TikTok is the fastest-growing social media platform in the world, reaching 1 billion users in September 2021. It is also a powerful tool for businesses to increase brand awareness, build engaged communities, sell products and services, and more. But how can you create a fun and successful TikTok marketing strategy for your business in 2023? Here are some tips and best practices to get you started.
What is TikTok Marketing?
TikTok marketing is the practice of using TikTok and TikTok content to promote your brand, product or service. It can include different tactics, such as influencer marketing, TikTok advertising and creating organic viral content.
How to Set Up TikTok for Business
Before you start marketing on TikTok, you need to create a TikTok business account. A TikTok business account gives you access to business tools like ads and analytics, the ability to create an ecommerce storefront, and the option to use third-party tools to schedule and manage your TikTok content. To create a TikTok business account, follow these steps:
- Download the TikTok app and create a new account
- Go to your TikTok profile and tap the hamburger menu in the top right corner
- Tap Settings and privacy
- Tap Manage account
- Tap Switch to Pro account
- Choose Business as your account type and select your category
- Fill in your contact information and tap Next
- Congratulations, you have created a TikTok business account!
How to Advertise on TikTok
One of the ways to market your business on TikTok is to use TikTok advertising. TikTok advertising allows you to reach your target audience with various ad formats, such as in-feed ads, branded hashtag challenges, branded effects, and top view ads2. To advertise on TikTok, you need to create a TikTok Ads account and set up your campaign. Here are the steps to do that:
- Go to TikTok Ads and click Get Started
- Fill in your information and create your account
- Log in to your account and click Campaign on the left menu
- Click the Create button and choose your campaign objective
- Set your campaign name, budget, and schedule
- Click Continue and create your ad group
- Choose your ad placement, targeting, budget, and optimization
- Click Continue and create your ad
- Choose your ad format, upload your creative, and fill in your ad details
- Click Submit and wait for your ad to be approved
How to Create a TikTok Marketing Strategy
Another way to market your business on TikTok is to create your own organic content. This gives you more freedom and creativity to showcase your brand personality, products, and services. However, creating a TikTok marketing strategy requires some planning and research. Here are some tips to help you create a TikTok marketing strategy:
- Define your goals and metrics: What do you want to achieve with your TikTok marketing? How will you measure your success? Some common goals and metrics for TikTok marketing are brand awareness, engagement, followers, views, likes, comments, shares, and conversion.
- Know your audience: Who are you trying to reach with your TikTok content? What are their interests, preferences, and pain points? How can you provide value to them? You can use TikTok analytics to get insights into your audience demographics, behaviors, and preferences.
- Research your competitors and trends: What are your competitors doing on TikTok? What are their strengths and weaknesses? How can you differentiate yourself from them? What are the current and upcoming trends on TikTok? What are the popular hashtags, sounds, and challenges? You can use tools like TikTok Trends and TikTok Analytics to discover and analyze the latest trends and data on TikTok.
- Create a content calendar: How often will you post on TikTok? What type of content will you create? What are the best times to post? How will you align your content with your goals, audience, and trends? You can use a content calendar to plan and schedule your TikTok content in advance. You can also use third-party tools like Hootsuite and [Sprout Social] to manage your TikTok content more efficiently.
- Engage with your community: How will you interact with your TikTok followers and potential customers? How will you respond to comments, questions, and feedback? How will you encourage user-generated content and word-of-mouth? You can use TikTok’s features like duets, stitches, live streams, and messages to engage with your community and build trust and loyalty.
TikTok Marketing Brand Examples to Inspire Your Strategy
Need some inspiration for your TikTok marketing strategy? Here are some examples of brands that are doing TikTok marketing right:
- [Chipotle]: Chipotle is a fast-food chain that uses TikTok to create fun and viral content that showcases its products, culture, and values. Chipotle also leverages influencer marketing and branded hashtag challenges to increase its reach and engagement. For example, it partnered with David Dobrik to launch the #ChipotleLidFlip challenge, which generated over 230 million views and 100,000 user-generated videos.
- [Gymshark]: Gymshark is a fitness apparel brand that uses TikTok to showcase its products, promote its values, and inspire its audience. Gymshark also collaborates with influencers and celebrities to create authentic and relatable content that resonates with its target market. For example, it partnered with Demi Lovato to launch the #Gymshark66 challenge, which encouraged users to share their fitness journeys and goals.
- [NBA]: NBA is a professional basketball league that uses TikTok to share behind-the-scenes footage, highlights, and memes that appeal to its fans. NBA also engages with its community by featuring user-generated content, hosting live streams, and joining popular trends and challenges. For example, it participated in the #WipeItDown challenge, which showed the transformation of NBA players from casual to game-ready.
Conclusion
TikTok is a great platform for businesses to market their brand, product or service in a fun and creative way. By following the tips and best practices in this blog post, you can create a fun and successful TikTok marketing strategy for your business in 2023. Remember to set your goals and metrics, know your audience, research your competitors and trends, create a content calendar, engage with your community, and learn from the best examples. Happy TikToking!