How to Use TikTok for Business

If you’re a business that is just starting out on TikTok and don’t know where to start, this is the guide for you. Here is how to use TikTok for your business.

Posted 5 months ago

Written by

Mackenzie Taylor

Posted 5 months ago

If you’re a business or brand and not on TikTok … you might be doing it wrong. Especially as there are over 1 billion active users on the app each day, you could be missing out on a major audience over on the good ol’ TikTok app. The video format is taking over the entire marketing industry and if you’re not focusing on video content, you could be falling behind. If you’re wondering why you should make TikTok part of your marketing strategy, we’re going to break down exactly how TikTok can be an important part of growing your business and how to use it effectively.

Jump to a section ✨

Why should your business be on TikTok?
What are the benefits for a business to be on TikTok?
How often should you post on TikTok for business?
How to create a business TikTok account
Ways to use TikTok for business
How to create a TikTok video
How to create a TikTok Ads Manager account

Why should your business be on TikTok?

One of the biggest misconceptions about TikTok is that it’s an app for younger people. “Why should I be on there when it’s only Gen Z?” But, let me tell you right now, that is false.

According to Statista, 53% of US users are over the age of 30 are on the app and that’s a huge chunk of an audience (usually with some money) that you could be missing out on if you’re not on the app. And if you’re looking to target a younger audience, 47% of TikTok users are under 30.

tiktok for business age in the usa statista

Like most marketing agencies would recommend, if you get the audience while they’re younger, they will grow up and can become the audience you’re looking to target. Plus, TikTok is a huge goldmine for those brands and businesses looking to get people to purchase from them, as TikTok is where most people are now getting influenced to make purchases.

What are the benefits for a business to be on TikTok?

So what exactly are the real benefits of being on TikTok besides that your audience might be there? There are quite a few benefits:

Brand awareness ⭐️

One of the biggest benefits is increasing your business awareness. Again, there are 1 BILLION active users on TikTok DAILY. If even one of your videos goes viral on the app, you are going to get a stream of new users and new people being aware of your brand.

Start working with influencers, run ads, use hashtags—whatever it is, and figure out a plan of action to make your videos do well on the app, and your brand will be seen by more and more people, thus building the awareness you’ve been wanting.

New customers 🤗

This obviously ties into the above but you’ll start attacking new customers to your brand once you start posting more and more on the app. Once you get them over to your page and start following you, chances are they will eventually turn into a customer.

Promote products 🛍

When it comes to marketing on TikTok, it doesn’t have to be blatantly in your face going “HI, PLEASE BUY OUR PRODUCT!” TikTok video makes it more organic, especially when you’re working with influencers that their audience trusts. Promoting a product on TikTok can be so effective and should definitely be part of your overall social media marketing strategy.

Schedule content ⏰

One of the best things about having a business account on TikTok is that you can pre-schedule your TikTok videos through third-party apps (like Flick!) and not have to worry about posting at a specific time. Being able to pre-make content in advance and have them post automatically later on, especially during times when you know your audience is online and active, is one of the best ways to grow your account and make sure you’re posting consistently.

💡 Flick tip: Start a free trial with Flick to soon be able to schedule all of your TikTok content! Plus, you’ll get access to all the analytics you need to make an effective marketing strategy for your content.

How often should you post on TikTok for business?

Like Instagram, TikTok wants you to post consistently which means the more you post, the better your content will do. TikTok’s own advice is to post 1-4 times a day, and once you start building a bigger audience, you can level that out to 3-5 times a week.

The best part about TikTok is that you can experiment on the platform by posting various types of videos to see which works best with your audience. Experiment with different types of content, hooks, captions, CTAs, and more to figure out what content your followers like and what will get you the most amount of views.

How to create a business TikTok account

If you’ve never created a TikTok account, you might not know that there is a difference in how to set up a business account.

Create a personal TikTok account to start.
Once you have your account, go to your profile and click “Settings and Privacy.”
Select “Manage account”
Click on Switch to Business Account.
Select the items that describe your company.
And now you have a business account on TikTok!

FYI: When you have a TikTok business account, you won’t have access to all of the music you would have on a personal/creator account due to licensing agreements. If you want to switch back to a personal account, click here to find out how.

