Regardless of the product or service you sell, if you want your business and brand to grow, you need to consider how social media can help you.
While marketing in earlier years was primarily a function of print, radio, and television advertising, the advent of the internet and social media completely changed this.
Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, along with influencer marketing, changed the way brands market and grow their customer base almost overnight.
TikTok especially has grown from an already impressive 680 million monthly active users to almost 850 million in two short years.
Are you wondering if TikTok marketing could work for your brand?
While many initially believe that TikTok is a social media platform that caters to teens, the truth is that it’s attracting users from many different age groups.
TikTok creators include celebrities, businesses, and individuals of all types.
What is TikTok?
TikTok started in China back in 2016, where it was known as Douyin.
It became available in 2017 to international audiences, however, it only started to grow in popularity recently, when ByteDance (TikTok’s parent company) bought Music.ly.
The Music.ly social media platform added a host of new tools for TikTok, which dramatically increased its appeal to the GenZ marketplace.
These new video editing tools are at the heart of TikTok’s success, with many publishers, celebrities, and brands jumping onto the platform to create their own viral videos.
How TikTok can help brands grow
Consumers today are spoiled for choice. No longer restricted to local shopping centers, products and services are now sourced from all around the world.
The internet has democratized shopping in a fashion never before seen.
Businesses today absolutely need a website to reach their clients, but a website alone is not nearly enough to build a brand on.
Brands need to consider alternative methods for reaching clients.
Services like podcasts, viral TikTok content, and more are keys to gaining valuable potential consumers.
In a very short period, TikTok has seen astronomical growth. Businesses and companies that have realized the potential for the platform have seen massive returns.
While the majority of TikTok users are in the younger age bracket, the platform has seen a boost in the 20+ age range.
For many businesses, marketing to TikTok users helps introduce their products and services to new consumers that wouldn’t have previously known who they were.
The key differentiator to TikTok is the content itself. Almost anyone can get millions of views if they do it right.
How to grow your TikTok views
With over 2 billion app downloads, companies cannot afford to ignore TikTok as a potential avenue for marketing.
However, simply creating an account on the platform will not get the masses rushing to your site.
Fortunately, there are some strategies you can implement to increase engagement.
Come up with original ideas and challenges
There are lots of trends on TikTok already, and you can jump on the bandwagon with your own twist.
However, if you really want to make a TikTok go viral, you need to come up with a new challenge that others want to emulate.
With TikTok, the best content is often something that can be replicated by others.
TikTok leads the way in some of the most popular dance trends online. That means a TikTok influencer can quickly propel a new song to the top of the charts.
Using the right hashtags and keywords can help propel you forward
Finding the right challenge or idea can be difficult, but luckily there are a variety of tools online that can help when trying to find the right keywords.
You can use TikTok’s Discovery page to find what the trending hashtags are in your location.
Businesses just starting on TikTok often struggle to get views. However, if you know the right keywords to use on your posts, you might be able to generate a quick return.
While general hashtags are useful in getting views, greater targeted and focused hashtag research helps businesses stand out.
Regularly post original content
You might gain new TikTok followers by posting new and innovative challenges. But if you want to continue increasing your TikTok views, you need to create new content regularly.
Challenges are fun and a great way to make an impact. But challenges also have a short shelf life.
To continue growing your TikTok account, you need to make sure that you have an active page with lots of original videos.
With TikTok marketing, you really need to enjoy creating content consistently if you want to grow on the platform.
Another key point to consider is your image and brand.
TikTok influencers are focused on their personal image at all times. If you want to emulate their success, you need to do the same.
That means ensuring you don’t have a “bad hair day” and that your videos are as professional as possible.
Follow trends
While original content is key, using a trending song in your video can help increase TikTok views.
TikTok has deals with different record labels to push different artist’s songs. Using the songs that the app suggests is a great way of jumping on this bandwagon.
In addition to songs, TikTok also partners with different brands. That means the hashtags you are using really do make a difference.
By using TikTok recommended hashtags and audio for your content, there is a higher likelihood of your content being promoted on other TikTok users’ pages.
