With its colossal reach, engaging ad formats, and suite of marketing tools, TikTok is an essential platform for any business looking to drive rapid results. But while it’s relatively easy to start using TikTok, mastering it is a whole different story.
If you want to maximize your success on this growing platform, then you’ll need to be smart with your TikTok marketing strategies.
To help you do just that, we’ve pulled together proven TikTok marketing tricks and tips. Plus, we’ll go over TikTok statistics you need to know and the steps to get your business set up on TikTok.
Contents
- What is TikTok marketing?
- Why your business should try TikTok marketing
- How to start marketing your business on TikTok
- TikTok marketing tips and strategies
- TikTok marketing ideas
What is TikTok marketing?
If you’re not already familiar, TikTok is a video-sharing app that allows users to share short videos with music or original sounds. Users can also add stickers, filters, lenses, and hashtags to their videos to increase exposure.
@420doggface208♬ Dreams (2004 Remaster) – Fleetwood Mac
TikTok is often compared to Vine, the short-lived (but never forgotten) short-format video app that was purchased by Twitter (now X) before it shut down. (Although you can still watch Vine compilations on YouTube–this is one of our personal favorites.)
TikTok marketing is the practice of promoting your business’s product or service offerings on the TikTok platform via short-form videos, live streaming (once you have over 1,000 followers), influencer partnerships, and more. You can also put some budget behind your TikTok content, which is known as TikTok advertising. Both options can be equally effective at building awareness and driving leads for your business.
On TikTok, users can scroll through short-form videos and add likes, comments, and response videos called “duets.” This makes TikTok the perfect channel to connect and engage with your target audience.
⚡ Make a plan to grow your business on TikTok fast with our free, easy-to-use growth strategy template!
Why your business should try TikTok marketing
Wondering if TikTok marketing is right for your business? Consider these statistics.
- TikTok is projected to reach 1.9 billion users worldwide by 2029, making it the fifth most-used social site across the globe.
- TikTok users average 95 minutes per day on the app.
- 62% of TikTok users are on the platform to find product reviews or recommendations.
- 37% of consumers use TikTok to keep up with trends and cultural moments.
- 34% of small businesses are already using TikTok to promote their products or services,
This data proves that marketing and advertising on TikTok is part of a well-rounded and competitive small business growth strategy.
How to start marketing your business on TikTok
Follow these eight steps to get started with TikTok marketing.
📅 Download our free copy-and-paste social media calendar to brainstorm TikTok ideas for every day of the year!
1. Create your TikTok account
You can download the app and follow the “sign up” prompts to start the account creation process.
2. Switch to a business account
Be sure your account is a business account by clicking the three lines at the top right of your TikTok screen. From there, click settings and privacy, then manage account, and select switch to business account.
3. Fill out your TikTok profile as much as possible
Once your business’s TikTok account is established, be sure to refine your TikTok bio and upload an eye-catching profile picture. This is also a good time to start following some other accounts as well.
4. Gather your goals
Once you start becoming active on TikTok, start applying some structure to your marketing strategy with SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) goals. When you know what you want to achieve and the purpose of your videos, it will be much easier to think of strong video ideas and topics.
5. Get to know your audience
Find your ideal customers on TikTok and see what kinds of videos they’re interacting with or accounts they’re following.
6. Brainstorm TikTok content
While you can read on for some quick and easy TikTok video ideas, you might also want to lean on AI to help you ideate TikTok video topics you might not have thought of otherwise.
7. Create and publish your TikToks
This step may take some trial and error. Know that your TikTok videos don’t have to be perfect; they just have to be authentic to your business. Plus, there are lots of third-party tools or marketing partners that can help you manage your TikTok content creation.
8. Measure your TikTok marketing progress
Use the TikTok creator tools and analytics within the app to track your video views, profile interactions, and more to see how your business’s growth is pacing. Next, you can pivot your strategy according to your historical data, or decide to put budget behind TikTok Ads, too.
6 best TikTok marketing strategies
Use these strategies for improved TikTok marketing and better results.
1. Use full-screen vertical videos
Here’s a simple TikTok strategy that can make a big difference to your conversion rates: Whenever you’re creating new TikToks, make sure that you’re producing full-screen vertical videos that are tailored to the platform.
The vast majority of TikTok users consume content in portrait mode, so if you want to drive engagement and boost conversions, you’ll need to reflect this in your creative assets. By shooting and editing TikTok videos in a 9:16 aspect ratio, you can maximize the creative space you have available and increase the impact of your visual assets.
Not only will full-screen vertical videos appear more native to the TikTok platform, but they’ll also feel more natural for your target audience to engage with. TikTok users tend to respond to content that feels authentic, and your video production is a major factor here.
TikTok data even suggests that videos shot in a 9:16 aspect ratio see a 91% lift in conversions, so if you want to generate more sales, think carefully about your creative approach.
