TikTok for Business: A Quick-Start Marketing Guide

Grow your business on TikTok with advertising strategies and content tips to reach and engage your audience effectively. Here’s our marketing guide.

TikTok may have started as a fun platform for dance challenges, but it has become a space where users share creativity and compelling stories. Once dominated by Gen Z, it now attracts audiences of all ages and industries. In fact, many businesses use the platform to connect with customers authentically rather than in overly polished ways.

Through its short-form video format and easy-to-use editing tools, TikTok allows a business to build brand awareness, increase sales, and nurture a loyal community. Thus, it’s no longer just a social media app, but it lets your business reach new audiences to help it grow.

Source: TikTok.

Key Takeaways

• TikTok allows brands to reach a global audience through creative and authentic content.
• The platform’s recommendation system allows even small businesses to achieve large-scale visibility.
• Combining organic videos, ads, and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can create a balanced growth strategy.
• Understanding how TikTok’s algorithm works can help you create a better content plan and posting schedule.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Key Takeaways

Why Businesses Should Be on TikTok

Types of TikTok Content That Work for Business

TikTok Ads for Business

TikTok SEO and Algorithm Basics

How Does the TikTok Algorithm Work?

Getting Started: Tips for Businesses New to TikTok

Conclusion

FAQs About TikTok

Why Businesses Should Be on TikTok

TikTok reaches people of all ages and preferences, making it a versatile platform for businesses in different industries. It has grown beyond viral dances and teen humor, as it now also attracts professionals, educators, entrepreneurs, and established brands. 

In fact, Oxford Economics mentions that 7 million businesses are on the platform. This way, new accounts can gain traction when their content connects with viewers. With this, it allows smaller businesses to compete with larger competitors without a big marketing budget. 

Features like TikTok Shop, live selling, and TikTok ads also let businesses guide customers from discovery to purchase within the app. With real and relatable content, it often performs better than heavily produced videos, encouraging brands to show personality and creativity.

Types of TikTok Content That Work for Business

Creating the right content is a major factor in TikTok business success. By understanding which types of videos resonate with audiences, it helps your brand connect effectively and grow its presence on the platform:

Trend-Based Videos

Joining trending sounds, challenges, or using memes to market your business can effectively boost your online visibility. With trends, it helps businesses appear in feeds where users are already highly engaged.

Behind-the-Scenes Clips

Showing daily operations, team culture, or the process behind a product helps build trust and connection with viewers.

Educational or How-To Content

Offering tips, step-by-step guides, or quick insights can position a brand as helpful and knowledgeable. This format works well for industries such as beauty, tech, food, and DIY.

Customer and User-Generated Content

Encouraging customers to share their experiences builds social proof. Reposting or dueting these videos shows appreciation while expanding reach.

Live Streams and Product Demos

Going live allows businesses to answer questions in real time, demonstrate products, and link directly to items in TikTok Shop. Truth be told, live selling has been especially effective for beauty products, fashion, and accessories.

TikTok Ads for Business

TikTok ads are paid promotions that appear in users’ feeds or other placements. They’re designed to help businesses reach targeted audiences compared to traditional approaches. That said, TikTok ads come in various formats, including In-Feed Video, Non-Feed Placement, and In-Feed Interactive ads. Each of these types offer different ways to engage the viewers.

Source: DataReportal.

Unlike traditional strategies, TikTok ads can help your business boost brand awareness and attract highly qualified customers. The platform’s algorithm ensures well-crafted ads are delivered to the right audience, allowing businesses of all sizes to compete effectively.

Here are some of the ways TikTok Ads can support your business goals:

• Build brand awareness and get discovered by millions of potential customers
• Send more people to your website, app, or TikTok Shop
• Boost views and engagement on your video ads
• Grow your follower count and increase visits to your TikTok profile
• Promote your app and drive installs or in-app actions
• Collect leads for your business
• Drive sales whether it’s on your TikTok Shop, website, or app

This makes TikTok Ads not just a promotional tool, but a growth engine that supports different stages of the customer journey.

TikTok SEO and Algorithm Basics

TikTok SEO involves optimizing videos so they appear in search results within the app and on some external search engines. This type of approach includes selecting relevant keywords for captions, hashtags, and on-screen text.

After all, a well-optimized content increases the chances of being discovered by users searching for products or services similar to yours. When combined with trending elements, it also improves visibility in the For You Page (FYP).

How Does the TikTok Algorithm Work?

TikTok’s algorithm uses various factors to recommend videos, such as:

• Watch time and completion rate
• Likes, comments, shares, and saves
• Use of trending sounds and hashtags
• How well the content matches a user’s viewing history

Fast Company reveals that 30-50% of the videos that users see are recommended based on their past interactions. Moreover, what makes TikTok’s algorithm unique is that creators don’t need a massive following to gain traction. So, a single video with strong early engagement can be pushed to wider audiences, often reaching thousands of viewers.

TikTok SEO Tips for Businesses

To effectively promote your business organically, you need to:

• Use keywords naturally in your captions and video text.
• Research trending hashtags in your industry and incorporate them into your posts.
• Encourage comments and shares to boost engagement signals.
• Post regularly to stay active in the algorithm’s recommendations.

Source: Adobe.

Getting Started: Tips for Businesses New to TikTok

Launching your presence on TikTok is easier than expected when you focus on a clear marketing strategy and consistent content. Here’s a quick step-by-step guide on how to set up your TikTok for Business account:

1. Create a TikTok Business Account: Switch to a business profile to access analytics, ad tools, and additional features that are not available on personal accounts.
2. Define Your Goals: Decide if your main focus is brand awareness, generating sales, or building a community. Your goals will guide your content strategy.
3. Plan a Content Calendar: Organize video ideas, trends to join, and posting schedules. Aim for a mix of behind-the-scenes content, educational videos, trend participation, and product-focused posts.
4. Focus on TikTok SEO: Incorporate relevant keywords in captions, add trending hashtags, and make sure your videos showcase the subject within the first few seconds.
5. Engage Actively: Reply to comments, join duets, and interact with other creators to increase visibility.
6. Start Small with TikTok Ads: Begin with a modest budget for testing formats and targeting. Gradually increase spending on ad types that bring the best results.
7. Track and Adjust: Review performance data to see which content types and posting times work best. Adapt quickly to changes in trends and audience behavior.

Conclusion

For businesses, TikTok provides a space where creativity and audience engagement intersect. The platform values authenticity and adaptability. By understanding how to connect with your viewers, it helps you decide what and when to post effectively.

To support your growth, discover how our experienced social media marketing team in the Philippines can help your business thrive on TikTok and beyond!

FAQs About TikTok

Why use TikTok for Business?

TikTok lets businesses reach a large audience through engaging, short-form videos. It also helps brands build awareness, connect authentically with customers, and grow their presence quickly.

What is the difference between TikTok and TikTok for Business?

A personal TikTok account is designed for casual content sharing and entertainment. Meanwhile, TikTok for Business provides tools for analytics, advertising, and product or service promotion.

What are the requirements to have a TikTok business account?

You need a valid email, phone number, or existing TikTok account to create a business account. To get started in setting up your TikTok business account, contact us today!