08/15/2024 | News release | Archived content
Learning how to use TikTok for business can level up your marketing strategy. The platform is home to over 1.5 billion users of all ages.
But surprisingly, only 26% of marketers are currently using TikTok. Considering the massive user base and engagement rates the platform offers, there's a huge opportunity for brands to capitalize on this untapped potential.
In this article, we'll show you how to use TikTok for business. Learn how to set up your account, develop a TikTok marketing content strategy, run ads, track performance and more.
Contrary to popular belief, TikTok has a very diverse user base. It's not just Gen Z making funny dance videos. You also have millennials and older age groups using the platform daily for entertainment, catching up on the latest news or finding new products.
In fact, recent data shows nearly 50% of TikTok users are between 25 and 44 years old. Chances are your target audience sits nicely somewhere within that range.
Additionally, here are some specific benefits of using TikTok for business:
TikTok offers multiple ways to spread the word about your brand. You can work with influencers, run various types of ads and use features like hashtags and branded stickers to put your brand in the spotlight. Also, if you create entertaining and unique content, your videos have a high potential to go viral.
The best thing about TikTok marketing is it doesn't feel like marketing. There are plenty of ways to promote your products without coming across as pushy, such as by partnering with influencers that your audience trusts, creating genuinely helpful and entertaining videos, and more.
TikTok has millions of users distributed across the globe. It's one of the best platforms to reach an international audience and grow your customer base. Plus, there's always the added benefit of reaching exclusive TikTok users who don't actively use any other social platforms.
TikTok is all about creating authentic, engaging content that feels human and personal. This helps you build strong relationships with your audience and increases the chances of them converting into customers. Plus, if you hop on the right trend at the right time (or even better, start a trend) you may end up acquiring a lot of new customers.
Now that we've covered why you need to take your business on TikTok, let's look at how you can use the platform to its maximum potential.
Ready to start using TikTok for business? It's competitive out there-you need to be smart and do your homework before you start sharing videos. Follow the steps below to start using TikTok for business and boost your chances of succeeding on the platform.
The first step is to decide which type of TikTok account you want to create. You have three options-business, creator and individual. For brands, a TikTok business account is ideal.
A business account gives you access to TikTok's entire suite of marketing tools, including analytics, ads, commercial audio and other resources. You're also able to set up a TikTok store and connect to third-party apps like Sprout Social to manage your content.
Here's how to create a TikTok business account:
Next, optimize your profile so it aligns with your brand identity, pops up in search, and makes your account look professional and legit. Add a high-quality logo as your profile picture, enter your business name and username, and create a short, compelling bio.
Finally, add your URL and social media accounts, such as Instagram and YouTube. Depending on your strategic goals, you could link out to your website's homepage or pick a specific landing page or blog. Here's a snapshot of Samsung's TikTok profile as an example:
Getting verified on TikTok adds a blue checkmark next to your account name. This shows TikTok has confirmed your account is authentic and belongs to a notable business.
A verified badge helps build trust and credibility with your audience. It also protects you from fake accounts trying to impersonate your brand by marking your profile as the original one.
To get verified, your account needs to meet certain criteria. This includes:
You can apply through TikTok's verification request form by providing proof of identity and popularity, such as a business email and media coverage.
What do you want to achieve on TikTok? Maybe it's increasing brand awareness, driving traffic to your website or boosting product sales. Whatever it is, having clear and meaningful goals will help guide your content creation and overall TikTok marketing strategy.
Break down your main goal into SMART targets. For example, if you want to increase brand awareness, you could set targets like:
Once you've set your social media KPIs, you can create content that aligns with them and track your progress. But before that, there's one more thing you need to do.
To succeed on TikTok, you need to create content for the right audience. Think about who your ideal customer is, what they like and how they behave on the platform.
Start by looking at your current customers and identify common traits like age, gender, location and interests. Then, check out your competitors and see who they're targeting on TikTok.
Once you have a clear picture of your target audience, dive into the platform and see what content they engage with, what hashtags they use, and which creators or brands they follow.
Use this info to create personas that represent your ideal TikTok followers. This will make it easier to craft your content strategy around what they like to boost engagement and grow your following (more on this in the next section.)
To show you the process, I'll integrate TikTok with Sprout Social.
We know using TikTok for your business is a powerful way to captivate your audience and boost your brand. But when you pair TikTok with your other social media networks through a social media management tool, you can supercharge your results.
Getting started with TikTok using Sprout Social is really easy. Start a free trial and set up an account with your business email.
Once you are ready, go to Account and settings, then click on "Connect a Profile".
From the In Group dropdown, choose the Group you wish to link your TikTok profile with.
