With the Coronavirus ‘stranding’ people inside their homes for several weeks now, a lot of bored individuals are itching to do something new. Satisfying this newfound social media hunger is TikTok, a video-sharing social networking app made by ByteDance.
With more than 2 billion downloads since its launch, TikTok has become a popular entertainment venue for people of all ages, races, and sizes. Previously thought of as an app for the younger generation, figures show that the older ones are joining in the craze as well.
Because of its appeal to several demographics, TikTok has become a valuable tool for many businesses, whether big or small. With more than 800 million active users, the program offers a wide marketing reach – which is vital in this movement-limited pandemic.
What is TikTok, Anyway?
TikTok is a program that allows users to create and share videos. The app can be downloaded via the App Store or Google Play Store.
Launched internationally in 2017 by the Chinese company ByteDance, it enables “everyone to be a creator, and encourages users to share their passion and creative expression through their videos.”
As such, TikTok clips can be embellished with music, filters, graphics, and a whole lot more.
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Why Use TikTok for Your Business?
The question should be, why not? Here are some facts and figures that will convince you to use TikTok for your business:
1. TikTok is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms in the world.
While it is 9th in over-all impact, it fares better than other social media programs such as Twitter, Snapchat, and Linkedin.
While it took TikTok three years to achieve its current number of active users, this is markedly fast compared to other platforms. Take the case of Instagram, which amassed the same number of followers in double the time – six years.
2. TikTok is one of the most downloaded apps in the world.
As of 2019, TikTok is the third-most-popular non-gaming app in the market. Despite being released in 2017, it has become the seventh most-downloaded app for this decade.
To wit, TikTok only took a mere 8 months to get 500 million downloads. Think about the countless marketing possibilities that you could do with this.
3. There are 123.8 million Americans who use TikTok.
With many Americans spending most of their time on TikTok, now proves to be the best time to engage with them through the app.
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4. TikTok has a hold of the younger generation – and many adults too.
If your business is targeted towards pre-teens, teens, and young adults, then TikTok marketing should be your top priority. Statistics show that 41% of its active users belong to the 16-24 age demographic.
However, if you are geared towards adults, you need to know that TikTok holds some promise as well. From 2.6 million American adult users in 2017, the numbers have ballooned to 14.3 million in 2018.
To date, 16.7% of American users belong to the 30-39 age group, followed by the 40-49 bracket at 13.8%. Not left far behind are the 50+-year-olds, who account for 5.6% of all the users in the US. This accounts for more than 36% of the market share, which is a big number to boot.
5. Users spend an average of 52 minutes every day on the app.
With almost an hour of screen time, TikTok offers great visibility for your brand. It’s only a few minutes behind the biggest eater of screen time, Facebook, where users spend an average of 58.5 minutes each day.
With that being said, you better take advantage of this opportunity! Remember, users (68% of them) usually spend most of their time exploring and scrolling through other people’s videos.
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6. A billion TikTok videos were viewed last year.
Many users access the app repeatedly to watch several videos. This happens so much so that a billion videos were viewed in 2019. Because of this extensive reach, marketing your business through TikTok is sure to generate a couple of followers-turned-buyers.
7. TikTok is used in 155 countries.
If you want to have an international following, then using TikTok is one of the best ways to generate such. After all, it is available in 155 countries. It has almost 120 million users in India, about 28 million in Turkey, another 24 million in Russia – and the list goes on.
How to Get More Followers on TikTok for Your Business
With millions of users who spend a great deal of time on TikTok every day (repeatedly, for most), the app proves to be a cheap, effective way to publicize your business. To take advantage of this, you need to amass as many followers as you can. How, you ask? Here are some foolproof ways to do so:
1. Settle on a Specific Niche or Category
Choosing a category may be hard for most users, but it’s an easier thing to do for businesses. While your content should be focused on your products or services, you should also produce videos that are creative and unique enough to be liked by many followers.
Take the case of Chipotle, which makes use of TikTok clips to highlight their food offerings. One of their more popular clips is a rendition of Adele’s “Someone Like You. Here, you can see their world-famous guac seemingly signing to a bunch of tortilla chips.
2. Prettify your Profile
Your profile is one of your selling points in TikTok. As such, you need to make it as attractive as you can.
For best results, create a username that reflects your business. It’s best if it conforms with your other social media handles for uniformity. However, it should not be too long or complicated that users end up forgetting your profile name.
Next, you need to pack your profile bio with useful facts about your business. Talk about the products or services that you sell, as well as the types of videos that they can expect from your account. Include your website link as well!
