If you thought TikTok was a tool for tweens and teens to create lighthearted videos – you’d be right – but you’d be wrong too. When it comes to expressing the bounds of your brand, TikTok really delivers and now the platform has opened up the offering to small business owners with a swathe of tools designed to get your community engaged.
Brands are already an important part of the TikTok experience. Whether they are starting trends, connecting communities, or bringing awareness of issues, brands already create authentic audiences built on the foundation of sharing stories about products they love.
Introducing TikTok For Business
With the launch of TikTok For Business, businesses will be able to expand their reach on TikTok to engage with more consumers about their brand. Brett Armstrong, General Manager, Global Business Solutions, TikTok Australia said TikTok has been an important source of fun and positivity for users around the world during COVID-19 and he hopes to see that expand with the launch of TikTok for Business.
“We’ve seen more and more Aussie brands tap into opportunities on TikTok to channel creativity, spread joy, and connect with new audiences.
“We’re thrilled to be launching TikTok For Business to enable brands and marketers to engage their communities in innovative ways and build brand affinity where it matters. We look forward to continuing to learn from our brand partners to build new services, products and resources that enable them to use TikTok as a valuable marketing platform, both globally and here in Australia.”
New Platform for Brands to Amplify Their Voice on TikTok
TikTok says over the past twelve months brands have already found success resonating with the TikTok community not because they had the glossiest ad or the biggest names in their campaign, but because of their ability to creatively engage and connect with users through feelings, actions and sounds.
“The magic of TikTok is not just the chance to create, but the chance to discover – and to be found. With TikTok For Business, our goal is to give marketers the tools to be discovered and connect with the broader communities around them.,” said Armstrong.
He suggests businesses scrap the idea of making ads and make TikToks instead
“TikTok as a platform is designed to inspire – with authentic, creative content that could only be on TikTok. The creative, light-hearted, and fun content is so uniquely TikTok – and we’ve been inspired to see our community welcome a variety of content as well.
“For brands, this opens an entirely new window of opportunity to create content that speaks to people, to invite the community to join in the conversation, and…to Make TikToks.”
Armstrong says as TikTok is an open platform there is room for every type of expression. Every business can find an audience.
“Anyone can be discovered, the industry is not limited to learning only from their own friend groups or followers. Culture, trends, and content are created and shared globally, which means anything can go viral across the globe within a matter of hours and reach diverse audiences across cultures, ages, ethnic groups, and languages. TikTok is an original opportunity for brands to create great work that becomes a part of our community and the experience.”
Armstrong says with launch of TikTok For Business, they set out to create a space where the community and businesses could connect with a sense of creativity and authenticity.
“As we continue to build a platform where brands bring immense value to the user experience, we’re excited to continue investing in solutions that give brands a platform to inspire others, be discovered, and meaningfully connect with the TikTok Community.”
Top tips to get started with TikTok for Business
TikTok is one of the fastest-growing social platforms in the world. With over 800 million active users, the app has been downloaded over two billion times. Harnessing the potential of TikTok is crucial if your business is marketed to millennials or Gen Z as these make up the majority of users on the platform.
So what do you need to know?
When you open TikTok you’ll find two areas a For You and Following. The For You will show you trending videos and top videos. The more you interact with the app the more it will refine this feed to suit your taste. The Following page is where you will find the content of the TikTokers you follow. Sounds simple enough, yeah?
So, how do I get my content seen?
There are a number of ways to get your brand seen on TikTok. The simplest is In-Feed native content.
In-Feed native content is similar in a way to an Instagram story. You can tell your business/ brand story in short 15 second video feeds which will appear on a TikTokers For You feed. TikTokers can click through to URL to find out more about your brand.
Then there is TopView. This gives your brand a stronger presence as you can also drive to a Hashtag challenge or an external URL. What’s a hashtag challenge? It’s when you create a hashtag and invite TikTokers to make content around your campaign. Hashtag challenges are amongst the most popular forms of content on TikTok and allow users to really engage with your business or brand.
For maximum impact, you can opt for a Brand Takeover. Which delivers a full screen static or dynamic image, gif or 3-5 second video which takes over a users ‘For You’ feed. It can be embedded with links and connected to hashtags and challenges.
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