What is TikTok?
TikTok is a video sharing app owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It launched in 2016 and has become wildly popular, especially with Generation Z. As of January 2023, TikTok has over 1 billion monthly active users globally (https://www.enterpriseappstoday.com/stats/tiktok-statistics.html).
TikTok allows users to create and share short videos, typically set to music or other audio clips. Videos can be up to 3 minutes long. The app is best known for its lip-syncing, dancing, comedy skits, challenges, and trends. Part of what makes it stand out is its powerful algorithm that determines which videos go viral based on user engagement.
Overall, TikTok has captured the attention of young people thanks to its fun, entertaining, and addictive nature. It has cemented itself as one of the top social media platforms in the world.
Types of TikTok Accounts
There are two main types of TikTok accounts: personal and business. Personal accounts are designed for individual users to connect with friends and share casual videos. Business accounts, on the other hand, are tailored for brands, businesses, creators, and publishers looking to establish a professional presence on TikTok (Personal and Business Accounts on TikTok).
With a personal account, users can post videos, follow friends, and build their own TikTok community. Personal accounts are best suited for informal, everyday use of the app. Business accounts unlock additional features like analytics, advertising, and promotional tools to help brands grow their audience and engage with customers. Switching to a business account signals that the account will be used for commercial purposes (Types of TikTok Accounts).
The key difference between personal and business accounts is the intended use. While personal accounts cater towards individual users, business accounts provide brands and organizations the tools needed to turn TikTok into a marketing channel.
Benefits of a Business Account
A TikTok Business account provides several advantages over a personal account. Some key benefits include:
– Access to analytics: Business accounts get access to robust analytics and insights about video performance and audience engagement. This allows you to track growth, find out what content resonates, and optimize your strategy.
– Promote button: The Promote button allows you to easily boost your content and run ad campaigns directly within the TikTok app. Business accounts have more options for targeted advertising.
– Branded content: Business accounts can upload branded content including logos and images. This allows you to create videos and posts that are on-brand.
– Verified badge: Business accounts can get a verified badge to signify authenticity. This helps build credibility with viewers.
Setting up a Business Account
To set up a business account on TikTok, the first step is to convert your existing personal account. This can be done easily within the TikTok app. Simply go to your profile page, tap on the three-line menu icon in the top right corner, select “Manage account” and then choose “Switch to Business Account.” You will then need to enter your business details like name, category and website URL.
Once you submit this information, TikTok will begin the verification process. This involves confirming your website URL and may also require submitting official documentation to prove you represent the business. According to TikTok, the verification process can take a few days. However, some users report getting approved within hours while others say it took over a week (Source).
The main benefit of getting verified is that it unlocks additional analytics within TikTok Analytics for your account. It also gives your business account more legitimacy and authority in the eyes of viewers.
Creating Content
When creating branded content on TikTok, it’s important to follow best practices to produce engaging videos that represent your brand well. Using popular music, hashtags, and trends strategically can help your content gain more visibility.
Make sure to use copyright-free music or songs from TikTok’s music library in your videos. Songs drive trends on the platform, so utilizing the right tracks will help your content get discovered more easily. You can also add popular sounds used in viral TikToks to make it easier for your content to show up when people search those sounds. According to the Influencer Marketing Hub, using trending sounds is one of the top tips for success on TikTok.
Along with music, using relevant hashtags allows people to find your branded content when searching for those topics or keywords. Include a mix of niche and popular hashtags, but don’t overdo it. According to Hootsuite’s guide, 3-5 topically relevant hashtags are recommended. You can identify trending hashtags to leverage by exploring TikTok’s Discover page.
Paying attention to the latest viral trends and challenges can also provide inspiration for fun branded content. Put your own spin on popular TikTok formats like meme sketches, dance videos, unboxings, or reaction videos. Tailor trending content to authentically fit your brand voice and audience.
Advertising Options
TikTok offers a variety of advertising options for businesses to promote their brand and connect with new audiences.[1] The main types of ads available on TikTok are:
In-Feed Video Ads
In-feed video ads appear directly within a user’s main TikTok feed. They are full-screen video ads up to 60 seconds long that aim to grab attention and drive engagement. These video ads can showcase products, demonstrate services, or tell brand stories in an entertaining way.
