the video. You might think of it like joining a conga line of videos, or like remixing a song if you prefer. You can do this with a friend by setting up a joke and then allowing them to deliver the punchline!
• Jump on a community-created challenge! To see an example, search for Jimmy Fallon's #tumbleweedchallenge. Users uploaded videos of themselves rolling around like a tumbleweed, complete with a western music theme playing in the background. This led to over 8,000 submissions and more than 10.4 million engagements. Jimmy continues with these challenges regularly. Best of all, the cost to create all this buzz was minimal.
• Work with influencers in your niche and area. For example if you're a pizza restaurant you will want to target foodies in your county. They may come in, order a crazy pizza topping combo, and try it on their channel. This will reach their followers which spreads your content to a broader audience and provides social proof that your brand is worth supporting.
• Look for user-generated content (UGC) around your brand or area. You may be surprised to see that someone has already posted about your brand like this American tourist in Britain. If you see someone who is already a fan of your brand and is posting content, consider partnering with them.

What About TikTok Advertising?

TikTok is still trying to figure out its advertising game for smaller brands, but as the app continues to grow in popularity I'm sure they will find a way to monetize quickly. Possible ad types may include brand takeovers, in-feed native videos, branded hashtag challenges, 2D lens filters, and whatever they can dream up.

What Should You Do First?

I know what you're thinking - another social media platform I need to worry about! My best advice to you is to start small by making your brand's profile. Take baby steps and put out a few videos, testing hashtags and ideal posting times. Even trying TikTok is better than ignoring this ever-growing platform.

Plus, don't you want to be the first one in your space to get huge on TikTok?

For help harnessing the power of this platform, reach out to me, Aimee, for help!