TikTok is a unique social media network known for inspiring creativity (and memes) to a global community of over one billion users, including more than 8.5 million Australians. TikTok serves as a platform for forging connections, offering entertainment, fostering business growth, and enabling creative exploration with people from around the globe. TikTok’s appeal also extends beyond everyday users, having also become the preferred platform for over 350,000 businesses seeking to discover their audience and leverage it for real-world success.
If you haven’t made an account by now, it’s likely a few people in your life have had their eyes glued to the app at some point in the past few years. With those eyeballs comes opportunity. According to TikTok’s surveys, 81% of users list “discovering new products and brands” as a reason to log in to the platform. And one in two Gen Z TikTok users say they’re likely to buy something while using TikTok.
Growing from what was once considered a fringe video, TikTok has managed to build a strong platform to facilitate e-commerce, and an effective advertising model that provides businesses with an easy path to sell their products and services on the platform. These days, businesses need a solid social media strategy to cut through the noise and stand out in a crowded marketplace, especially when reaching Gen Z. TikTok provides some easy tools to allow you to not only make creative ads on a budget, but also use trending topics and sounds to boost the visibility of your business and stay relevant.
If you’re still holding off on promoting your business on TikTok, you could be missing out on a well of untapped potential sales. If you are completely new to TikTok, or even an avid user who hasn’t looked into the business side of the app, we’ve put together this guide on everything you need to know.
What is TikTok?
TikTok is a video-sharing social media platform that allows users to create, discover and share visually powerful content with millions of people across the globe. TikTok specialises in short-form, 60-second video content, and is renowned for its simple and highly personalised content delivery feed. The TikTok audience is hyper-engaged, while maintaining a diverse mix across its +1 billion userbase, and 8.5 million people in Australia.
What is TikTok for Business?
TikTok for Business is a centralised platform for advertisers on TikTok. It aims to create a straightforward portal to guide businesses through the whole process of creating ads, finding the right audience, setting budgets, and analysing campaign data. If your goal is to reach new or dormant customers, grow sales, or just showcase what your business is all about, TikTok can make it happen.
Creating a TikTok Business Account is completely free, and the custom tools and features that are provided with a TikTok for Business account are custom made for small and growing businesses. In the brave new world of TikTok advertising, small businesses and sole operators aren’t overshadowed by larger corporations with massive marketing budgets. As long as your advertising is creative, resonant, and well-targeted, you could see your own business become the bigger fish in the pond.
TikTok for Business key features
Creative ad formats and automation tools – Get creative and distinguish your business from others, while saving time by having the hard work done for you.
Targeting tools – Enhance your reach or hone in on particular customer profiles or demographics. Even create your own customer segments to personalise your ads as much as possible.
Royalty-free music – Capture your audience’s attention with trending tunes and create a viral buzz around your brand.
Video scheduler – Strategise, manage and time your posts for highest impact.
Ad performance tracking and custom report creation – Keep your finger on the pulse and stay agile.
What advertising options are available on TikTok?
A TikTok Business account provides you with access to a wide range of ad solutions through your Ads Manager. There are a number of popular ad formats available on the platform, some of these include:
In-Feed Ads – These appear the same as any other video on the audience’s feed. There is also an included button with a call to action that can lead to an external landing page.
TopView Ads – TopView ads first appear as full page ad, and then transition to a standard TikTok video, this guarantees the advertiser at least a few seconds of attention from the audience.
Spark Ads – These are similar to in-feed ads, but allows advertisers to turn existing videos into ads, and drives traffic to the brand’s TikTok profile.
Brand Takeover Ads – A brand takeover is the most ambitious and expensive of the available ad formats. These display a full page ad for five seconds as soon as users open the app.
How much do ads cost on TikTok?
Advertising on TikTok is priced dynamically, with vastly different prices depending on the format of your advertisement, the time of day you want your ad to run, and how many people you want to see it. Typically speaking however, TikTok ads cost around AU$10-$50 per thousand views.
How do TikTok ads perform?
TikTok ads perform incredibly well for the investment. TikTok provides your business with legitimate cut through to a highly engaged market – 70% of TikTok users say they have found new products and brands on the platform (and that’s users as a whole, not those intentionally looking to shop). Some e-commerce business users rely on TikTok alone for their advertising, not feeling the need to go elsewhere.
Getting started with TikTok for Business
It’s easy to get started, simply create an account on the TikTok for Business website using an email address or phone number, determine your business goals, audience and budget, and then get creating! Your account will be verified within 24 hours, and you’ll then have access to dedicated support and tutorials to help you along the way.
TikTok For Business provides a robust set of tools to help businesses promote their products and services on the TikTok platform. With creative ideas and usage of the platform’s analytics tools, any business can make a real impression on TikTok.