Brand Takeovers
Brand takeovers allow businesses to “take over” the TikTok app when launched by users. This immersive ad format displays a full-screen image or video ad for 3-5 seconds after the app is opened. Brand takeovers help reinforce brand awareness.
Hashtag Challenges
Hashtag challenges encourage TikTok users to create and share content around a branded hashtag. For example, a company could launch a #DoTheDance challenge that invites users to upload dance videos featuring the brand’s products. Hashtag challenges allow brands to inspire joyful, creative content.
With creative video ads, brand takeovers, and hashtag challenges, businesses of all sizes can effectively advertise on TikTok to grow their brand presence.[2]
Analytics
TikTok provides robust analytics for business accounts to help understand how your content is performing. Some key metrics available in TikTok Analytics include:
Impressions – The number of times your content has been seen by users. This helps gauge the reach of your content.
Reaches – The number of unique users who have seen your content. Useful for determining the size of your audience.
Engagement rate – The percentage of users who engage with your content through likes, comments, shares, etc. This reveals how captivating your content is.
Video views – The number of times your video has been viewed for at least 2 seconds. This shows the popularity of each specific video.
Playtime – The total duration your videos have been viewed. This indicates how intriguing your content is to hold viewer attention.
Traffic sources – Where views are coming from – hashtags, sounds, profiles, etc. This helps identify effective discovery channels.
Analyzing these metrics allows you to identify high-performing content to replicate, underperforming content to improve upon, and new opportunities to pursue. Checking analytics regularly is crucial for maximizing the impact of your TikTok business account.
To access analytics, go to your TikTok profile, tap the three-line menu icon, select “Analytics”, and review performance data for your videos and hashtag use. Use these insights to craft data-driven content that resonates with your audience.
Connecting with Your Audience
One of the best ways to connect with your audience on TikTok is by responding to comments. Always respond politely and thoughtfully. Thank users for their compliments and feedback. Asking questions can spark interesting conversations. Replying to comments shows users you care and helps build a relationship.
Writing good captions on your videos is also important for audience connection. Captions allow you to provide context, tell stories, ask questions, or add humor. Include relevant keywords but avoid keyword stuffing. Check captions for spelling and grammar errors.
Going live is a great way to engage directly with your audience in real time. Share sneak peeks, behind-the-scenes footage, or chat with viewers. Live videos often get more views. Let viewers know when you plan to go live and keep a consistent schedule. Interact with commenters during the broadcast. Save your live videos to rewatch later.
Tips for Success on TikTok for Business
Here are some key tips to find success using TikTok for your business:
Post consistently. Regular posting is important for reaching new viewers and keeping existing followers engaged. Aim to post at least 1 video per day or 3-5 videos per week.
Use relevant hashtags. Include a mix of popular and niche hashtags in your video captions to get your content in front of people interested in your industry or product. See what hashtags your competitors use.
Create high-quality content. Well-produced videos with good lighting, audio, visuals etc are more likely to be shared. Play to TikTok’s strengths for short videos with viral potential.
As Louie Bischoff of The Idea Factory recommends: “The biggest thing is participating in trends and challenges on the platform. You have to engage the audience where they’re at.” (Source)
Posting consistently great content focused on trending topics is key for TikTok success.
Summary
In summary, setting up a business account on TikTok provides several advantages for brands and creators looking to grow their presence. With a business account, you gain access to professional analytics that provide insight into your audience and content performance. You also unlock a suite of advertising options like promotions and influencer campaigns that can help expand your reach.
To maximize success, focus on creating fun, engaging video content tailored to TikTok’s young user base. Leverage features like challenges, duets, and hashtags to connect with viewers and get your videos in front of new audiences. Consider promoting your best content through TikTok’s advertising platforms. Track performance through analytics and continuously refine your strategy based on what resonates with your followers.
With a thoughtful approach and creative content strategy, TikTok’s business tools provide impactful options for brands to build meaningful connections and grow their community on this high-growth platform.
