Social media marketing has become one of the top ways brands promote their products and services. However, with new social media platforms popping up all the time, it’s simply not possible to stay active on all of them. Brands need to decide which platforms are worth using. As you’re making your choices, don’t overlook TikTok.

TikTok has over 150 million users in the United States and more than 1 billion active monthly users worldwide. It’s the ideal platform for brands trying to reach a younger audience and grow their businesses. Learn how to use TikTok for business in this guide.
What is TikTok for business?
People often associate TikTok with people doing silly dances or short comedy videos. The platform is so much more than that, though. For businesses, TikTok is a platform where you reach broad audiences and get more people to engage with your brand.
TikTok recently passed a billion users, so there’s never been a better time to take advantage of a captive audience. When you use TikTok marketing, you publish short-form videos you think your target audience will enjoy. Over time, you build a community of people who are interested in your content and may become customers for your brand.
You can also run paid advertising campaigns on TikTok for business. In these campaigns, you create compelling video content and pay TikTok to promote that content to users. You define your objective, set your budget, and select your target audience. Then, TikTok will show your video to users in your target audience. If people are interested in the ad, they click on it, and TikTok directs them to your website.
Who Should Use TikTok?
Any brands hoping to improve their digital marketing can benefit from using TikTok. You do need to be willing to create video content to use TikTok. If you prefer to publish text or image posts but still want to use social media marketing, consider a different platform like Instagram or Facebook.
Benefits of using TikTok for business
Using TikTok for business can support brand growth and yield many benefits, including:
Connects you to Millennials and Gen Z
Most of TikTok’s current users are millennials and Gen Z (ages 12 to 43). If you’re struggling to connect with a younger audience, posting on TikTok is a perfect way to bridge that gap. Millennials alone spend over $320 billion annually, so that’s a pivotal market for your brand to tap into.
Make sure you tailor your content to the audience you’re targeting. To reach a younger audience, you need to create content about topics they care about in formats they enjoy. You might not be able to simply repost videos from other social media sites on TikTok and have them perform well.
Increases conversion rates
Posting content on TikTok can also help you improve your conversion rates. While it’s great to have people watching and enjoying your content, you want them to take action. Short-form videos on TikTok can get you those results.
If someone is interested in your brand after watching your TikTok videos, all they need to do is go to your profile page and click your website link. From there, they might sign up for your email list or even make a purchase. You can also sell products directly within the TikTok platform to make conversions even easier.
Engages your target audience
Text and photo posts convey information well, but social media users engage with video content so much more. Video posts get 1200% more shares than text and images put together. If you want to engage your audience, posting video content is the way to go — and TikTok is the perfect platform for that content.
TikTok videos can be up to 60 minutes long if you upload them instead of recording them on the platform. Keep in mind that short-form videos (around two minutes or shorter) typically get even more engagement than longer videos. Brands trying to boost customer engagement should focus on creating high-quality short-form videos that immediately grab the audience’s attention.
Makes your marketing look organic
People generally don’t like feeling like they’re being advertised to. Advertisements can seem pushy and annoying, like an invasion of the audience’s privacy. If you’re going to run ads, they’ll be more effective if the audience doesn’t immediately notice that they’re advertisements. The more organic your ads seem, the better your campaign results will be.
Even sponsored posts on TikTok seem very organic in the platform’s feed. They’re integrated directly between non-sponsored videos, so people might not even notice that they’re ads. TikTok advertising campaigns can help you get your foot in the door with customers and grab their interest. Then, you can build on that interest to drive conversions.
Allows you to leverage user-generated content
All brands say that the products or services they sell are incredible, even when they’re not. As a result, people don’t necessarily trust all the messages from brands without some way to verify that they’re true. Sharing user-generated content (UGC) is a way to build trust with your audience by showing what real people think of your brand.
UGC are posts made by actual consumers about your brand’s products or services. These people are not paid representatives of your business or affiliated with you in any way — they’re just regular people sharing their thoughts. If you get their permission, you can repost the UGC to your brand account to show the rest of your audience people’s experiences with your brand.
When customers see UGC on your TikTok page, they trust your brand more and may be more inclined to buy something from you. Find UGC by checking hashtags related to your brand or asking your customers to publish videos with a specific hashtag for you to possibly share.
