TikTok For Business Marketing: Is It Worth The Hype?

The wheels of time are forever turning and each turn brings fantastic innovations and new social platforms to market your retail or hospitality business with. TikTok is one such platform and its meteoric rise has turned it into one of the most popular apps in the world. 

As a business owner, you should always be looking for new tools to get your business out there. What better way to reach new customers than appearing directly on their phones? 

Using TikTok for marketing can be a very successful project if it’s handled correctly. 

In this blog we’ll explain what this popular platform is and how to develop a TikTok marketing strategy for your business. 

What is TikTok? 

In basic terms, TikTok is a video-sharing-based social media platform focused on user-generated content. App users have the ability to create videos on any topic they wish (there are of course guidelines against hateful and controversial content) of up to 10 minutes long. 

While TikTok itself launched in western countries in 2016, ByteDance (TikTok’s Chinese parent company) had also launched a Chinese version of the app called Douyin in 2015. Since it’s launch, TikTok has spread across the world and is now available in 40 different languages. 

The main selling point of TikTok is its highly sophisticated algorithm that works out what each individual user enjoys and is interested in. The app uses user behavior to shuffle consumers into different subcultures and niches. For example, if one watches and interacts with videos of frogs, they’ll be shown content featuring amphibians and vivariums. 

Thanks to this hyper-focus on micro-niches, with a little work and clever marketing you can make sure your products and services get in front of your target audience. You can build a captive audience ready and waiting to receive the good word about your business.

How can your business use TikTok?

There are many different ways to use TikTok as a business tool. Digital marketing is a fast-paced environment and adapting to new social platforms like TikTok is a must. The most important thing with these platforms is finding a marketing avenue that works for you. 

Create your own content

TikTok is driven almost exclusively by user-generated content. This means that you’re responsible for putting out your own content (unless you hire a marketing company to do it for you). Unlike other social media platforms, TikTok users value a sense of authenticity in their content and so there is less of an audience for traditional advertising. 

TikTok users will respond to the human element of your business. If you’re simply showing off your product or service, users will simply scroll past it. Think of ways you can bring a touch of humanity into your content and research popular TikTok trends so you can stay relevant to what’s happening on the site. 

Advertise directly on the app

Like most of the other social media platforms, the TikTok app sells opportunities to place advertisements in front of users. The userbase of TikTok generally skews towards a younger audience so advertising on the app is a great way to reach that elusive 19-25 market. 

There are a variety of different advertising options available and it’s important to choose one that suits your marketing plan. Each option requires particular content so make sure to choose an option you’ll be able to fulfill. 

The adverts available on TikTok include: 

• Branded hashtags - There’s always a new ‘challenge’ on TikTok and thousands of hours of content is directly inspired by them. Branded hashtags allow brands and businesses to create their own challenges and promote them to their target audience. 
• Brand takeovers - These are the most attention grabbing ads available on the app. They take over the screen as the user opens the app and show full-screen advertisements. Brand takeovers can include links, videos, and partnerships that include TikTok influencer marketing. 
• TikTok feed ads - Feeds ads are exactly what they sound like. These adverts appear in the feed of users as they scroll and are the most common form of advertising on the platform. 

All of these ads vary in price and reach. Generally, small-to-mid-size businesses will only have the budget for branded hashtags and feed ads. Whichever one you choose, be sure to tailor your content to match the ad. 

Integrate it with your POS system

Every successful business needs a top-of-line electronic point of sale (EPOS or POS) system, such as the ones available from Epos Now. The Epos Now Complete Solution comes with access to a comprehensive App Store and some of these apps can be integrated with TikTok. 

NearSt is an app designed to increase foot traffic to your brick and mortar store by helping your items to rank highly in online storefronts. Your business can link your TikTok account with your NearSt integration which in turn links to your Facebook Shopping storefront. This makes it incredibly easy to direct your TikTok audience to your products. 

Epos Now systems can also be integrated with a number of major online storefront apps like Shopify. These apps can also be integrated with your TikTok account and allow you to link directly to your online stores. 

More ways to improve marketing

Using TikTok as a marketing tool is undeniable positive but you still need the strong foundations of a powerful retail POS system to succeed. Here at Epos Now, we offer POS solutions that are designed to make your life as a business owner easier. 

If you’re interested in finding out more about Epos Now and what we do, get in touch with our team below.