How to use TikTok for business effectively

With millions of active users worldwide, TikTok offers a vibrant, fast-paced social media platform where businesses can captivate and engage their audiences like never before. From short, snappy TikTok videos to viral challenges, the potential for brand exposure and customer interaction is immense.

If you're an ecommerce player looking to expand your digital marketing strategies, leveraging TikTok can drive significant growth. This guide will walk you through practical strategies to harness TikTok’s power, ensuring your brand stands out and drives sales.

Ready to take your ecommerce business strategy to the next level? Let’s get started!

• Harness the power of TikTok to create content to engage with audiences and drive sales by setting up a business account.

• Understand and reach your target audience by monitoring trends and tailoring content to their preferences.

• Create videos with compelling content and take advantage of trending challenges to enhance engagement.

• Collaborate with relevant influencers and explore TikTok's various ad formats for a wider reach.

• Continuously analyze performance metrics and optimize your content strategy for sustained success.

Leveraging TikTok for business helps tap a vast, engaged audience with creative, short-form video content. It's a powerful platform for building brand awareness, driving sales, and fostering authentic connections. With tools like analytics, ads, and ecommerce features, TikTok offers diverse marketing opportunities for large ecommerce players aiming to expand their digital reach.

Follow these steps to set up your business account, understand your audience, and create engaging content while utilizing Gelato's tools to seamlessly maximize your digital marketing impact.

Step 1: Set up your TikTok business account

Starting your journey on TikTok is simpler than you might think. The first step to leveraging this influential platform for your business is to set up your TikTok business account. Follow these easy steps to get started on connecting with your audience and driving your marketing goals:

• Download the app: Visit the App Store (iOS) or Google Play Store (Android) and download the TikTok app. It's free and should take just a few minutes to install.

• Create an account: Once you install the app, open it and sign up. You can use your email, phone number, or an existing social media account to create your TikTok account.

• Switch to a business account: After setting up your account, it's time to convert it into a business account. Navigate to your profile, tap the three dots in the top right corner, and go to "Manage Account." Select "Switch to Business Account" and follow the prompts to complete the process. Add an informative and catchy TikTok bio to reel in customers.

Step 2: Understand your target audience

Understanding your target audience is crucial in creating compelling content. Additionally, staying up-to-date on current trends can help ensure your content remains relevant and exciting for your audience. 

Here’s how to get started: 

• Research your audience: Take the time to know your target audience on TikTok. Look at your competitors and other accounts they follow to gain insights.

• Monitor trends: TikTok is all about trends. Pay attention to the latest challenges, hashtags, and viral content that resonate with your audience. Doing this will keep your content fresh and engaging and increase its chances of being shared and liked.

• Identify interests: Understand what interests and hobbies appeal to your audience. Use TikTok’s search functionality to explore related content and see which videos get the most engagement.

• Leverage TikTok Analytics: Use TikTok’s built-in analytics tool to provide insights. Check metrics like follower growth, video views, and audience activity times to create a data-driven content strategy.

• Conduct surveys and polls: Directly engage with your audience using TikTok’s poll and question features, providing valuable insights and boosting engagement.

• Social listening: Listen to what users say about your brand and industry on TikTok. Use this information to address common questions, concerns, or trends relevant to your audience.

• Competitor Analysis: Research competitors' TikTok activity to understand their content strategy and engagement levels. Identify what works for them and how you can differentiate your content.Pro tip: Use TikTok’s “Discover” page to stay updated on trending hashtags and challenges.

Step 3: Create engaging content

Creating engaging content on TikTok is where your brand can shine. This platform thrives on creativity, originality, and spontaneity. Here are some essential tips to get you started: 

• Plan your content: Decide what content aligns with your brand—educational, inspirational, entertaining, or a mix. Consistency in content type can help build a loyal following.

• Be authentic: TikTok users value authenticity above all. Genuine and relatable content garners more engagement. Feel free to show the human side of your brand.

• Use trends and challenges: Participate in popular trends and challenges that make sense for your brand, which can significantly increase your visibility and attract new followers.

• Include calls to action: Encourage users to visit your website, sign up for a newsletter, or follow your TikTok profile. A compelling call to action can convert viewers into customers.

Step 4: Collaborate with influencers

Collaborating with TikTok influencers is one of the most potent ways to elevate your TikTok presence. When done right, influencer collaborations can significantly extend your reach and boost your brand's credibility. 

Here's how you can implement this strategy:

• Identify relevant influencers: Find influencers who share your target audience and align with your brand values. Use TikTok's search function or third-party tools to discover creators who fit your criteria. The goal is to ensure that their followers will likely become your customers.

• Partner on campaigns: Once you have identified potential influencers, collaborate with them on specific campaigns, ranging from product reviews and demonstrations to co-hosting live events. Establish clear goals and deliverables to maximize the partnership's impact.

Pro tip: Engaging influencers who genuinely love your products can produce more authentic and compelling content, making it easier for your brand to connect with new audiences.

Step 5: Utilize TikTok ads

Understanding and utilizing TikTok ads is crucial to enhance your TikTok strategy. Let’s explore the different types of TikTok paid advertising:  

• In-Feed Ads: These native ads appear in users' "For You" feed as they scroll. They blend seamlessly with organic content, making them less intrusive. In-feed ads can include call-to-action buttons that drive traffic to your website or promote app downloads.

