What would happen if your brand became the next viral sensation on TikTok? Imagine the huge visibility and engagement your business could gain — and how this could translate into more sales! In this guide, you will learn which TikTok account you should choose, the benefits of TikTok for business and how to effectively use TikTok to boost your brand and drive growth. From setting up your account to creating engaging content and tracking your success, we've got you covered. Let’s dive in and discover the potential of TikTok for your business!
What is TikTok for Business?
TikTok is an attractive option for businesses looking to expand their reach and connect with potential customers in a fun and engaging way. TikTok is aware of this and, just like other popular messaging apps, has been capitalizing on features to make the platform more appealing for businesses.
If you plan to start using TikTok for business, know that there are two types of TikTok accounts you can use. Let’s compare them and see which one works best for your business.
TikTok Business vs. Personal Accounts
Creator Accounts are designed for general TikTok users, content creators, and public figures. They offer flexibility with privacy settings, allowing accounts to be either public or private. Analytics are available in-app, providing insights into content performance, and they include access to the Promote feature for ads. This type of account is free and supports verified profiles.
Business Accounts cater to brands and businesses of all sizes. These accounts are public-only, ensuring maximum reach and visibility. Business accounts have downloadable analytics, providing detailed data for strategic planning.
Like Creator accounts, Business accounts have access to the Promote feature for running ads. They are free and support verified profiles, making them a strong tool for professional brand management on TikTok.
In summary, Creator Accounts are best for individuals focusing on personal branding and creative content, while Business Accounts are tailored for brands aiming to leverage TikTok for busi ness marketing and sales.
One question still remains: Is TikTok for business free? The answer is yes. You can create your account and start using it without cost. But this is not the only reason to use a TikTok Business Account. Let’s talk about other benefits.
Why Is TikTok Good for Business?
TikTok's ascension to a social media staple makes it a great platform for businesses, providing a huge opportunity for enhanced brand visibility and subsequent growth. It is the social platform of choice for brands that want to engage with younger demographics, especially GenZers.
In fact, as of April 2024, 17.3 percent of TikTok's global audience were women between 18 and 24, while male users of the same age made up approximately 18.9 percent of the platform's audience.
TikTok does an impressive job of keeping its users engaged. In 2024, a user spends an average of 58 minutes on TikTok daily. But what are the tangible benefits of using TikTok for business? Let’s dig deeper.
4 Benefits of TikTok for Business
Here are some of the reasons why you should start using TikTok for business.
1. Increase Brand Awareness
TikTok’s large and engaged user base offers businesses a unique platform to enhance their brand visibility through creative and viral content.
2. Grow Your Audience Organically
The TikTok algorithm promotes organic growth, allowing brands to reach new audiences without needing a substantial ad budget.
3. Drive Traffic and Sales
Businesses can utilize TikTok Ads to target specific demographics and drive traffic to their websites, ultimately increasing sales. With a variety of ad formats, you can capture user interest and drive conversions.
4. Track Ad Performance
TikTok provides comprehensive metrics to help businesses analyze the performance of their ads and optimize their campaigns for better results. Businesses can track impressions, clicks, engagement rates and conversion data to measure the effectiveness of their advertising efforts.
With the benefits made clear, let’s now go through the features you’ll unlock with a TikTok Business Account.
TikTok Business Account Features
By creating a TikTok Business Account, you gain access to the TikTok Business Suite, a centralized platform offering all the features and functions associated with a TikTok Business Account.
Besides utilizing the Business Suite on the TikTok app, the Web Business Suite allows you to manage your business content and insights through a web browser. In this section, we discuss the features you’ll unlock with your Business account and the TikTok Business Suite.
Conversion and Performance Tools
- Lead generation: Easily gather leads using forms available on your profile, videos, and LIVE events.
- Profile attributes: Highlight your business details and direct traffic to your website or app.
- Analytics: Monitor growth, content performance, audience demographics and LIVE engagement through the Business Suite.
Creative and Publishing Tools
- Creative Hub: Discover content ideas and industry trends within the Business Suite.
- Post Scheduler: Plan and schedule TikTok posts up to 10 days ahead.
- Commercial Music Library: Access over 1 million songs and sounds for commercial use in the Creative Center.
Interaction Management
- Auto messaging suite: Set up automated greetings, FAQs and keyword-triggered messages.
- Web comment and messaging interface: Manage interactions and create downloadable contact cards on TikTok for desktop.
- Organic geo-targeting: Target specific geographic audiences by selecting a country under 'targeted audiences' before posting. Note: Available in select markets only.
Account Enablement
On your business profile, you can showcase essential business information and contact details while curating a photo gallery. And while these features may sound promising, TikTok for business has a learning curve and you should go one step at a time. More about this in the next section.
How to Use TikTok for Business in 6 Steps
In this section, we’ll guide you through 6 steps that will set you up for success with TikTok for business.
Step 1: Create TikTok Account for Business
To get started, you’ll need to have a Personal Account and switch it to a Business Account. To change your TikTok account type, follow these steps.
- Open the TikTok app and tap Profile at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap the Menu ☰ button at the top, then select Settings and privacy.
- Tap Account.
