How to use TikTok for your small business

Promoting your small business can grow your audience and, as a result, your client base. Today, social media marketing is a great method of promotion because it can reach nearly 3.8 billion users. TikTok, in particular, is a social media site that recently blew up, making it a great platform to consider for marketing your small business.

This guide will discuss how to use TikTok for business, including: 

• How TikTok can help your business
• How to promote your business on TikTok
• How to create good TikTok content for your small business 

You can find a more general guide on how to use social media to promote your business here.

Launched in 2016, TikTok is a newer form of social media. It’s a short-form video sharing platform with a unique algorithm that curates content based on each user’s activity. Today, TikTok has about 1 billion active monthly users in 150 countries. 

The average UK user spends 41 minutes a day on TikTok, so it’s a great way to maintain the attention of potential customers. In fact, suggested content is affected by a user’s location. So, you can reach a local audience for your small business using TikTok.

TikTok generally reaches a younger demographic, as Generation Z and Millennials primarily make up the platform’s audience. In the UK, 26% of the users are 18-24 years old. So, if your small business targets a younger audience, this could be the right place to promote it. 

Its massive audience and growing influence make TikTok a great platform to access your small business’s target audience.  

If you’re wondering how to use TikTok for your business, you’ll first need to consider the platform. If you know the platform well, you’ll be able to make quality content.  

To get started, you’ll need to make a TikTok account. You can download the app on your phone and easily make an account using your email address, phone number, and business name. Then, consider adding your business logo as the profile picture. 

Once you set up your account, you can search for and follow similar users or businesses profiles to build a foundational audience. When you start posting content, this foundation can grow.

You’ll also want to get to know the platform so you can use it to your advantage. If you pay attention to the latest filters, trends, and sounds, you can use them for immediate user recognition. 

Though TikTok once limited videos to 60 seconds, they have recently expanded that limit to 3 minutes. Still, people often scroll past if a video is too long, so consider how you can keep their attention. 

You should also look into setting up a TikTok shop.

You’ll need to create regular and relevant content to reach your audience. Consider putting together a list of content ideas and a calendar to keep yourself on task. Putting in regular work will help you grow your presence and reach more people over time. 

To find content ideas, search the platform for accounts that target a similar audience. What type of content are they creating? What captions and hashtags are they using? 

On top of this, think about your small business brand. This is the tone and design that you use to represent your business. You can pick a colour scheme or choose to maintain a funny tone. Consider how your content can increase your brand awareness. 

For example, if you have a hairdressing business, you may want to take short clips of your client’s before and after looks. This could reach a beauty-focused audience in your area and convince potential clients to book appointments. 

Aside from making your own TikTok content, you can find influencers that could help grow your audience. If these people have a relevant established audience, they can direct potential customers your way.

For example, if you have a baking business, you may want to find a food-focused influencer to review your baked goods or post a video in your shop. If they tag your profile, people will notice you more. 

You can do this by messaging influencers that would be a good fit. Some may charge for their services, while others may be happy with a discount or free goods.  

Besides working with influencers, you can also build relationships with other businesses with a complimentary market. If you do collaborations and partnerships with them, you can share each other’s audiences. 

You can also consider paying for advertising on TikTok if your budget allows. These ads will appear on the platform to relevant users as they scroll. Ads can lead to results and help grow your client base with less effort from you.

This means you’ll have to create TikTok friendly ad content and that catches the user’s eye. You can learn more about paid advertising on TikTok here. 

Once you know how to use TikTok for your business, you’ll want to consider how you can make the best content. When creating content, consider what your audience wants to see. Assume that the viewer will scroll if you don’t catch their attention right away. 

To do this, you may want to look into tips on short-form video editing or, more specifically, TikTok video editing. There’s a lot of fun tricks you can use to make your content look fun and professional. Consider researching on how to make the most of the TikTok app. 

You may want to become familiar with how to:

• Add filters
• Edit scene cuts
• Add visual elements
• Change the video speed
• Do voice over  

Plus, you can use tools like Vimeo, CapCut, or Beecut to edit and spruce up your content outside of the app. The more you focus on the quality of your content, the better you’ll be able to benefit from the TikTok platform for your small business. 

Once you successfully increase your audience and reach new clients with TikTok, you’ll need to manage your growing finances. Thousands of business owners use the Countingup app to make their financial admin easier. 

Countingup is the business current account with built-in accounting software that allows you to manage all your financial data in one place. With features like automatic expense categorisation, invoicing on the go, receipt capture tools, tax estimates, and cash flow insights, you can confidently keep on top of your business finances wherever you are. 

You can also share your bookkeeping with your accountant instantly without worrying about duplication errors, data lags or inaccuracies. Seamless, simple, and straightforward! 

Find out more here.