Ways to use TikTok for business

Create fun, unique content

When scrolling on TikTok, the only way people will stop their scroll is if the video is fun, interesting, unique, and has a hook that draws them in.*

There are loads of different videos on TikTok (billions, to be exact) so how do you stand out amongst the crowd? Here are a few of our tips:

Figure out who your audience is. Who the heck are you talking to? Are they young? Older? What kind of content are they engaging with already? Start looking through your demographics and figuring out who is following you currently and what kind of content they want. From there, start building a strategy around videos they currently engage with and how you can create versions that are completely you’re own that they will like.
Show yourself off! People follow brands for a reason—and usually, that reason is that people feel a connection to that brand. Show a more human side of yourself, show behind the scenes of your business or brand. Give people a reason to want to follow your brand.
Get involved with current trends. If you want a chance at going viral, one of the easiest ways is by hopping on a current trend or sound going around TikTok. Look up trending hashtags, videos, or music, and create your own version of the current trend. But make sure that it makes sense for your business or brand to be part of. Don’t jump on the bandwagon just to jump on. It needs to feel authentic to you.

💡 *Flick Tip: Want to learn more about creating the perfect hook? Listen to our podcast Talk Social to Me to nail your TikTok hook.

Tune in to Talk Social to Me!

Social media news, memes, Lolz, and everything in-between

Work with influencers

One of the best ways to grow your business on TikTok is by working with influencers on the app. Influencers and content creators have a following that trusts them already and being able to tap into their audience can be a huge win for you!

@hellotefi #OlayPartner I’ve always been a fan of the thirst trap!! thanks @Olay for helping me with this one lol #olayultimatethirsttrap ♬ original sound – hellotefi

Create a TikTok challenge

Instead of hopping on a trend, make your own! Create a challenge that people can join in on that will not only help you get more video views but can help you get into the faces of millions of people when people join in on the challenge.

When you create the challenge, be sure to create a branded hashtag that people can use in the caption of their video so it easily goes back to you, your brand, and your account.

Advertise, advertise, advertise

Advertising is such a simple way to get your video seen by more people on TikTok. However, be sure to know who you are trying to promote before you stick money behind an ad. Who will the video resonate with? Who is your current audience already? How can you leverage your current audience to make sure your TikTok ad goes further? Think of these things before selecting your ad.

The other thing to think about is what kinds of ads you want to run on TikTok. You’ve got a few options:

Brand takeovers: This is a type of ad that shows up as soon as a user opens their app. The ad can be 3-second photos or 3.5-second videos. These are pretty pricey but very effective.
In-feed ads: While scrolling their TikTok, users will get these types of native ads in their feed. They can be up to 60 seconds long and can link to a landing page outside the TikTok app.
TopView ads: Again, another expensive ad campaign but are way more natural than a brand takeover. The videos are 5-60 seconds and users can engage with the ad by liking, commenting, and sharing.

Use analytics to create an effective strategy

If you want to grow on TikTok, you need to have an idea of who your audience is. And the best way to do that? Analytics! Check out the analytics and demographics of your users on the analytics page of your TikTok account.

You’ll find out the best time your audience is online and active. Where your audience lives. The age of your audience. And so. much. more.

Use hashtags

Hashtags are important on TikTok for people to find your content. There are loads of trending hashtags on TikTok that you can hitch your video to that will help you get more views and reach.

You can find trending hashtags for TikTok in their Creative Center here.

Optimize your account

Make sure your account is optimized so you have the best chance of people finding your account and wanting to follow you. Think of TikTok like Google—you need to use specific keywords for SEO purposes so people can discover your content. Click here to learn how to use SEO on TikTok to make your content go viral.

How to create a TikTok video

So you now know why, how, and various ways to create a business TikTok but … how do you actually create a video on the platform? It’s really easy and here is the step-by-step guide:

Open the TikTok app and click the “+” sign at the bottom of the screen.
You can either upload videos or photos you have on your phone already or record footage within the app.
Choose a sound (we recommend something that is trending that you can use!).
You can “adjust clip” to edit anything in your video that you don’t want in there.
Create transitions, add text, or any other effects you’d like on the video.
Write a caption (you have 2500 characters so we recommend using them!) and add hashtags (this will help you get discovered on the app!).
Post!

How to create a TikTok Ads Manager account

Want to pack a bigger punch and make sure that your videos are actually being seen by people? You might want to create ads on TikTok and to do that, you’ll need to set up a TikTok Ads Manager.

Head to the Ads Manager sign-up page here.
Enter your details and click “Send code.”
Enter the verification code sent to your email or phone.
Click “Sign up.”
Enter your business info and click “Register.”

Voila! You can now start creating ads and make sure you’re being seen by the most amount of people that you possibly can.

Now that you have a general idea of how to start your own TikTok business account, figure out how to get more views on your TikTok videos, some of our favorite brands to follow on TikTok for inspiration on things to post, and the best times to post on TikTok currently. Be sure to start your free trial with Flick to start scheduling your TikTok videos (coming soon!) at the most optimal times and never miss a post!