The emergence of social media has redefined e-commerce, and the way it has connected businesses with their consumers is absolutely amazing. TikTok is one platform that has taken social media by storm ever since its launch. TikTok’s highly engaging and diverse user base makes it a promising space for businesses to thrive. Businesses all around the world are increasingly leveraging the influence of TikTok to promote their products and services to their audience. Benefiting from this opportunity, TikTok has decided to introduce in-app shopping as well.
What Makes TikTok an Amazing Platform for Businesses?
There are several factors that make TikTok a game-changing place for businesses. Let’s explore them in detail!
High Engagement Rates
TikTok boasts an average engagement rate of 2.65% by followers and 4.07% by views. This is quite higher as compared to Facebook and Instagram which stand at 0.30% and 0.60% respectively. The engagement on TikTok is not just in the form of likes, views, comments, and shares; it goes far beyond these metrics.
TikTok users spend a lot of time scrolling through their feeds and watching videos. What really sets TikTok apart from other social networks is its ability to drive actionable engagement from users. They recreate trending videos as a way to express their appreciation and demonstrate engagement.
TikTok Shopping
TikTok has always been a one-of-a-kind platform that inspired shopping naturally through its engaging videos. Seeing the immense potential of content going viral and influencing millions, TikTok has introduced in-app shopping where users can directly shop for their favorite products on TikTok. It is an initiative in collaboration with Shopify, empowering creators, influencers, and businesses simultaneously.
Businesses can add a shopping tab to their profiles and import their product catalog conveniently from Shopify. This saved tons of sales opportunities for businesses and the time it took for users to go to the brand’s online store, search for the intended product, and then buy it. However, it’s essential to gain TikTok followers and build consumer trust and your brand’s credibility before you can start selling directly on TikTok.
Content Delivery Systems
TikTok’s algorithms play a key role in making it one of the best social networks for businesses. The way it makes sure to deliver each user content they are interested in is impeccable. Understanding how the algorithm and content delivery systems work is crucial to getting more visibility on the platform.
If you can create content tailored perfectly to your target audience’s needs and interests, know that your organic reach and engagement will be boosted, bringing you more TikTok comments, likes, saves, and shares. Doing this will make the algorithm prioritize your content and get it delivered to the relevant audience’s For You Page.
Trend-Driven Nature
TikTok is a fun and engaging place where trends are born overnight and go viral in an instant. Users love to share their take on popular trends and challenges. Thus, businesses can also leverage the vast spread of trends to enhance their visibility and get discovered by potential customers.
This gives brands the opportunity to think out of the box and diversify their content strategies to bring in more user engagement. They can create branded hashtags or challenges to encourage user-generated content from their audience, building trust and authenticity.
#TikTokMadeMeBuyIt
There’s a popular hashtag on TikTok #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt which sheds light on the influence it has on consumers’ lives. And rightfully so, people have started using social networks as a means to look for product recommendations to help them make the right purchase decisions.
TikTok has been playing an essential role in influencing people to buy products, hence, the hashtag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt. TikTok has leveraged this influencing power to launch TikTok shopping which allows users to make purchases directly through the app.
Impactful Success Strategies for TikTok
In order to make the most of marketing on TikTok, it’s important to employ the right strategies. We have listed below some of the most impactful strategies for gaining success on TikTok.
Know Your Target Audience
Knowing your target audience inside-out is the key to thriving on any social platform, specifically TikTok. Given its algorithm that relies heavily on the audience’s interests and preferences, it’s essential to know what your audience likes to watch to stay on top of their For You Pages.
When you can craft content tailored according to your audience’s interests, you are very likely to be prioritized by the algorithm and appear on their For You Page. Personalized content promises high engagement from viewers as well.
Craft Fun and Engaging Content
The content format of TikTok is quite different from other social platforms. There are only videos and those too in shorter lengths. So you have very little time to grasp viewers’ attention and keep them hooked to your videos until the end. If the viewers don’t enjoy the first few seconds, they will scroll away.
