TikTok Marketing For Small Business: 3 Dos And Don’ts

TikTok

Over the years, TikTok has continued to grow in popularity, making it one of the most sought-after marketing platforms for businesses, brands, and influencers. 

As of 2023, there are over one billion active TikTok users worldwide, with 23 million engaging in active shopping and spending about USD 2.5 billion. With these numbers, it’s safe to say that TikTok no longer needs to prove its legitimacy in providing engagement and collaboration opportunities between businesses and their target market.  

However, with its ever-changing trends, marketing on TikTok may take a lot of work. Unlike Facebook or Instagram, TikTok isn’t the best platform to use if you want to advertise your brand extensively. 

Most TikTok users use the app for entertainment, creativity, and inspiration rather than being compelled to purchase. That said, there are several things you can do to boost your TikTok presence and market your small business on it successfully.  

This article will show you the dos and don’ts to remember when marketing your business on TikTok. Take note of these guidelines to ensure you get a strong return on investment from your marketing efforts.   

TikTok

The Dos:

Do analyze and keep up with the trends  

Before running ads on TikTok, analyze your target market’s current trends and keep up with them. Whether it’s a new filter, hashtag, topic, video format, or a new song to lip sync, following the trend will make your ads or content more appealing and relevant to your audience. As a result, they’ll search for and follow your business account.  

If you need help following the trends or making engaging videos that resonate with your target customers, don’t worry. You can contact a TikTok ads agency to help you produce cool, high-quality content that will catch the audience’s attention.

All you need to do is tell them the product/service you’re promoting, and they’ll find ways to incorporate it into your content creatively.  

Do have a niche  

Besides content relevancy, another crucial factor that can impact your ad content’s exposure is TikTok’s algorithm. 

The great thing about TikTok’s algorithm is that it gives an equal playing field for everyone, from globally known brands to small businesses or startups. It’s designed to prioritize content tailored to the user’s interests, regardless of your account’s popularity. 

For instance, make-up enthusiasts will likely see make-up-related content based on their previous interactions with similar posts.  

Thus, to ensure your ads and content surface on the “For You Page” of your target audience, ensure to choose and specify your niche. That way, TikTok’s algorithm can easily detect and recommend your videos to people following the same niche. 

You may also work with a professional TikTok ads agency like Adacted agency or other ads management companies. They can help monitor your content’s performance and ensure they’re relevant to your niche.  

Do explore various types of TikTok videos  

Users generally use TikTok for fun and entertainment. But did you know that 69% of TikTok users also use the app to educate themselves? Sure, your dance “challenge” videos may be a thing now, but in a few weeks or months, people will find a new trend and forget your previous trendy videos. 

So, if you want your target audience to have a reason to bookmark your videos, you must explore different ways to create them.  

Some of the fun yet educational and creative ways to promote your brand in a non-promotional way may include creating:  

  • How-to videos or tutorials  
  • Life hack videos  
  • Unboxing videos  
  • Explainer videos  

Another TikTok marketing rule is never to post the same types of videos repetitively to avoid losing your audience’s interest and anticipation towards your content.  

The Don’ts:  

Don’t underestimate the importance of TikTok sounds in your ads or content  

TikTok relies heavily on sounds to catch the audience’s attention. 88% of users also claimed that the sound from TikTok videos is the most crucial factor that impacts their overall experience.

So, consider the importance of choosing the right sounds for your TikTok ads. Make sure to use music backgrounds that complement the visuals of your content, as this will easily capture your viewer’s attention.  

Don’t be too pushy or sales-forward  

As mentioned, TikTok is a platform for fun, cool, and entertaining content, not for sales pitches. To catch your audience’s attention, you must blend in and be like the rest of the influencers. This statement may sound ironic or counterintuitive, but as an entertainment platform, it’s a huge turn-off for TikTok users to see serious, pushy, and formal ads and videos.  

Thus, your ads and content videos must blend in and be relatable enough for the audience to watch the content. Through this, your audience and target TikTok users can see your content long enough to understand what you’re offering, which could lead to sales.  

Don’t post misleading content or use clickbait  

Nowadays, most TikTok users are becoming savvier, and they can easily tell when content is misleading or simply clickbait. 

Never mislead your audience by publishing videos that appear to have engaging material but don’t give anything of value. This tactic will damage your brand’s credibility, and users may block or filter out your future content. 

To successfully market your brand, you should be honest and authentic with your ads and video content so your audience can trust you. 

Key Takeaway

TikTok is a complicated platform to navigate at first. But once you catch up on its dynamics and the dos and don’ts to remember, you’ll figure out how to make the app work well for your marketing strategy and in targeting your business’s goals. And remember that when utilizing TikTok marketing, your mantra should be: Don’t make ads but only make TikTok videos.

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