To make sure that you’re current on all the different trends on TikTok, it pays to follow some of the major TikTok influencer accounts.
Following 30 to 40 different content creators can help you see what is blowing up on their profiles. This gives you a head start creating something similar. By jumping on these viral challenges at the right time, you can quickly boost your brand.
Pick the right times
Like any other social media network, TikTok rewards brands that post when their audiences are most active.
If you publish at a time when people are more likely to be on their smartphone (mornings before work, or during the evening commute), more people can view and like the video.
You can also coordinate your TikTok marketing plans with other social media brands that you own.
Promoting your content on Instagram and Facebook, for example, can help you gain more TikTok followers.
TikTok gives you a simple way of linking other social media brands on your account, so make sure you take advantage of that capability.
Keep all of your content
You might not get a hit with all of your videos on day one.
Even if that is the case, make sure you keep all of your content. While the original number of views might be low, it’s not uncommon for videos to trend and grow later.
It’s very difficult to know exactly what is going to go viral on TikTok. That’s why producing lots of content is the recipe for success.
The more you have on the platform, the greater your chance of something going viral.
Once you get one video to go viral, the rest of your feed will also gain in popularity.
Giveaways and promotions
Paying for TikTok followers is a definite no-no, but using giveaways as a means of getting attention is definitely worthwhile.
You can easily create branded and personalized gifts that you can share with your audience through giveaways and promotions.
The more you engage with your audience and followers, the better you’ll do on TikTok.
Make sure you look at the comments and respond promptly.
As you grow in popularity, consider live streams on TikTok as a way to further grow your brand.
TikTok automatically tells followers when you have a live stream active, which is a great way of keeping yourself front and center.
Live streams are also a way to plan future content, as it gives you a new avenue for interacting with users.
Have an interesting profile
TikTok has started introducing a link in people’s bios, which helps make it easier to drive traffic to your website. While this is not yet available to all users, as time progresses it is expected to be rolled out to everyone.
TikTok is very different from other social media platforms. Simply using what you have on your Instagram page will not work.
On a TikTok bio, it pays to make sure that your image looks like you’re someone who is fun and approachable.
Create something new and original that appeals to the market you’re targeting.
Try to clearly state who you are and what you’re about in a unique way that will help you stand out.
Think about TikTok as a place where you can not only be real, but also have fun.
Consider TikTok influencers
TikTok is the sixth-largest social media platform online today, and has blown away services like Pinterest and Twitter that have been around for years.
With over 2 billion downloads worldwide, TikTok is continuing to grow and thrive.
Among TikTok users, some stand out from the rest. These TikTok influencers have millions of followers.
With TikTok’s For You feed providing a simple channel for promotion, these influencers can have a massive impact on any brand looking for growth.
If you’re considering an influencer strategy to grow your brand, think about the underlying purpose.
Is it to grow awareness or make sales? Also, what market does that influencer currently target?
Choosing an influencer with a market that does not compliment your brand will not help.
If possible, build a relationship with a couple of influencers to find the right ones for you. Follow them on their other posts, so they know who you are. Look for areas where you share an opinion or point of view.
In Closing
TikTok is only at the tip of its growth potential.
While it’s one of the newer entrants in the social media sphere, it has already surpassed Facebook and Instagram as the most downloaded app online.
The primary thing that businesses and individuals want from social media is visibility. They are looking for ways to get themselves, their products, and their services in front of prospects and customers.
With hundreds of millions of active users, TikTok is an excellent platform to make that wish a reality.
Brands looking to make an impact on TikTok have a chance to really get ahead of the competition.
Right now many marketers have yet to fully embrace the platform leaving the way open for those early out the gate.
It might not be easy, but by following these steps, it’s possible to grow your brand on TikTok overnight.
About Author
Hailey Lucas is a freelance content marketer and full-time digital nomad blogging about all things digital marketing, freelancing, and the digital nomad lifestyle at haileylucas.com. You can connect with her on LinkedIn or Twitter.