To establish a connection with Sprout, select "Connect" on the TikTok page and follow the authorization process. Consider connecting more than one social media network so you can manage your social media cohesively and benefit from cross-network reporting.
In the Sprout Social dashboard, click on the "Publishing" tab and select "Calendar." Then click on the "Create Calendar" button.
In the calendar creation window, select "TikTok" as your platform.
Use the calendar to plan and create your TikTok content. You can add captions, hashtags, and upload your videos directly to your calendar.
Easily invite team members to collaborate on the calendar and assign tasks to ensure a smooth content creation process.
Use the preview to see how your posts will look when published on TikTok.
Select the days and times you want to post to TikTok. You can choose to post daily, on specific days of the week or on a custom schedule.
When you're ready, schedule your posts to automatically publish at the designated time.
Monitoring performance in Sprout is easy. Navigate to Reports where you can track TikTok analytics and measure engagement, reach, demographics and follower growth. Use this information to learn more about how well your content is doing. Uncover the content your target audience engages with most to inform future content and ensure your content hits right in the markets that matter most to your business.
If you've connected more than one social media network to Sprout, you can use its cross-network Post Performance Report to see how well posts perform by network. This can help you refine your social media strategy by network.
Now on to the meaty part-creating engaging content that aligns with your brand and resonates with your target audience. But that can't happen without a proper roadmap in place. In other words, you need a TikTok content strategy.
Here are a few things to consider when crafting a TikTok content strategy for your brand:
After you begin creating content on TikTok, there are several ways to boost your performance on the platform:
Mastering TikTok requires a deep understanding of how the algorithm works. This will help you create content that ranks higher in user feeds as well as on the Explore and For You pages.
First, know that TikTok's algorithm recommends content tailored to each user's interest. But you're competing with millions of videos and there's only space for a handful of them on the For You page. So, how does TikTok decide which videos get more exposure?
Here are the factors the platform's algorithm considers when ranking content:
Knowing these factors can help you create content that's more likely to rank in front of the right people. Also, TikTok's algorithm does not recommend the following types of content:
TikTok's algorithm does not consider factors like follower count or previous high-performing videos when recommending content. This means even if your business is new on the platform, your videos are just as likely to rank as those posted by popular accounts.
Want to make your videos easier to find? Optimize various aspects of your content so it ranks higher for relevant search queries. Here are some tips to nail TikTok SEO:
Businesses can run different types of TikTok ads that blend in seamlessly with the rest of the content on the platform. Ads can boost your marketing strategy on the platform by widening your reach and driving more targeted traffic to your website.
For example, you can promote organic posts using Spark ads or partner with creators to produce sponsored influencer content. Or, tap into more traditional ad formats like in-feed, carousel, TopView and brand takeover ads.
TikTok is a haven for brands looking into influencer marketing. There are countless influencers of all levels on the platform-from mega influencers with millions of followers to nano influencers with a few thousand fans.
For instance, nutrition brand Tropeaka partners with lifestyle influencers like Sopha Dopha (@sophadopha) who help create video content for the brand. Here's an example:
Working with influencers can help you attract new audiences and build a credible brand image by reaching out through someone they trust. Below are some tips for maximizing your TikTok influencer marketing campaigns:
If done right, influencer collaborations on TikTok can be highly rewarding for your brand. Use an influencer marketing tool to choose the right partners and work closely with them during the planning and strategizing to see impactful results.
Don't forget-they are experts at what they do, and might be able to bring a lot of great ideas or valid concerns to the table that you'd have otherwise missed.
TikTok analytics refers to all the data on your profile, content and audience that helps you track the performance of your videos, learn about your followers and make strategic decisions.
TikTok can be very competitive, but a data-driven approach can help your business stand out and drive targeted results on the platform. Here are some key metrics to look out for:
Compare the performance of different video types, formats, lengths and distribution tactics to identify what resonates best with your target audience. Look for patterns and trends in your data to guide your content creation and posting schedule.
TikTok is one of the fastest growing platforms of our time. If you're still not using it for your business, you're missing out on tons of potential brand awareness, revenue and engagement. Follow the steps in this article to get started on TikTok on the right foot.
Amplify your TikTok marketing strategy with the right tool. Sprout Social's powerful social media management platform can help you engage with your audience, schedule posts and analyze performance all in one place-and not just on TikTok. Start a free 30-day trial now and take Sprout for a test drive.
Mahnoor Sheikh
Mahnoor is a freelance writer and the founder of MASH Content. She loves to talk about digital marketing, branding and visual design, and is passionate about tea, kittens and traveling with her husband.