Six simple tips for promoting your business on TikTok

TikTok is quickly becoming one of the world’s most culturally and commercially influential platforms. Shopping, fashion, retail and e-commerce are huge on TikTok — with over 4.6 billion views for the hashtag #tiktokmademebuyit globally. The communities engaging with #tiktokmademebuyit are powerful. They have launched brands; spawned movements; and invented, co-created and sold out products, all in record time.

With the SME community growing rapidly on TikTok, we have witnessed the power of TikTok for building brands — not only in starting a conversation with customers in authentic way, but also as a tool for receiving real time feedback. TikTok has become a platform not only to promote your products and services, but an avenue for market research, product ideation and customer feedback.

It’s those small business owners who see themselves as regular TikTok creators and lean in to the power of TikTok’s community that have seen success on the platform.

While there is no one definitive formula to achieving success on TikTok, below are six simple steps to create killer content that will help grow your business’ presence on TikTok.

1. Be a part of what’s trending

Jumping on existing trends and hashtags is a great way to be discovered on TikTok. When businesses join in on a conversation that’s already happening on the platform, their videos reach an already engaged audience, as this content is contributing to the zeitgeist within the TikTok content ecosystem.

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to creating TikTok videos, you just need to have your own spin on it.

Check out this example from @contourcube, who created a video as a part of a trending #behindmybusiness challenge.

@contourcubeDay in the life of Contour Cube™ ?#contourcube #behindmybusiness #smallbusiness #icefacial #skincare #iceonface #beauty #onthejob #businesstiktok♬ Castle on the Hill (Throttle Remix) – Ed Sheeran

2. Share your story

The TikTok community loves to see the raw and authentic you. Show the behind the scenes of building your business, because we know that being a small business owner isn’t easy. Share your success and failures with the people who are following your journey. These same people will become a part of your community, and develop an emotional relationship with you.

Decor business owners @joshandmattdesign regularly keep their followers updated on their business journey and have them involved in shaping the evolution of their brand, like in this example.

@joshandmattdesign Can’t wait to see the final boxes ?? #packaging #packagingdesign #procreate #artist #smallbusiness♬ Get Into It (Yuh) – Doja Cat

3. Experiment regularly

At the heart of TikTok is creativity, and our community responds to new and interesting takes on the life of a business owner. TikTok is first and foremost an entertainment platform, so ask yourself, how can I talk about my business in a different or exciting way? What excites me the most about TikTok is that you never know what could take off.

The more you experiment and are open to trying new things, the faster you can learn and pivot your content as you see what sticks and builds the most engagement. 

On TikTok, SMEs can also try using a mix of organic content strategies and paid campaigns. You can experiment with advertising through TikTok For Business Ads Manager, a self-serve platform designed for SMEs. Our advertising platform makes it easy and cost effective for small businesses to connect with the TikTok community. Think of our self-serve advertising platform as a one stop shop, where SMEs can create, promote and connect with people on TikTok.

We like to make it simple for all businesses, so if you’re a Shopify merchant, as many small e-tailers are, you can also create and implement ad campaigns for TikTok directly through the Shopify dashboard. 

Local artist @shelbysherrittart constantly mixes up her content, like the below example when she launched a giveaway to celebrate 500,000 followers. And check out @behindtheglow2, which is a great example of a local SME who is creating both fantastic organic content and clever TikTok ads.

@shelbysherrittart500k ? to celebrate I’m giving away a custom pottery piece! Watch the video to find out how to enter ?✨♬ Sing ! Sing ! Sing (With A Swing) (Drums Gene Krupa) – Benny Goodman

4. Tik-Tokify what you’ve already got

Chances are, you’ve probably got existing content in your camera roll that would be suitable for TikTok. Here’s a hot tip — you’ve just got to turn that clip into something that resembles native content on TikTok. How do you do this? Easy. Add some text, perhaps a voiceover, and select a track from the TikTok commercial music library to overlay on the video. 

E-commerce business @goldelucks in this fabulous example has taken reaction clips from customers opening their Surprise Boxes and added a bunch of TikTok features to really make this piece of content work for a TikTok audience.

@goldelucks now back in stock!♬ Brityardigans – T. Kyle

5. Use TikTok’s features and creative effects

There are a number of content creation tools that are built into TikTok that enable you to create amazing videos right inside the app. Two tools that I highly recommend you take advantage of include the stitch and duet features.

The duet tool enables you to create a video alongside an existing TikTok video, which is a great way to engage with a trending piece of content. The stitch tool is very similar, only you add your content to the end of an existing TikTok. It’s all about keeping the conversation going!

Soy candle business @rainbowrosecandleco uses the green screen tool to share the top three tips for business success.

@rainbowrosecandlecoMy top 3 tips for business success! #rainbowrosecandleco #businesssuccess #businesstips #disabledbusinessowner #queerbusiness #disabledqueer #fibro♬ original sound – Aussie Made Soy Candles

6. Respond to your community

Treat TikTok like a live customer feedback channel. Leaning into the community and getting real-time feedback is an invaluable tool for not only shaping your content, but your whole business. Asking other creators what they think about a product, responding to comments and going live are all great ways to build authenticity with your customers and continue to evolve as a business.

Check out this example from @tribeskincare, where they respond directly to a customer question with a bespoke video.

@tribeskincareReply to @maddybrown590 Tribe’s Warehouse Sale was cancelled so we need to clear the current branding before the weekend?♬ original sound – Tribe Skincare

Using these six steps, you’ll be well on your way to being a TikTok SME powerhouse. Experiment regularly, tap into the community and don’t forget to be yourself.