What you can do to cope with this issue is to understand your audience’s needs and pain points well to create content that resonates with them on a deeper level. Feel free to use humor and other interactive elements in your videos to make them engaging for your audience.
TikTok Ads
TikTok ads are a great way to reach potential customers to enhance brand awareness and generate more sales. The best thing about them is that you can target specific audiences based on their demographics and interests. Targeted ads help you reach genuinely interested customers which helps increase ROI. Unlike traditional advertising, where a promotional message is broadcast to a generalized audience, targeted ads are more effective.
Collaborate With TikTok Creators
TikTok influencer marketing is one of the most effective tools used by brands to reach their target audience on TikTok. The audience trusts the recommendations coming from their favorite influencers, thus businesses tend to collaborate with them to sell their products. By creating compelling and engaging content, influencers can help you raise brand awareness, boost sales, generate leads and conversions, and drive more traffic to your brand’s website.
Influencers have mastered the art of keeping their audience engaged and connected. They are witty, creative, and know how to present a product to their audience well. So it’s good to let them handle the creative part and create content for your brand.
Connect With Your Audience
Social media has opened ways for two-way communication between businesses and their consumers. In traditional advertising, it was the other way around where consumers couldn’t reach out to businesses as conveniently. Now, businesses can communicate with their audiences directly to connect with them on a deeper level.
TikTok has made it easier through its unique content format. Businesses can create fun and engaging content that resonates with their audience. Furthermore, responding to the audience’s comments and messages, resolving their issues, addressing their concerns, and going live on TikTok often can help foster an environment of trust with the brand.
Stimulate UGC
TikTok is a great place to stimulate user-generated content and amplify your engagement rates. In fact, it thrives on creative content uploaded by users from all over the world. As a business, you can create a branded hashtag or challenge and encourage your audience to participate in it by sharing original content.
It’s a proven way to multiply the engagement on your profile and promote your brand’s credibility in the eyes of potential consumers. This is the best thing about user-generated content. It is not forced and it’s created for no commercial benefits, which is why it is deemed more trustworthy and authentic as compared to advertised content.
Leverage Trends
Viral trends and challenges are a common occurrence on TikTok. The best part is that millions of people are engaging with them on a daily basis. Businesses too, can jump on the bandwagon to engage with their audience and increase their visibility across the platform. It’s a great way to add fun and humor to your content apart from promotional messages. That’s the tricky part about social media too. People have grown resistant to advertising messages over time so they do not readily engage with it as well. Businesses need to understand the evolving consumer needs and comply with them. Think apart from sales-y content and focus on keeping your audience engaged.
Stay Authentic
This might not seem like it matters for businesses but it actually does a great deal. Social media users are growing apart from wearing facades and pretending to be where they are not actually. Important conversations have been happening on social media and TikTok has been a facilitator in driving these conversations. TikTok has emerged as a space where people can simply be themselves without the fear of being judged.
People value real experiences and authentic stories more than fake scenarios and success stories. Businesses should stay authentic with their audience to build stronger bonds and foster a strong sense of community with them.
In A Nutshell
Even though TikTok is a newly launched platform, it has made its mark within very few years of its launch. It is indeed a powerhouse of a platform for businesses to thrive in the digital space. The advent of TikTok shopping is a step ahead in the world of e-commerce. Businesses are tirelessly working towards making the most of their marketing efforts on TikTok. The unique content format has allowed businesses to rethink their strategies and get creative with their approach. It’s high time businesses understand the evolution of social media to keep pace with the advancement.
Author’s Bio:
Fatima Salman
SEO Content Writer | Blogger
Fatima has been a skilled SEO content writer for more than 3 years. She’s proficient in digital marketing, social media marketing, and artificial intelligence. Her writing style combines flair with functionality, creating content tailored to client needs and industry nuances. Besides writing, she joyfully explores the world, seeking to uncover its hidden gems.