Introduction
With over 1 billion active users worldwide, TikTok has quickly become one of the most popular social media platforms, especially among Gen Z and Millennials. As TikTok’s popularity grows, many business owners are considering leveraging it to reach new audiences and promote their brand. Using a personal TikTok account for business purposes can have benefits, but also important limitations to keep in mind. This article will examine the pros and cons of using a personal TikTok account for business and provide tips on how to best utilize TikTok for your brand as you navigate its functionality.
Pros of Using a Personal Account
One of the main benefits of using a personal TikTok account for business is that it’s much easier and quicker to set up. With a personal account, you can get started right away without having to go through any verification processes or set up a business profile. This makes it a good option if you want to test out TikTok for your business before fully committing.
Staying on a personal account also allows you to keep your existing followers. Switching to a business account means starting fresh without your established audience. By sticking with your personal profile, you don’t have to rebuild your follower base from scratch.
Using your personal account enables you to maintain the same brand voice and style you’ve cultivated on TikTok. Followers are used to the tone and type of content you post as an individual. Switching to a business account can disrupt that expectation if the content shifts too dramatically.
Overall, the ease of getting started, keeping your followers, and sticking with your established brand voice are the main upsides of using a personal TikTok account for your business.
Cons of Using a Personal Account
While using a personal TikTok account for business may seem convenient, there are some limitations to be aware of. According to Hootsuite, personal accounts have restricted access to analytics, advertising, and promotions.
For example, with a personal account you won’t have access to TikTok’s ads manager or be able to run promoted posts natively within TikTok. You also won’t be able to use pixels or API tools to track analytics and optimizer your content. Personal accounts are also limited in their ability to run contests, sweepstakes or other promotional campaigns. Essentially, you’ll be missing out on many of the built-in tools TikTok provides specifically for businesses.
Additionally, as noted by Vista Social, personal accounts have restrictions around music licensing. You may get more copyright strikes using popular songs in your videos with a personal versus business account. Business accounts have access to TikTok’s commercial music library.
If you want to grow your business’s presence and take advantage of TikTok’s analytics and advertising capabilities, using a personal account has clear downsides. You’ll lack the robust tools that TikTok provides specifically to help businesses succeed on the platform.
TikTok’s Business Tools
TikTok offers a variety of tools and features for businesses through TikTok for Business accounts. Some key features include:
- Analytics – In-depth analytics provide insights into content performance, audience demographics, traffic sources, and more. This allows you to optimize your strategy (Source: https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article/tiktok-business-account-features?lang=en).
- Advertising – Businesses can create and manage advertising campaigns directly within TikTok. Options include in-feed videos, brand takeovers, and more (Source: https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article/tiktok-business-account-features?lang=en).
- Content Management – The TikTok Business Suite provides content planning and publishing tools to easily manage a content calendar and schedule posts.
- Lead Generation – Add lead generation forms to your TikTok profile, allowing viewers to easily share contact information.
Overall, TikTok’s business tools provide robust analytics, advertising capabilities, content management features, and more to aid businesses in connecting with their audience.
Promoting Your Business
When it comes to promoting your business on TikTok, the best approach is to focus on organic growth through creating high-quality, engaging content. According to The Ultimate Guide to Organic TikTok Marketing, you should aim to provide value to your audience by entertaining them, teaching them something new, or inspiring them. Use trending audios, hashtags, effects, and more to increase discoverability.
Collaborating with influencers can also be an effective promotion strategy. Look for influencers in your niche with engaged followings and propose a partnership where they create branded content featuring your products or services. Make sure to establish clear expectations upfront regarding content and compensation. Micro-influencers with smaller but highly targeted audiences can be ideal. Focus on building genuine connections and relationships versus simply paying for one-off promotional posts.
Advertising Options
TikTok offers a variety of advertising options for businesses looking to promote themselves on the platform. Some of the main ad types available include:
- In-Feed Video Ads – These are full-screen video ads that appear between videos in a user’s feed. They can be up to 60 seconds long.
- Brand Takeovers – Brand takeovers display an image or short video ad when the app is launched. They provide maximum exposure for brands.
- TopView Ads – These ads appear when a user first opens TikTok and are a full-screen ad format. They provide immediate exposure.