2. Post at the right times
TikTok is a platform that’s buzzing during all hours of the day or night. However, your organic TikTok marketing posts may be more or less effective depending on when you decide to publish them. Typically, a good time to post on TikTok is before 9 a.m. and after 5 p.m. on weekdays, like Tuesdays or Thursdays (when people are scrolling to unwind). We cover an in-depth analysis of the best time to post on TikTok here, but note that this might also depend on your target audience’s lifestyle habits.
3. Create short and snappy videos
TikTok users tend to engage with video content that’s short and sweet, so if you want to generate more conversions, you’ll need to adapt your videos accordingly.
While it may be tempting to cram your TikToks with a bunch of information, shorter assets will perform infinitely better than long-winded videos. TikTok data shows that videos between 21-34 seconds in length achieve a 280% lift in conversions compared to longer videos, so always keep this in mind when you’re producing content.
But how can you ensure that you’re creating punchy video assets while still delivering compelling messages? Here are some best practices to keep you on the right track:
- Drill down to your most persuasive product benefits. If you’re posting a video that’s promoting a product, think about a central product message that will resonate with your target audience and resolve their problems. Remember, it’s all about showcasing relevant benefits rather than basic features.
- Refine your video assets and product messages. Don’t rush the creative process and overload your videos with weak content. Trim the fat, edit your content meticulously, and don’t hesitate to enlist the help of professional creatives/copywriters.
- Focus on a high-impact CTA. Your CTA is the finishing touch on your video ads and will ultimately encourage your target audience to take action. Highlight your key product benefits, prove how they’re relevant to your customers, and drive conversions with a strong CTA.
Reducing the length of your videos and refining your product messaging can be difficult, but short and snappy assets will help you to drive significantly more engagement (and potential conversions) on TikTok.
4. Use trending sounds and video formats
This TikTok marketing tip might feel like a no-brainer, but it can often be overlooked when you’re in the thick of strategy planning. To get a feel for what’s trending on TikTok, head over to the TikTok Creative Center. TikTok’s Creative Center offers trends, insights, and inspiration to help businesses create videos that pop.
Creating videos using trending audio or video types can help you get found in your audience’s For Your Page and increase your reach.
5. Produce high-resolution videos
Sometimes it’s the simple things that can make a big difference to your conversion rate, like the quality of your videos.
TikTok is a highly competitive marketing platform, and if you want to capture the attention of your target audience, then you’ll need to ensure you’re making a strong impression. Users are constantly scrolling through fresh content from publishers, advertisers, and regular accounts–if you’re running low-quality assets, you may find yourself being overlooked.
To help you maximize audience engagement and stand out in a cluttered feed, be sure to produce high-resolution TikTok videos that feel polished.
Not only will high-resolution videos look more appealing to potential customers, but they’ll also have a direct impact on your conversion rates. TikTok data shows that videos shot at 720p resolution (or higher) see a staggering 312% lift in conversions compared to lower-resolution assets.
These two TikTok videos above have crystal-clear images.
6. Test your video content
TikTok is an ideal testing ground to see what works (and what doesn’t) when it comes to your video marketing strategy.
You can use your business’s TikTok page as a place to see what resonates with an audience, what drives engagement, and what’s not performing as expected.
From there, you can repurpose your TikTok videos on other social media sites–like Instagram Reels and Facebook. This gives you an easy way to take advantage of the video creation options for TikTok, like the music, filters, and stickers, and get engagement on your other social media pages.
TikTok marketing ideas
Now that you have a plan for your TikTok marketing approach, check out these TikTok ideas to start posting regularly.
- Duet a complementary business’s video with a funny response.
- Show the behind-the-scenes of the work that goes into your product or services.
- Ask your employees the same trivia questions and shout out who gets them right to showcase your brand personality.
- Create a holiday gift wish list and explain your list to viewers.
- Highlight examples of how your products or services improve your customers’ lives.
- Interview a customer and share clips in a mini testimonial series.
- Mimic a trending TikTok video and challenge your followers to respond with their own recreation of the trend.
- Post funny videos of staff pets.
- Walk through your favorite seasonal recipe and shout out your business name in the script.
- Make a fun lip-syncing video with your team to a trending TikTok song.
- Run through a product demo or tutorial.
There are so many more TikTok ideas you can try, and the platform’s trends change by the minute. So, feel free to be flexible and creative with your TikTok video strategy.
Use TikTok marketing to reach more potential customers fast
Getting set up on TikTok only takes a few steps with potential for a major payoff. Plus, these expert TikTok marketing strategies and tips will help you to rapidly increase your success rate on the platform.
With high-quality creative assets, smart strategies, and a bit of creativity, you’ll be able to reach and engage with a new, expanded audience where they’re spending a ton of time online. For more help with TikTok, see how our solutions can maximize your success on the platform.
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