TikTok Advertising for Small Businesses

It’s no secret that TikTok is taking the social media and marketing world by storm as it is now the most downloaded app in the world and experiences higher engagement rates from its followers than any other social media app. However, with being such a new platform with a huge, international reach, it can be intimidating for small businesses to get started. Will my content ever get seen on such a big platform? What if I don’t need to reach an international audience, but a very niche and local one? Isn’t TikTok only for kids?

If you are a small business owner considering advertising on TikTok, these are probably questions you’ve asked yourself – and they are valid! It can be intimidating to invest your time, energy, and money in such a new platform. But, it’s worth it if you can blow up your business in a matter of hours.

 If you’re still feeling intimidated by this ever-growing platform, here are 6 further reasons why you should face your fears and add TikTok to your current and future marketing strategy. 

• TikTok’s Algorithm Allows Your Business to Blow Up With Little to No Followers
  Arguably the best and most unique quality of TikTok is its algorithm which is set up to help users discover new content that is in line with their interests. Because of this, TikTok doesn’t recommend content based on follower count or history of high-performing videos but rather recommends videos based on an individual's user's interactions with the app via the For You Page (FYP). This means that everyone has the same chance for their video to go viral. With TikTok, your small business really can become an overnight sensation. 

• TikTok’s Highly Targeted Ads Allow You to Choose Your Audience
  Although TikTok has over one billion monthly active users, you do not need to target all of them. Just like other social media platforms, TikTok is a self-serve ad platform allowing you to choose your audience based on a variety of factors such as age, gender, location, and interests. So, even if you’re a small, local, or niche business you can still reach your intended audience through TikTok. 

• TikTok is Huge for Gen Z, But Also Becoming Big for Older Age Demographics
  If your target audience is Gen Z, you cannot neglect marketing on TikTok as 50% of TikTok’s global audience is under 34 and it is now more popular than Instagram among Gen Z users in the U.S. However, TikTok is also becoming more popular in other age demographics with 36% of TikTok users being between the ages of 35 and 54 years old – and this percentage is only continuing to increase. So remember, TikTok isn’t just for kids and ⅓ of TikTok users actually have an average income of $100K or more. That’s no child’s play!! 

• TikTok Experiences Higher Engagement Rates Than Any Other Social Media App
  TikTok is now the most engaging social media app out there – by far. With an average user session of 10.85 minutes, TikTok users watch around 24 hours of content on the app each month. To put that into perspective, that's ​​more than double of the time people spend on Instagram in a month (11.2 hours). All in all, TikTok’s engagement rates below other social media platforms out of the water and give small businesses a greater chance of a user stumbling upon one of their videos.

• TikTok Videos Are Highly Shareable
  TikTok videos are arguably the easiest and most shared posts out of any social media. TikTok not only lets you tag a friend, send a DM, or share a post to your story like other social media platforms, but also allows you to duet, greenscreen, and stitch other users' videos. These features are completely unique to TikTok and allow your video to be shared with a whole new audience. 

• TikTok Allows Brands to Tell Their Story in an Organic Way
  TikTok’s mission is to “Inspire Creativity and Bring Joy ''. Because of this people flock to TikTok to be inspired by authentic content, uncover ideas, explore diverse communities, and discover new products. This gives small businesses the perfect platform to share their unique stories in a way that blends with native content on the app. In fact, 56% of users and 67% of creators on TikTok feel closer to brands that publish unfiltered, human content. Additionally, 72% of users find ads on the platform to be inspiring – and when people are inspired by you they want to support you and your SMB by buying your product or service. 

All in all, the final reason you should invest in TikTok Ads is because they work – even (especially) for small businesses. It may be a new platform, but it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. So, don’t miss your opportunity for your brand to be the next viral sensation and get to posting on TikTok.