Since a picture paints a thousand words, it’s best if you use that of your business. More than just remembering your business name, you want your followers to remember your logo.
3. Follow to Get More Followings
The follow-unfollow method is not only applicable to Instagram, but it works for TikTok as well. Basically, what you need to do is follow a user or a business that is engaged in the same niche. Go through its follower list and follow their watchers as well.
This is one of the good ways to market your brand since these users are more likely interested in products/services in your niche. What’s great about this tactic is it does generate some follow-backs. Compared to Instagram where follows generate 15% conversions, the rate is higher in TikTok at about 30%.
4. Post Consistently – and Frequently
TikTok needs your constant attention. You should be as active in producing content, as you did so in the first few weeks you joined the app. Not only will this attract new followers, but it can also help maintain engagement with your current followers.
Remember, posting consistently and frequently works well on search algorithms. If you want your videos to gain more traction, then you need to give the TikTok AI reason to put your clips at the top of the list.
5. Mind the Time
Apart from posting frequently and consistently, it is best if you share your videos at a certain time. Since peak use usually comes from 11 am to 5:30 pm, it is ideal that you upload your clip during this timeframe. This will allow you to reach more users with relative ease.
But if you wish to engage with international consumers, you should adjust accordingly to their time zones.
Lastly, you should also consider the times when your target consumers are more active. For example, if you want to market to gamers, you may need to adjust your post time since they usually access TikTok at much later times. This market research will help you determine the best time to engage.
6. Move to Music
A lot of TikTokers use popular music in their clips. The app even has a list of these catchy tunes. If you want to ride the viral wave like others, then you need to incorporate some melody into your video. With the app’s editing feature, you can add some beats in just a matter of clicks.
7. #Hashtag Important
Apart from creating relevant content, you might want to join in the hashtag bandwagon every now and then. See the viral challenges as a way to engage more followers, as it can help you reach potential customers in the future.
Since TikTok only allows a short caption, you may be limited to 5-6 hashtags per post. Make sure to use 3-4 hashtags that are related to your video, as this will help your visibility in the platform.
8. Be Unique
TikTokers are known to replicate content 95% of the time. While it’s a good way to become viral, it should not always be the case for your business. You have to create unique and relevant content that highlights your services. While it might not be as popular as other types of vids, it helps leave a business mark on the platform.
9. Do Not Overthink it!
Do you ever find yourself stuck in a creative rut, just because you want to make a flawless video? While this is good, it can get in the way of your productivity.
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Remember, most of the viral TikTok videos are not perfect. The users don’t always have makeup or good clothes on. The clips are famous because of their unique content. Don’t waste your time trying to create a perfect video. Get to producing. You’ll be surprised at the results.
10. Work with Others
Collaboration works well on TikTok. There are many videos where users create content together with other influencers. If you can do this, then good. You can seek the help of friends and loyal customers to create a unique and potentially viral TikTok clip.
11. Repost
If you can’t seem to create vids for some legit reason, you need to remember that you maintain frequent posting activity. The best way for you to do so is to repost other people’s content. You can share clips you find interesting or related to your business.
Another good way to improve engagement is to focus on your clientele’s vids, especially if they are using products. For example, you see a clip where a user wears one of the hoodies you sell. You can repost this, all the while saying something about your product. Not only will this make your customer happy, but it may also pave the way for additional followers and patrons.
12. Call Potential Clients to Action
A good call to action is a wise way to maximize the limited caption space for TikTok videos. Writing a simple CTA like “follow us for more videos like this,” is good enough to generate more likers. If you can, why not a giveaway contest where you require where you engage other users to follow your profile?
13. Use Other Social Media Platforms
While TikTok by itself can help you generate follow-backs and potential customers, it doesn’t hurt to take advantage of other social media programs as well.
Although TikTok is widely popular, there are still a lot of people who are not using this platform. Then again, you may have other social media followers that you have not yet followed on TikTok. As such, the best way to engage them is to share your short clips through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, etc.
Whenever you find yourself too lazy to do so, these statistics might help change your mind:
- 7 in 10 American adults use Facebook
- There are 35 million Twitter users in the US. About 42% of these people access the program every day.
- 5 million Americans use Instagram.
Remember, social media platforms are good and cheap ways to get your message across. This sharing activity will not only gain more watchers, but it might also entice your patrons to hop onto the TikTok bandwagon!
14. Don’t Ignore TikTok Ads
When used strategically, TikTok ads can drive a flood of targeted customers to your product or service.
Wrapping Up
TikTok is a popular video-sharing app that can be used for any business, as there are millions of people who use this app around the world. By following these tips above, you can amass followers that can become potential buyers in the future.
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