Social Media TikTok Is Helping Small Businesses Have a Big Impact Elizabeth Holloway Social Media 7 mins read October 28, 2024 » Blog » TikTok Is Helping Small Businesses Have a Big Impact TikTok Is Helping Small Businesses Have a Big Impact - Elizabeth Holloway Table of Contents The rise of TikTok What brands stand to gain What to know about building brand presence on TikTok What’s the takeaway? Does your social media strategy include TikTok? There used to be more skepticism about how useful or appropriate the platform is for marketing small businesses, but at this point leaving it out of your strategy is a missed opportunity to expand brand awareness and reach local audiences. Where the app was once notorious for its almost religious popularity with the under-20 set, TikTok has since secured its position as one of the most popular social media platforms. So, let’s talk about it. What kind of audience can you expect on TikTok? And how can your business benefit from establishing a presence on the platform? Moreover, how should you go about building your brand on TikTok? We’re going to go over all of that and more. The rise of TikTok In the few years that TikTok has been around, the app has seen massive growth— in 2023, they topped 1 billion active users globally. And with the rapid expansion of their user base, the app has evolved beyond viral dance videos and gen z memes to content that appeals to broader audiences. The shift comes as the age range of users has expanded to include every age group. Although, the under-30 group still makes us about half the user base. What brands stand to gain If you’re still on the fence about TikTok, you should know that a ton of brands have had success in finding and connecting with niche audiences who go on to engage with their content regularly. That’s because being on TikTok has a lot of upsides. Think greater reach, high ROI, e-commerce integration and real-time interactions to name a few. Massive user base and engagement As we’ve mentioned, TikTok boasts a staggeringly large active user count. With an effective social media marketing strategy, your content has the potential to be seen by thousands of people, which will significantly expand your reach and brand awareness. What’s more, TikTok is geared toward social interaction, so you can expect to see more direct engagement with your content. Users spend an average of 95 minutes a day on TikTok. TikTok’s discoverability algorithm The one area where TikTok undeniably beats all other social media platforms is its discoverability algorithm. This is the system responsible for personalization of the “For You Page” or FYP, and it’s known for its uncanny ability to find content exactly tailored to user interests. The algorithm adjusts its recommendations in real-time based on user preferences, interactions and trends on the platform. Importantly for small businesses just getting started on TikTok, the algorithm focuses more on content rather than creator popularity. That means you don’t have to try and out-compete more established accounts with massive followings to get traction for your own videos, you just have to be more relevant and relatable to your audience. Cost-effective marketing Creating content for TikTok doesn’t require a large buy-in to get started. If you’ve got a smartphone with a decent camera and some creativity, you’re good to go. TikTok users prefer authenticity over sleek and highly produced marketing, so you don’t need to stress too much about having high production values on your content. And because you’re creating content on your phone and on the fly, you’re not going to run up your ad spend every month. Unique content format TikTok content is exclusively in video format. Originally videos could only be 15 seconds long—as a sort of spiritual successor to the now defunct Vine. Over the years, the max length was extended to 60 seconds and then a whopping 10 minutes in 2022. Whether you take advantage of the full 10 minutes to record product demos, or stick to shorter content, video gives you the opportunity to show your offerings in use and out in the world. This resonates with consumers who prefer this kind of engagement over traditional advertisements. E-commerce integration Social media commerce has been catching on in a big way. While Instagram is the king of in-app shopping, TikTok has been working on their own shopping features with TikTok Shop. Businesses are now able to sell through the app, streamlining the purchasing process and reducing friction caused by context switching. Increased brand awareness The benefit of a huge user base is that you can generate meaningful brand awareness on a scale that just isn’t possible on other platforms—especially for small businesses that don’t have the budget to build a vast marketing machine. As long as you’re focused on creating entertaining and informative content that provides value to users, you can expect to see engagement. Real-time interaction Social media platforms have been embraced by marketers because they enable you to have real-time engagement with your audience. TikTok has features like livestreaming, challenges and comment sections that encourage users to engage and interact rather than passively scrolling through their feeds. By using these features, you can build tangible relationships with your audience that translate into conversions. What to know about building brand presence on TikTok Now, it’s important to know that while there are relatively few barriers to getting started on TikTok, there is still some strategy involved. You will want to tailor your approach to the general expectations of TikTok users. Otherwise your content will fall flat, or worse, trigger a big backlash. As you establish your brand presence on the platform, here are some areas to focus on. Create authentic content Above all else, creating authentic and engaging content is paramount to success on the platform. Users are not interested in content that is salesly and resembling traditional advertising. So, this might not be the best venue to practice your news anchor voice. Instead, try to showcase your offerings in a more personable and relatable way. Users will respond well to content that feels like it was made by ordinary people just like them. Target local markets TikTok has geolocation features to help you target nearby customers more easily. This feature is particularly useful for businesses with brick-and-mortar locations, but even if you don’t have one, consumers love to support local businesses. By geotagging your content, you’re putting it in front of community members who might prefer giving their money to local businesses over some big-box store. Collaborate with Influencers Partnering with influencers is a way to confer some of their authenticity and audience trust onto your brand. Not one is this a good way to get your offerings in front of interested audiences, but the influencer created content will help fill out your posting roster, ensuring that you have fresh content regularly. Engage with trends TikTok is known for its young audience and tendency for taste-making. To keep your content fresh and relevant, it’s important that you engage with trending challenges, sounds or themes to show that you’ve got your finger on the pulse. There is one caveat—it’s possible to overboard on the trendy content. When engaging with trends, make sure this is a trend popular with your audience demographic. You also want to make sure that you stay true to your brand identity and aren’t posting just for the sake of looking trendy. And lastly, trends get old, fast. Tiktok ads This one is pretty obvious, but make use of TikTok’s advertising options. TikTok has a whole host of ad formats, like In-feed and TopView ads. These ads will put your content in front of more people, which is especially useful when just starting out. There are lots of options for targeting your ads, so you won’t just be sending them out into the void and hoping for the best. What’s the takeaway? If you have a small business that can’t afford a big marketing budget, establishing a presence on TikTok is a fantastic way to maximize the ROI for your ad spend. The platform has 1 billion active users, which means you’ll have access to a much bigger pool of potential customers. And with TikTok ads and geolocation features, you can ensure that your content gets the visibility it needs to gain traction. 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