- Select Switch to Business Account and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the switch.
Once done, you can proceed with business verification.
Step 2: Verify your Business
When you create an ad account on TikTok, you'll need to verify your business information. This process ensures better security by authenticating your brand's identity. Providing official documents like your business license builds trust with TikTok and your audience.
If your TikTok account is verified, you'll receive a verified badge. This badge signifies that TikTok has confirmed the account's authenticity, ensuring it genuinely represents the brand it claims to be. Take it one step further and register your TikTok Business Account. Why? We explain it in the next point.
Step 3: Register your TikTok Business Account
Registering your business account on TikTok unlocks powerful features designed to enhance your marketing efforts.
- Business Account Lead Generation: Utilize advanced lead generation services to capture potential customer information directly through your profile, videos, and live events.
- Destination Links: Add external links to your videos or at the top of the comments section. This feature helps drive traffic to your website or specific product pages, boosting conversions.
- App Download Links: Add a clickable App Download CTA button to your profile or Business Page. This makes it easier for users to download your app directly from TikTok, increasing app installs.
- Video Settings: Access geo-targeting for your posts using the Video Setting functionality. This allows you to tailor your content to specific geographic audiences, ensuring relevance and increasing engagement.
- Multi-user Login for Direct Message Management: Enable multi-user login functionality for managing direct messages. This is particularly useful for larger teams, allowing multiple users to handle customer inquiries efficiently.
Step 4: Optimize Your TikTok Profile
Optimizing your TikTok profile will ensure your audience is able to identify you and get an appropriate first impression of your business. Consider adding the following elements to your TikTok profile.
- Profile Picture: Upload a high-quality profile picture, preferably your brand logo.
- Username: Choose a username that reflects your business name.
- Bio: Write a concise and engaging bio that explains what your business does. Include relevant keywords and a call to action if applicable.
- Website Link: Add your website URL to drive traffic to your site.
- Contact Information: Include your business email or other contact methods for easy communication
Step 5: Open a TikTok Shop
TikTok Shop for Business lets businesses sell products directly on TikTok, allowing users to browse and buy without leaving the app. It provides access to TikTok's large audience, boosts product visibility through engaging content, and leverages viral trends to increase sales.
Businesses can list products, tag them in videos, host live shopping events, and track performance with analytics. Special deals and discounts can also be offered.
For users, the shopping experience is seamless and engaging, with easy product discovery, real-life demonstrations, and interactive live events, making shopping fun and straightforward. This approach helps businesses reach more people and grow their brand.
Step 6: Generate Leads
Here’s the best way to generate organic leads on TikTok: Focus on creating content that is informative, creative and solves problems. For example, if you own a fashion store, sharing genuine fashion tips and advice will likely attract more viewers than just highlighting how great your products are.
TikTok users who resonate with your content are more likely to visit your TikTok Business profile. To leverage this opportunity, businesses can create an Instant Form on their profile, allowing potential customers to fill in pre-populated contact information.
But here’s the kicker — you can download your collected leads to re-target them later. Just keep in mind that leads expire after 90 days.
<call-out> To qualify for a lead form, businesses must have a Business Account with either 1,000+ followers or a Registered Business Account. <call-out>
TikTok has also been capitalizing on paid advertising features. This allows businesses to reach a broad and engaged audience through various ad formats, such as:
- In-Feed Ads: Appear in users’ feeds as they scroll, blending seamlessly with user-generated content.
- TopView Ads: Premium placements that appear at the top of the feed when the app is opened.
- Spark Ads: Boost organic content by turning existing TikTok posts into ads.
To begin with TikTok paid advertising, you’ll need to set up a TikTok Ads Manager account. Then, you can start creating engaging ads and targeting your desired audience. Once you have some ad campaigns running, visit the Analytics module on your TikTok Business suite to track the effectiveness of your ad campaigns.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does TikTok charge for business accounts?
Setting up a TikTok Business Account is free of charge and only takes a few seconds.
How to get a business license ID for TikTok?
Owners will need to give personal data for each major stakeholder, particularly those who have at least a 25% share in the business. This data includes names, birthdates, addresses, and identification (like a driver's license, state ID, or passport) along with its picture.
Is TikTok good for small businesses?
TikTok offers a unique opportunity for businesses to connect with potential customers through user-generated content (UGC). According to a BusinessWire survey, user-generated content highly impacted 79% of users' purchasing decisions. Reach potential customers who would be interested in your products or services.
How often should you post on TikTok for business?
The general rule of thumb for TikTok posting frequency is to post engaging high-quality content as often as you can. Most brands will benefit from posting 1 to 3 times per day, but this is no hard and fast rule.
Is TikTok or Instagram better for business?
Both of them differ significantly in content formats, audiences, and strengths. TikTok focuses on short, music-driven videos and appeals to a younger demographic. Instagram offers diverse content types for a broader age range, empowering brands to tailor their strategies.
Further Reading
Did you find this reading interesting? If so, these articles might be for you.
- 5 Reasons Your Business Needs TikTok Advertising
- Click to Chat Ads for Lead Generation: The Ultimate Guide
- The Ultimate Guide to Instagram Business Messaging
