Top ten hacks for SMEs on TikTok
TikTok is the fastest growing social media platform worldwide, outperforming Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in 2021. With over 800 million active users, and a surprisingly large range of specific demographics and niche interests, it presents huge marketing potential for any business.
As a relatively new platform that is still developing, it is a good time to establish your presence, but it is also important to understand how the platform works, and leverage the native editing style. TikTok is not a channel where you can simply repost your Instagram stories and hope to garner engagement. Your TikTok content needs to feel authentic or it risks being disregarded by the community.
If you are looking to grow your business’ presence on TikTok, here are 10 tips to go about it in the right way, so you can start building a community of loyal customers and brand advocates.
Influencers
On a platform where authenticity is key, choosing influencers that are a good fit and aligned with your values can help you benefit from their already established audiences. Opting for customer-led communications gives you the added advantage of building trust and loyalty towards your brand.
Engage your audience
TikTok is a particularly interactive platform, offering its users many ways to engage and interact, so if you want to build your own community, it’s vital that you get involved with your audience. Replying to comments, collaborating with other creators and using TikTok’s recently implementing Q&A feature are all ways to boost your interaction as you build your following.
Go behind-the-scenes
Content that demonstrates the inner workings of your company is a great way to ignite the curiosity of your community, while showing the human side of your business. Videos that show customers exactly how their orders are put together or give an insight into how a product is made will help you inject personality into your brand.
Advice and tips
You already possess expertise as a business owner, so leverage this knowledge by sharing it in an engaging way with your audience. You will not only grow your following by providing them with valuable content, but also bolster your own personal brand in the process.
Product demos
While TikTok is not the place for the hard sell, creatively showcasing your products is an ideal way to engage your viewers. Consider experimenting with time lapses, or providing helpful tips of how to use your products to get the best experience.
Product launches
Bolster your engagement by taking your customers on the journey with you in the lead up to a product launch, allowing you to organically build hype, consideration and interest for your new product or service.
The human touch
TikTok as a platform is led by people and personalities, and if you want your content to stand out in the crowd, it’s important to let your viewers get to know the faces behind the brand by introducing yourself and your team. Doing so will make your business far more relatable in the eyes of your audience.
Timing is everything
If you want your audience to engage with the content you are posting, you must be prepared to conduct a little research and find the best times to post. Timings can vary even from day to day, so experiment with when you upload your content to find when your viewers are most engaged with the platform.
Use hashtags
Hashtags are an integral part of TikTok, and so should play a pivotal role in your content strategy. However, this doesn’t mean using every trending hashtag in everything you post. Instead, base them on what is truly relevant to your content, product or service, and brand.
Stay on-trend
Taking some time to research what is currently trending on the platform in memes and challenges, for example, and finding a creative way to relate them to your own brand can pay major dividends. People will naturally be searching out these trending topics, and using this to your advantage can help your content gain traction.
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