TikTok has been the centre of much publicity recently after being the focus of a much-talked-about ban in the United States. But...
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TikTok has been the centre of much publicity recently after being the focus of a much-talked-about ban in the United States. But putting that to one side and focusing on TikTok as a social media marketing platform for businesses, no one can deny that TikTok has changed the game when it comes to digital marketing. There are several reasons for this, which we will explore throughout this article, especially for small businesses.
Social media has helped small businesses reach customers in new ways. However, bigger brands still dominate. They have larger budgets and more followers.
While big brands will always have an advantage in marketing, TikTok marketing has certainly levelled the playing field. If you’re running a startup or small business, TikTok marketing should be one of your biggest marketing priorities. Here’s why TikTok is a game-changer for small businesses’ marketing.
Many other social media platforms have now followed suit, but TikTok was the first to heavily prioritise content over follower counts. TikTok’s ‘ For You Page’ serves up content that it thinks the user wants to see, using previous interactions to work this out. If you like sharing cute animal videos with your friends, the algorithm will notice this. It will then show you more cute animal videos.
Content used to be dependent on who you followed. For instance, in the early days of Facebook, you would only see posts from the people with whom you were friends or pages you had liked. This approach massively favoured bigger businesses due to their increased brand awareness.
Now, brands can use TikTok marketing to focus on unique, captivating content. From there, the algorithm will do the job for you by ensuring it ends up in front of the right people. A startup gym wear brand will likely see its posts end up in front of fitness enthusiasts regardless of who follows them.
The key lies in creating original content that users will want to engage with. The more people who interact with a piece of content, the more it will be pushed by the algorithm. That’s why it’s important not to just copy current trends that you see performing well on TikTok.
PeachyBbies Slime Shop is an example of a small business that has experienced rip-roaring success on TikTok. The slime manufacturer posts the process behind making their product, which viewers find interesting or even therapeutic. Their high engagement rates help the content go further, which allows more people to find the brand and subsequently make a purchase. There are many other success stories from small businesses that have harnessed the power of TikTok’s content-driven algorithm
Compared to previous algorithms, only people who followed the brand would’ve seen the content from Peachy. As a small business, this wouldn’t have been a huge number of people. Since turning to TikTok, the brand has seen its slime drops sell out in seconds.
TikTok is mainly known as a social media and video-sharing platform. However, it can also serve as an e-commerce platform. It may not sound like a revolutionary development, but it does help small brands compete with larger ones.
This is because learning about a product and buying it on the same platform makes the process easier. It also saves time when completing a purchase. In the early days of social media, brands used platforms to build their image. They then directed users to their websites to complete purchases. This favoured bigger brands due to their increased brand awareness.
Another reason it favoured big businesses is that they had more money to invest in their websites. Users came from social media platforms. With new ideas like TikTok Shop, a website is less important. This is good for smaller businesses that can’t afford website development or user experience design.
Nowadays, platforms have blurred the lines between content and sales, with TikTok arguably leading the way in this area. Incredibly, 58% of TikTok users shop on the platform, and the app has proved to be particularly popular with products that can be demonstrated through video.
Businesses selling products like kitchen gadgets are particularly successful on TikTok, as it can generate impulse buys. Unlike industries like fashion, where reputation takes time to build, gadgets can show their use in a short video. This can lead people to buy them right away. As a result, brands must demonstrate the issue that their product is solving, if any at all.
Instagram and influencer marketing are closely linked as the image-sharing app gave rise to influencer marketing as we know it today. There are still chances to work with influencers today. However, the market is crowded. Many top influencers are hard to reach for smaller businesses. Those who are free or cheaper to work with may not give value for money in terms of reach due to this saturation.
TikTok marketing has given brands another shot at partnerships and collaborations due to a new influx of influencers. Because TikTok is still new, its influencers are usually cheaper to work with. The algorithm also helps their content reach more people than on other platforms. As a result, businesses get more bang for their buck, which is favourable for small businesses that don’t have the luxury of spending millions of dollars on influencer marketing campaigns.
It’s not a new phenomenon, but user-generated content (UGC) is a perfect fit for TikTok. Compared to platforms like Instagram, content often looks less polished and more amateur. Talking head videos filmed on a creator’s phone are common. This makes it easier for people to create user-generated content.
The platform focuses on video, so reviews, demonstrations, and walkthroughs are common. This lets consumers speak for brands. This can go in two ways. Creators can share their bad experiences with certain brands or products.
You may be wondering why this is good news for small businesses, as big companies can also harness the power of UGC. However, the fact that customers can become brand ambassadors by creating free content, which acts as marketing material, is better news to businesses that may not be working with any form of marketing budget.
It’s also worth considering that small businesses need to establish trust among potential audiences. UGC can achieve this as the message is coming from individuals as opposed to a business. Larger brands that have stood the test of time don’t have this issue as their reputation has been built up over a number of years. The likes of Nike can rely on the fact that most people have either purchased, used or at least seen their products before, whereas a new brand may be trying to build trust with a completely cold audience.
Finally, there’s no getting away from the fact that TikTok hasn’t been around as long as Facebook, Instagram and X. As a result, TikTok benefits from having fewer users, which subsequently results in less competition.
Many other platforms have become saturated as tools for business. The vast majority of businesses have a business profile and an Instagram account, but many brands are yet to start a TikTok account. Those that have are still exploring TikTok marketing and understanding its best practices.
On the other hand, TikTok is growing at a faster rate than the platforms mentioned above, which is even more reason for small businesses to explore TikTok’s ever-growing potential.
It’s clear that TikTok’s arrival on the social media scene has been good news for small businesses. Its ability to put less focus on budget, spending and followers while placing a higher emphasis on the quality and originality of content means creativity goes further compared to other social media platforms.
It’s also worth pointing out that TikTok marketing is more useful to some businesses than it is to others. As mentioned earlier in this article, gadgets that can be demonstrated in a short-form video perform well on TikTok. Businesses that operate in the B2B space may find it slightly trickier to experience success, although with a bit of creativity, any business can experience TikTok success.
If you don’t have the benefit of having a content creator on your team, it may be worth reaching out to a digital marketing agency to see if they can assist with TikTok creation or even running TikTok ads.
It may also be worth reading some of our other articles, which include advice on how to implement a successful content marketing strategy and the latest social media trends.
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Natalie Wilson is a freelance writer for many different business publications. With a range of knowledge in the business and insurance sector, she is an avid researcher and writer in the field. Having worked with a number of different businesses, Natalie is now a freelance writer looking to specialise in the topic. You can connect with her on Twitter @NatWilson976.
