How to leverage TikTok and its explosion to drive brand awareness and sales.

With its hypnotic video clips, constant challenges, and viral dance crazes, TikTok has taken the world by storm. But before you dismiss it as a fad or think of it solely as an entertainment hub, it is crucial to realize that this phenomenon can also be an advertising behemoth for your store. Whether you accept payments online or use a virtual terminal to process phone orders, take a few minutes to find out how TikTok can send your sales into the stratosphere.

Why is TikTok so important?

Perhaps you already have spent a lot of time launching and maintaining pages on other sites such as Facebook and YouTube, leading you to wonder why you should even bother with TikTok. There are approximately 1 billion reasons — and growing every year. These active users visit their news feeds often, sometimes multiple times per day. You can’t afford to miss out on the dollars these primarily Gen Z consumers can bring into your bank account. But how can this short-form video-centered mega-site help you to sell your products?

Set up your TikTok business account.

It’s a breeze to get started as a business on this social media site. There are only two steps.

• Download the TikTok app from either the Google Play or Apple store. Once you launch it, go to the bottom menu bar and tap on an option called “me.” Then navigate to “sign up” where you can input your business details to start a social media account.
• Switch to a business account. You can do this by going to the hamburger menu on the top right of your “profile” page. After opening it, tap “manage account” and then “switch to business account.” With your business account activated, you will now be able to take advantage of several added features. These include analytics, performance tracking, advertising solutions, and the ability to add an ecommerce link to your bio. Taking this last step will make it easy for users to access your store on the internet.

Maximizing your TikTok sales.

Before you think about actual sales, your first step should be to make the most of the limited space in your bio. Think of it as a miniature ad space where you post a clear snapshot of your brand that you update whenever your focus evolves. Then implement the following proven strategies to drive traffic to your website via TikTok.

• Pay for some TikTok ads. Although this is not a necessity, investing in paid advertising can be very helpful in getting the word out about your business across the platform. TikTok furnishes you with three different ad options: brand takeover, in-feed, and hashtag challenges. Determine which type is best for you based on your brand, the type of message you want to convey, and your budget. Then be sure to use analytics to test the performance of the ads you run so that you optimize your investment.
• Collaborate with TikTok influencers. These are the celebrities of the platform who have already earned users’ trust. The products they choose to highlight and endorse can go viral within hours. Finding the right creator to partner with involves diving deeply into who your target audience is and what videos and digital celebrities they are watching. Of course, you also have to be sure that the influencer’s videos and audience are compatible with yours, helping you to maximize your authenticity.
• Harness the power of collaboration. Piggybacking on trends and the videos of others via “duets” are the mainstays of this social media app. As a business, you can cash in on this ethos by regularly posting content that includes trending hashtags, audio clips, and memes.
• Create engaging video content. TikTokers are bombarded with a constant stream of product endorsement videos. Therefore, you need to work hard to make yours stand out. TikTok’s recommendation algorithm sends curated content to each user based on their watch-through rates, shares, comments, and likes as opposed to their social connections. If you can craft videos that check these boxes for your target audience, you will be able to capture customers’ attention and generate sales.

TikTok has evolved into an entertainment and sales juggernaut that draws users in with its ability to send bespoke content that directly appeals to each unique user. Put this mighty algorithm to work for your store, and you will soon benefit from an increased flow of younger, more engaged consumers who are ready, willing, and able to help you spread the word about your brand.