How to Use TikTok to Promote Your Business #TikTok for the win!
By Syed Balkhi
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Does the hottest new social media platform TikTok confuse you? To some, it probably seems like just a lip-syncing video app for teens, but it's much more than that.
If you use TikTok just right, you can introduce your business or product to a huge audience. In fact, according to InfluencerMarketingHub, TikTok has 500 million users worldwide, and it was the most downloaded app for Apple in Q1 2018.
Of course, TikTok isn't the right platform for all types of businesses. Here's how you can determine if it's right for you.
Related: TikTok Isn't Going Anywhere
Study the platform.
The last thing you want to do is join a social media platform and look like you don't know what you're doing. To avoid getting shunned by users on TikTok, you need to study the platform. By studying what type of content works on TikTok and how to interact with others on the platform, your business can fit into the culture naturally.
TikTok is all about fun and visually appealing content. If you take a look at the TikTok trending page, you'll find tons of silly videos set to hit songs.
The app isn't the place for serious sit-down sales pitches. TikTok is used primarily by people between the ages of 16 and 24, according to GlobalWebIndex, so you need to connect with them in a creative way if you want to find success on the platform.
Create fun content.
Now that you know TikTok is all about fun and creativity, it's time to create fun, creative content of your own. Creating your own content is one of the easiest and least expensive ways to promote your business on TikTok. Plus, one of the biggest benefits of TikTok is that you don't need to create highly-polished videos. Just pull out your smartphone and start filming.
While wacky videos are widely popular on TikTok, don't try to create an outrageous meme if that's not your business' style though.
For example, Lush shows off their products with a fun video demonstration set to music.
Keep it simple. A light-hearted video that shows off your products will come across more authentic than if your business tries creating a viral meme and fails.
Related: TikTok and 4 Other Rising Social Media Platforms
Launch a hashtag challenge.
Another way to promote your business on TikTok is by launching a hashtag challenge. A hashtag challenge is when you encourage TikTok users to create or recreate content and add your branded hashtag to it.
For example, the brand Guess was one of the first companies to launch a hashtag challenge. They encouraged TikTok users to film themselves wearing Guess' new denim line with the hashtag #InMyDenim.
And recently, as stated in this Mobile Marketer article, Chipotle's #GuacDance campaign was TikTok's highest-performing branded challenge in the U.S. The promotion resulted in Chipotle's biggest guacamole day ever, with more than 800,000 sides of the condiment served.
A fun hashtag challenge not only promotes your business, but it also drives user interaction and engagement.
Work with TikTok influencers.
TikTok-specific influencers might not be huge yet, but they will be and you can work with them to widen your reach on the platform. Generation Z is typically opposed to anything that looks like a traditional ad. So, working with TikTok influencers can really help you make a connection with that generation of users.
Speaking of Chipotle again, they partnered with influencer David Dobrik for a paid marketing campaign for the #ChipotleLidFlip challenge and got more than 100,000 submissions and 230 million views.
To get results from TikTok influencer marketing, just make sure the influencer's audience matches your target audience. To find the right influencer for your business, you can look for online tools that let you search bios on TikTok, look for mentions of other brands, the most popular languages used in an influencer audience and more.
Take advantage of TikTok advertising.
It took a while but TikTok has finally introduced ads to their platform. TikTok offers four different types of ads including:
Infeed Native Content: This type of ad is similar to Snapchat or Instagram story ads and supports multiple features like website clicks or app downloads.
Brand Takeovers: This lets brands take over TikTok for the day. They can create images, GIFs and videos with embedded links to landing pages or hashtag challenges.
Hashtag Challenges: Instead of trying to make a hashtag challenge go viral on your own, you can use promoted hashtags to get more engagement.
Branded Lenses: Branded lenses are like the Snapchat 2D and 3D lenses for faces and photos.
As with any social media platform, ads can help you reach a ton of users on the platform. TikTok also offers precise targeting so you can make sure your ads are reaching the exact users that would be interested in what you have to offer.
Related: TikTok is Dancing High With Its Rise in India
Over to you.
So, does TikTok make a little more sense to you now? If your business has a younger target audience, TikTok is the perfect place to capture their attention. Use these tips to make sure you get the most out of your TikTok promotion strategy.