Setting up and optimizing your TikTok profile
You need to create your TikTok profile to start marketing on the platform. Follow these steps to set up your account:
- Open the TikTok app and follow the steps on the screen to create your TikTok for business login by entering your email, desired username, and password.
- Once you log into your new account, tap Profile at the bottom of the screen.
- Open the menu button at the top and click “Settings and privacy.”
- Click “Account,” then “Switch to Business Account.”
- Follow the steps on the screen to switch to a business account.
Once you have a business account, you’ll have access to extra features on the platform. You can view analytics data for your account, create TikTok advertising campaigns, and get additional resources to grow your account.
How to optimize your TikTok profile
Your next step is optimizing your profile to help you reach as many customers as possible.
Start by choosing your profile photo. If your brand has other social media accounts, try to use the same profile photo in all of them. Your brand logo is always a good choice. Staying consistent across your accounts will make your brand more recognizable and trustworthy.

You also need to write a compelling bio. Your TikTok bio can include basic information about your business and what you do, but you should also try to convey a bit of personality. Remember to add your business website to your bio, too, so interested customers can interact with your brand further.
Consider using social media marketing tools like Constant Contact to optimize your profiles further. Constant Contact includes a variety of social media tools that let you integrate your different accounts, schedule posts in advance, and conveniently respond to customer comments. Sign up for a trial to see how Constant Contact can simplify your social media marketing.
Verification process on TikTok
If you want to run ads on TikTok, the platform asks you to verify your business information. You’ll need to enter some details about your brand and a digital copy of your business verification document to verify your TikTok for business account. TikTok will review your submission, and if it is approved, your account will say “Verified.”
Developing your TikTok strategy
So, you have your TikTok for business account ready to go. What’s next? Now, you need to define your TikTok marketing strategy.
Two different brands can use TikTok completely differently, and both get great results. For example, marketing on TikTok for artists will likely look very distinct from TikTok for real estate agents. Make sure you tailor your strategy to your brand and your business goals.
Understanding your target audience
Your TikTok strategy should always revolve around your target audience. Who are you trying to connect with on TikTok?
You don’t necessarily need to target all of your typical customers on TikTok — you can even use the platform to reach a whole new audience. Just make sure you know who you want to reach on TikTok, what they’re interested in, and what content they enjoy. When you tailor your content to your target audience, your TikTok videos will perform better and drive better results for your business.
Scoping out the competition
If you’re not sure where to start, check out what your competitors are posting on TikTok. You can use their pages to get a sense of what works and what doesn’t on the platform. Take inspiration from their content, but don’t copy their posts. Your content should be uniquely yours and represent your brand.
Using analytics to grow and optimize
Your first TikTok video probably won’t be perfect, and that’s okay. As you share more videos, watch your content’s performance to learn what your audience responds to best. Rely on these analytics to optimize your content so it just keeps getting better.
Creating engaging content on TikTok
Trends move quickly online, especially on a dynamic platform like TikTok, so it can be tricky to know what to post. You want to create content people want to watch, but how do you know what that is?
Consider your target audience and try these popular content styles until you find what works best for you:
- How-to videos and tutorials: If there’s something you think your audience is interested in learning how to do, teach them in a simple, helpful TikTok video. These tutorials showcase your expertise and solve a problem for your viewers.
- Answering frequently asked questions: You probably get some questions from customers all the time. Create a short video answering the top questions so customers can satisfy their curiosity and learn more.
- Live videos: TikTok allows you to share live videos on the platform so you can show your audience exactly what you’re doing in real time. Live videos may help viewers feel more connected to your brand.
So, is TikTok good for your business? The answer is that it’s completely dependent on the content you post. If you post engaging, relevant content that your audience enjoys, using TikTok as part of your digital marketing strategy can yield excellent results.
Harness the power of TikTok to grow your brand
Marketing on TikTok will help you engage your audience and drive conversions. Set up an account and start posting short-form videos you think your target customers will enjoy. Try out different styles to see what people like best.
As you build your presence on TikTok, add your TikTok link to your linktr.ee on your brand’s other social media accounts. That way, your followers on other platforms can find your TikTok and engage with your content there, too.
Also, consider advertising exclusive content for people who sign up for your email list. You should always be trying to create more connections and ways to reach interested customers. TikTok is just one avenue you can leverage to build your customer base.
Up next, take your strategy from TikTok to total internet domination! Download our free social media guide.