• Brand Takeovers: This type of ad appears immediately when a user opens the TikTok app. It can be a static image, GIF, or video that directs users to an internal or external link. Brand takeovers offer massive visibility but are limited to one advertiser per category daily.

• TopView: Similar to brand takeovers, TopView ads appear at the top of the "For You" feed but provide more extended engagement. This format allows up to 60 seconds of full-screen video, immediately capturing the audience’s attention.

• Branded Hashtag Challenges: These ads invite users to participate in challenges using a specific hashtag. This format encourages user-generated content and significantly boosts engagement and brand visibility. It’s an excellent way to foster community and interaction around your brand.

• Branded Effects: Create custom filters, stickers, and special effects that users can incorporate into their content. Branded effects can enhance user engagement by making your brand part of the creative process and encouraging users to interact with and share your branded elements.

Step 6: Analyze and optimize

Once you’ve set up your TikTok business account and started creating content, the next step is to monitor its performance and continuously optimize based on the insights you gather. 

Here's how you can go about this process:

• Monitor performance: Use TikTok's built-in analytics to track the performance of your content and ads. This tool provides valuable metrics like views, likes, shares, comments, and followers. Monitoring these metrics will help you understand which types of content resonate best with your audience.

• Optimize based on insights: Continuously improve your content strategy based on the insights you gather. If you notice specific videos performing exceptionally well, analyze what sets them apart—the format, topic, or style. Use these insights to fine-tune future content, ensuring you consistently meet your audience's preferences and interests.

• Analyze engagement rates: Look beyond likes and views. Pay close attention to engagement rates—the interactions (likes, comments, shares) ratio to total views. High engagement rates indicate that your audience finds your content compelling.

• Evaluate TikTok ads performance: Assessing the ROI for those using TikTok ads is essential. Check metrics like click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates, and cost per click (CPC) to determine the effectiveness of your ad campaigns.

• Audit hashtag performance: Hashtags are vital on TikTok. Monitor how different hashtags perform to understand which drives visibility and engagement, helping refine your future hashtag strategy.

Step 7: Engage with your community

Engaging with your community on TikTok is crucial for building a loyal following and creating a dynamic presence on the platform. Here are essential ways to ensure you're actively engaging with your TikTok community: 

• Respond to comments: Actively engage with users who comment on your videos. Responding to comments shows that you value user input and remain invested in community-building.

• Participate in dialogues: Keep the conversation going by asking questions, encouraging user participation, boosting engagement, and providing valuable insights into your audience's preferences and interests.

• Go live with your audience: Use TikTok's live streaming feature to host Q&A sessions, tutorials, or behind-the-scenes looks at your business. This real-time interaction helps humanize your brand and build stronger connections with your audience.

• Thank your followers: Show appreciation to those who engage with your content, especially those who give gifts or participate in your live sessions. Acknowledging their support can turn casual viewers into loyal fans.

• Conduct polls and surveys: Utilize TikTok's interactive features like polls and questions to gather feedback and understand what your audience wants to see more of.

• Feature user-generated content: Showcase content created by your followers on your profile, making them feel valued and encouraging more users to create content related to your brand.

Step 8: Stay consistent and experiment

Creating a successful TikTok strategy requires consistency and creativity. Here are some tips on how you can optimize your TikTok strategy:

• Post regularly: Maintain a consistent posting schedule to engage your audience. Regular updates help your brand stay relevant and encourage audience loyalty.

• Experiment with content: Don’t be afraid to try new ideas or formats to see what resonates best with your audience, including various videos, themes, or new challenges.

Apart from these two essential points, take a look at our more in-depth tips to make the best of your TikTok business strategy:

• Leverage TikTok’s Features: Use TikTok’s various features, such as duets, stitches, and voiceovers, to create engaging and interactive content. These features not only add variety to your videos but also increase your chances of virality by garnering the attention of a larger audience.

• Storytelling: Craft compelling narratives in your content. Rather than just showcasing products, tell stories that evoke emotions or convey valuable information. Storytelling can make your brand more relatable and memorable to your audience.

• Engage with Trends: Stay updated with the latest TikTok trends by looking through your TikTok feed and incorporating them into your content strategy. Participating in trending challenges or using popular sounds can increase your content’s visibility and engagement.

• Optimize Posting Times: Pay attention to when your audience is most active on TikTok and schedule your posts accordingly. Posting at optimal times ensures that your content reaches the maximum number of viewers, enhancing engagement.

• Cross-Promote on Other Channels: Share your TikTok content on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Cross-promotion helps in increasing your TikTok following and broadens your content’s reach.

Leveraging TikTok for business can transform your brand's visibility and engagement. By creating authentic content, tapping into trends, collaborating with influencers, and utilizing TikTok's advertising tools, you can effectively reach and connect with your target audience. TikTok offers a unique platform to showcase your products and build a community around your brand.

To further enhance your business, consider integrating Gelato's print on demand services. With Gelato, you can seamlessly turn your TikTok content into tangible products, from custom apparel to branded merchandise, and reach customers globally without the hassle of inventory management.

Sign up for Gelato today and and start transforming your TikTok success into real-world sales, elevating your brand to new heights.