How to use Tiktok for your business

With billions of downloads, there’s no question TikTok is a popular app. This also means it’s a valuable platform for content creators and brands that are looking to increase engagement, grow their audience and reach millions of people.

Here are 5 tips to help optimize TikTok for your business:

Sign up for a pro account. This gives you insights on weekly and monthly views. As well as more analytics to track and understand the performance of your videos.
Optimize your username and bio by using the same name and profile for your other channels. This builds familiarity and trust across your social channels.
Explore #ForYou and the Discovery tab hashtags to get an overall feel, and see what other businesses, like your competitors, are doing on Tik Tok.
Show the other side of your brand. Tik Tok content is raw and playful, meaning it’s a great tool to be authentic and connect with your audience on a deeper level.
Use hashtags on your posts to target the right audience and get more users on your page.

Does TikTok make sense for your business? If you've been on the fence about this, and I'd say, dive in. Hi, I'm Haley Dasovich. I'm a YouTube and social media coach based in San Francisco. And today, we're going to talk about how you can use TikTok for your business or personal brand. You don't need to be a video expert or a dancer to make TikTok videos. There are many ways you can optimize TikTok for your business.

When creating your account, make sure to choose TikTok pro. A pro account gives you insights on weekly and monthly views with more analytics that help you track and understand the performance of your videos. Ideally, you want to make your username the same name that you have for your other channels, so you stay consistent with your already established brand. When choosing your profile photo, make sure it's a clear photo of maybe your brand logo or a smiling shot of you.

It's worth mentioning that it's a good idea to use the same profile photo across all of your social media accounts. As it is on any social media platform, your bio is your chance to introduce yourself or your brand. So describe yourself. It can be a simple description using keywords that have to do with your brand while also communicating your brand's value and purpose. You can have up to 80 characters in your TikTok bios. So to save room, you can maybe add an emoji.

Emojis can showcase your brand's products or services. For example, if you work for an e-commerce brand that sells clothing, you could add a t-shirt emoji. Make sure to add a line with information on how to get in contact with you. Your last line could be a link to your website and a call to action to encourage your visitors to check it out. Once your account is set up, it is time to make your first video.

If you're not sure about what kind of video you should make, get an overall feel for the platform by scrolling through the hashtag for you page. It can also be helpful to explore the discovery tab and follow hashtags to see what other businesses, including your competitors are doing. Hashtag challenges are huge on TikTok. When there's a new challenge on the discovery tab, millions of users will join in to participate.

And when you participate in these video trends, it increases your chances of that video going viral. Always use hashtags in the description of your post, so that you can target the right audience and get more users on your page. As with any other social media content strategy, it is best to make a content calendar. Start with brainstorming ideas so you can plan out the scope of your content for the following week or the following month.

When you start creating content, stick to a posting cadence that is doable for you. TikTok is a platform to show off your personality. Most TikTok content is made from smartphones and not overly produced or really professional looking. That's kind of the lure about TikTok, is is that it's informal, casual, and raw. So don't be afraid of going off brand. It's a community of users and brands that experiment with challenges, act silly and playful, and show another side of themselves.

You don't need to struggle too much to think of content ideas for TikTok. TikTok is a sound on platform. So if there is a popular song going viral or a trending sound bite, you can take that audio to use for your own video. You basically can just find existing content and put your own spin on it. By the way, Shopify just announced their commerce partnership with TikTok. This channel allows merchants like you to create and connect their TikTok for business account, and deploy in feed shockable video ads within Shopify.

Getting on TikTok is a great way to show another side of your brand build a niche community and reach a younger generation of buyers. With the right strategy, TikTok will help you grow your business.