TikTok influencer marketing can be a goldmine for small businesses but only if you do it correctly. Lately, TikTok has been making a bigger influence in the world. It has more than one billion users all over the world. This social media platform is focused on creating, sharing, and discovering fun short videos. Most of its users are young people who want to express themselves through singing, dancing, comedy, or acting with a pre-recorded video in the background.
Nowadays, TikTok is not just a powerful social media. But many TikTok users are using it to sell goods after it launched its TikTok marketplace. Advertising managers can also use it to run ads and generate more traffic for their businesses. Well, if you’re thinking of giving it a try, this article will help you delve into the platform’s pros and cons so you can make a better decision.
Pros
TikTok is a fun platform with many users. If you want to create brand awareness and increase traffic to your website, it could be a great platform to start with. A good TikTok video will make a great advertisement to tap into a fresher and bigger audience. TikTok has a Spark Ad, which is similar to Facebook’s boosted posts. You can run Spark Ads for your promotions and make sales from the TikTok platform itself.
It is user-friendly
You don’t need a technical expert to start using TikTok. It can be a great platform to start a small business with. Let’s you’re selling beauty soaps or cosmetics. Instead of building a website or creating a physical store which is a more expensive option, you can start marketing your products with TikTok. You can test its performance and try to build an audience for your product first. Using TikTok you can start generating sales even before creating your first brick-and-mortar shop.
People can share it on other social media platforms
When you post videos on TikTok, people can share them not just on the platform but also on other social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook. They can share it via their Feed or Stories, allowing wider coverage for your product.
It makes it very easy to track results
Like Instagram and Facebook, TikTok lets you see insights into how well your ad is performing. Previously, you could only estimate how well your Ad performs through likes, comments, and other engagement options. Today, you can create ad campaigns on TikTok, target specific audiences according to your desired demographics, and see insights via the platform itself.
You can use it to target a local audience
Although TikTok is a global platform, you can use it to drive local audiences. TikTok has a strong focus on localized content, local contests, challenges, and hashtags. You can use local trends to get ideas for your ads and capture the local audience.
Cons
Your audience may not be on TikTok
As a business, you need to look at where your audience is. If they are not on TikTok, it would be futile to run an ad on the platform. Unless you want to build a good online following and make your brand known globally, you could use TikTok effectively.
The idea with TikTok is about the discovery
People who watch TikTok every day are mostly driven by curiosity and the desire to discover new things. For a successful advertisement on TikTok, it is not enough to have good content. You also need a novel product. For example, if your business is construction, you cannot just advertise nails and types of cement on TikTok. You would rather go for traditional advertising because it is what is more suitable for your products. But if you’re a new age-defying soap, you could use TikTok better because Generation Z would be more interested in knowing more about it.
It can be expensive
The cost of advertising on TikTok can add up quickly. For a small business, you could spend a few thousand dollars for experimentation but without guaranteed results. If you advertise for the first time, you can have many views but you can’t be sure how much you are going to earn. Moreover, you need to have really good videos to be noticed. If you’re not a skilled video editor, you may need to hire someone who knows how to do it.
There’s a risk of ruining your reputation
TikTok users spend at least 45.8 minutes on the app per day. That’s a lot of time for business to get their message in front of potential customers. But that is also a lot of time to make mistakes. All it takes to ruin your reputation online is one negative comment. People can comment on anything on your post or at least make fun of it. You need to be ready with a contingency plan to combat this possibility.
Does it Have Any Cost?
Creating an account on TikTok is free if you have Facebook or Instagram, you can use your account to sign up for TikTok. However, to run an ad, the cost starts at $0.50 per mile, helping you to reach about 1000 views and $0.02 cost per click. TikTok requires a minimum of $500 paid ads campaign. The minimum ad spend applies to any type of campaign – but it is important to understand that there are different ways to set up a budget. When you run an ad, TikTok will ask you whether you want a total budget, daily budget, or lifetime budget. You need to select the right option depending on your advertising or marketing goals.
Recommendations for Small Business
It’s easy to get caught up in wanting to jump on new changes in digital marketing. However, not all you see online could be a fit for your brand. TikTok marketing is a great tool for small businesses looking to increase brand awareness and generate more sales. You can try TikTok for sure but at the same time keep the following things in mind:
- Strategize for your business and your brand. Plan everything before jumping to the trend. Assess your brand, and whether TikTok will make your business better or will it only cause losses for your business.
- Invest in a little help and improve your skills. It takes some talent to create captivating videos on TikTok and create attractive content for TikTok. If you can’t do it yourself, don’t hesitate to hire somebody who knows it better.
- Always make sure that your campaigns are trackable. Keeping your data pooled will help you identify patterns in digital marketing and pinpoint times when your advertisement gains the greatest number of viewers. You can make use of this data to make better decisions and improve your marketing tactics.