- Branded Hashtag Challenges – Businesses can start branded hashtag challenges to engage users and drive awareness.
- Branded Effects – Special effects, filters and augmented reality lenses can be created for brands.
When it comes to optimizing TikTok ads, businesses should test different ad durations, placements, audiences, sounds/music and calls-to-action to see what resonates best with their target audience. Analyzing performance data through TikTok’s analytics will help identify what’s working.
For more information on advertising options, businesses can visit the TikTok Business Center.
Analytics
One of the key features of a TikTok business account is access to analytics. With a business account, you can view detailed metrics and insights about your content performance directly within the TikTok app. Some of the key analytics available include:
Views: See how many times your videos have been viewed, both total lifetime views and views per video.
Likes, comments, shares: Track engagement metrics like likes, comments, and shares for each video. This helps you understand what types of content resonate most with your audience.
Followers: Monitor your follower growth over time. See follower demographics like gender, age, and location.
Traffic sources: Discover where your views are coming from – Hashtags, FYP page, profiles, etc. This helps optimize your discoverability.
LIVES analytics: For live videos, view total watch time, peak concurrent viewers, and other engagement metrics.
With access to all these analytics directly in the TikTok app, business accounts can regularly track performance and find opportunities to improve their content and growth. Check out TikTok’s article for more details on analytics available with a business account.
Compliance Considerations
When using a personal TikTok account for business purposes, it’s important to follow applicable laws and regulations around disclosures and data privacy. The FTC provides guidelines requiring social media influencers to clearly disclose when they have a material connection to a brand they are promoting, such as a business relationship or receiving compensation. As stated in the FTC brochure “Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers,” endorsements with disclosures help consumers make informed decisions about claims made through social media advertising.
According to updated FTC endorsement guidelines, simply including “#ad” or “#sponsored” in a video description may not be sufficient. Influencers are advised to ensure disclosures are clear, conspicuous, and placed where consumers will see them. This could mean overlaying “#ad” in the video itself. The FTC offers many examples of proper disclosures on their website.
In addition to disclosure requirements, businesses using TikTok must comply with data privacy regulations. Laws like the GDPR in the EU require consent before collecting personal data. When using a personal account for business, it’s important to inform followers of how their data may be used and provide opt-out options.
Case Studies
TikTok features various case studies from successful brands that have effectively leveraged the platform for marketing and promoting their businesses. For example, Chipotle saw a 21% increase in sales during their TikTok campaign, which encouraged users to post their burrito creations. Fashion retailer Madewell also ran a successful campaign that drove a 6X return on ad spend. Another case study outlines how cosmetics brand e.l.f. engaged beauty influencers to drive brand awareness and tripled website traffic.
Beyond campaigns, many businesses have found success simply creating fun or entertaining TikTok accounts to organically engage their audience. The NBA has one of the most popular brand accounts, with entertaining content focused on players and highlights. Similarly, companies like Ocean Spray have gone viral with lighthearted behind-the-scenes videos. Ultimately, successful brands on TikTok tailor content specifically for the platform and participate actively in the culture.
Conclusion
In summary, using a personal TikTok account for business has both pros and cons. The pros are that it’s easy to set up, low cost, and allows you to leverage your existing following. However, the cons are that there’s limited analytics, no advertising options, and compliance risks around disclosing branded content.
Ultimately, the best approach depends on your goals, target audience, and content strategy. For small businesses and influencers just starting out, a personal account can be a good way to experiment with TikTok marketing. However, for larger brands focused on performance marketing, it’s better to create a separate business account to fully utilize TikTok’s advertising and analytics capabilities.
Here are some final recommendations:
- If using a personal account, be very strategic about what content you post and disclose any paid partnerships properly.
- Review TikTok’s branded content policies closely to avoid compliance issues.
- Monitor comments and engagement levels to gauge if your audience responds positively.
- Consider starting with a personal account, but migrating to a business account once you want more analytics or advertising options.
- Take advantage of TikTok’s business tools like pixel tracking where possible, even on a personal account.
The right TikTok approach depends on your business goals and audience. But with strategic planning and execution, TikTok offers promising marketing potential for brands of all sizes.
