How to Use TikTok For Business Marketing Success

If you want to market your products to a younger audience then there is no doubt that TikTok provides you with a great opportunity to do this. With more than 500 million worldwide users it has surprised many with its fast growth. To get the best out of TikTok you need to know what you are doing and in this article we will explain the best way to approach it.

Understand the TikTok Platform first

Just jumping on to the TikTok platform not knowing what you are doing will turn users away so you need to study it carefully before you get involved. Take a look at the most popular videos on TikTok and work out why users are attracted to them.

You also need to know how to interact properly with TikTok users. If you get this wrong then you will drive users away in droves. It is essential that you realize that TikTok is all about fun and entertainment. There are a ton of mini music videos that do well as well as humorous videos too.

There is no place on TikTok for pushy sales messages. In the United States the majority of users are between 16 and 24 years old and they are not interested in sales pitches. You have to be creative in the way that you connect with TikTok users. This can help you build your business without driving potential customers away.

Your Content must be Fun

You have to be prepared to create really fun content for TikTok. Once you get used to doing this you can create really inexpensive videos that have a major impact on the platform. TikTok users are not expecting top quality Hollywood style videos so you can record on your smartphone and this will be totally acceptable.

It really is best to keep it simple and not try to be too clever. Create light hearted videos that showcase your products used in an entertaining way. TikTok users will really appreciate this and believe that you are authentic and will trust you.

Use Hashtag Challenges

Many brands and organizations have had a lot of success with hashtag challenges. You create a branded hashtag and then use this to promote a challenge where users participate by creating their own videos using your hashtag.

A good example of this was the hashtag challenge created by Guess Jeans. Their challenge was to ask TikTok users to create videos of themselves wearing their Guess clothes “their way”. Their hashtag was #inmydenim.

Use Influencers

There are already influencers on TikTok that have huge followings of millions. This is a great way to extend your brand reach on the platform. Not all influencers will be willing to work with you. Your brand and style needs to fit with theirs or they will turn you down.

Influencers need to be comfortable with your products. If they like them then they will be willing to showcase them to their audience. Do your homework here and use external tools to check on potential influencer bios before you commit to working with them.

TikTok Ads

Recently TikTok launched their ads program. Here you can pay for different ad types which are all in short form video format to extend your reach. There are four types of TikTok ads:

1. Native Ads (in feed)
2. Hashtag Challenges
3. Brand Takeovers
4. Branded Lenses

By using these ads strategically you will be able to reach out to many TikTok users. There are targeting options for you to narrow down your audience and these will improve over time. Time will tell how effective TikTok ads are.

How To Get Started With TikTok

Here you will learn how you can make a video and post it using the TikTok app. TikTok is a very popular social media app for short videos and when you create a video you have the choice of making it either up to 15 seconds or up to 60 seconds.

Create your TikTok Account

You will need to download TikTok for your iOS or Android device first. After installing the app you will need to create a free account. You will receive a number of prompts to do this in the app. It is possible to create an account using your existing Instagram, Facebook or Twitter accounts or with an email address.

It is possible to create a new TikTok account using your mobile phone number as well. You will need to verify your new account and then you can change your profile name. The app will check that the name you choose is unique.

Watch some Videos

After creating your account you will see the page to view videos. If you really enjoy a particular video you can tap on the heart icon which is the same as giving a “like” with other platforms. You also have the opportunity to leave comments if you want. There is a “share” feature too so you can send the video to other social media platforms.

On the left of the video you will see an icon for the video creator’s profile. Tap on this and then you will bring up their profile page. Once here you can choose to follow this profile so that you will be able to see their future videos.

The TikTok Menu Bar

The menu bar for TikTok is at the bottom of the screen. You will see 5 icons on the menu bar. The first is a house shape and when you tap on this you will refresh your “For You” page which will use AI technology to present you with recommended videos to watch based on your history with the app.

Next along on the menu bar is the magnifying glass which takes you to the search function. With this you can search for specific TikTok user’s content, search by keyword or by hashtag. The next icon on the menu bar is a “+” which you can use to upload your own video creations.

The last 2 icons on the menu bar are “Notifications” and a person outline which takes you to your profile page. On your profile page you will be able to see all of the videos that you have uploaded to TikTok.

You can also change your privacy settings within your profile page. There are three dots in the upper right hand corner of this page where you can change your account to private if you wish. All new accounts are created as public by default.

It is also possible to specify only certain TikTok users to view your videos and to leave comments on your content. You can also edit your current profile including the description and even the username. If you are a business and want to use TikTok for marketing then you can change to a Pro account from your profile page. 

How To Create And Edit TikTok Videos

The TikTok app makes it really easy for users to create and edit their videos. There are a number of features that you need to familiarize yourself with but these are all easy to understand and apply.

You can either record a video “on the fly” from within the TikTok app or select a video you created earlier and then edit this before you post it. The more serious users of TikTok will record videos outside of the app and then edit them so that they are the best they can be. Sometimes on the fly videos can be very entertaining as well.

Recording a Video On The Fly

Open the TikTok app. You will see a “+” icon on the menu bar at the bottom of your screen. Tap on this and you will go to the recording screen. If you have never recorded a video using the TikTok app before you will need to let it find your camera and video recorder in your mobile device.

You can set up a number of features before you start to shoot your video. The “Timer” feature is very useful for hands free video recording. You can also choose from the various filters and beauty effects and when you have made your choices you are ready to start shooting your video.

Now you need to select the length of your video as either 15 seconds or 60 seconds. There is a large red button which is round at the bottom of the screen and when you tap on this your recording will start.

When you have finished your recording it is highly recommended that you choose some music for the background. You will see a catalog of music clips that you can choose from. These are all short clips which you can add to your video.

Now you have finished your video recording tap on the red checkmark to enter the editing page. At the top right of this page you can choose another music clip, cut the sound and change the volume levels.

Finally you can set one frame of your video as the cover that displays on TikTok and you can start to apply other special effects using the two buttons which are located at the bottom of this screen and to the left.

Uploading a Previously Recorded Video

The only difference here is that you will use a video you have already recorded rather than shoot one using the app itself. To do this tap on the “+” icon as before and then tap on the “Upload” icon located at the bottom of the screen on the far right. You can then choose your video from your mobile device.

Using FlexClip to Edit your Videos

If you really want to create a great video for TikTok then we recommend that you shoot your video outside of the app and then use the FlexClip app from Flexclip.com on your computer for some advanced editing.

There are a lot more features you can use with FlexClip that are not available on TikTok. These include the adding of transitions, logos and voice over’s. There is also a wide range of royalty free music clips available to you.