With TikTok becoming one of the largest social media platforms, it is important that businesses learn how to use the app and most importantly, use it effectively. We rounded up the basics on how to get started and grow your business using TikTok.

Create and Share Your Own Content

The first step to growing your business on TikTok is familiarizing yourself with the app and its audience. When creating content to share with your followers, the best way to grow your following on TikTok is to be authentic and create content that is true to your business. Think about your mission and business goals and how those can translate to TikTok. The types of content that do well on TikTok include challenges with branded hashtags, educational content (tips and tricks, how-to’s), celebrations of special occasions and tutorials.

TikTok is different from other social media platforms because the content that users see in their feed isn’t just content from the people they follow. Content is pulled through an algorithm that tailors a user’s feed based on what videos they like. Consistency is important when posting to TikTok. Once you determine the type of content to focus on, establish a schedule and post at least once a day. Typically, businesses should try to post content 1-3 times a day for the most engagement.

Work with Influencers

Working with influencers through TikTok can help expand your business’ audience on the platform, especially if you’re a smaller business that is trying to gain more exposure. By partnering with influencers to help promote your business, you can pick someone who represents your niche and expand your audience reach. To succeed in influencer marketing on TikTok, be sure to choose an influencer whose audience is reflective of your target audience. Make sure to determine an influencer’s engagement rate before deciding to partner with them. A good engagement rate for TikTok influencers is 3% and if the engagement rate is over 6% it is considered high.

Choose your Niche Topic

The TikTok algorithm can be a tricky one to master. Choose a niche topic and focus on the main aspects of your business and then highlight this through your content. In other words, don’t try to do too much. It can be easy to get caught up in participating in TikTok’s many trends and challenges but don’t try to shoehorn your business into every conversation if it doesn’t make sense. Consumers value authenticity and consistency.

By sharing your niche content consistently, your target audience will be able to find your content and interact with it as well as your business. After establishing a relationship with your target audience on TikTok, you can easily direct them to your website or other social media pages.

Create a Challenge to Increase Brand Awareness

Creating challenges or a unique hashtag is a great way to get your business’ name out there and increase brand awareness. Sponsoring or creating a challenge on TikTok could possibly make your business a viral hit and increase audience exposure. This allows you to get your business’ name out there and bring in a whole new group of users that are interested in your business.

Engage with your Audience

Engaging with your audience is important to help grow your following across social media, and TikTok is no different. By commenting back or liking comments, your followers know that you see them and are interested in what they have to say. If users that don’t follow your business on TikTok see that you are engaging with your audience, even if it’s simply saying thank you, they will be more likely to follow you because they know you care about them.

Use Relevant Hashtags

Using the right hashtags on TikTok is so important, as it’s how videos get to your intended audience. You should be sure to use trending hashtags so your video makes it to the main For You page. But also use hashtags that are relevant to your business to ensure that your videos are being seen by your target audience. Using both trending and relevant hashtags means your videos are bound to end up in the right place!

Are you ready to see the impact that social media marketing can have on your business? Contact the Social Ape team to learn more!