4 Ways to Make Your Business Go Viral Using TikTok

These days, it can be very hard to find unique and creative ways to keep your audience engaged.

Flyers, coupons, emails…these forms of marketing have been done to death and can leave people feeling cold, bored, and detached.

Don’t worry.

Today, you will learn 4 insanely actionable ways to make your business go viral by using TikTok and their new ‘TikTok for Business’ platform.

The best part?

These are all quick, easy, and creative ways to engage and convert your audience into keen customers.

Before we dive in, here is a quick rundown of what TikTok is and why you, as a business owner or marketer, should care.

What is TikTok and How Does it Affect My Business?

You probably know TikTok as that app all the kids are using these days to share memes, music and videos. 

While you are correct (to a certain degree), TikTok also has the power to transform your business. Why? Here are some reasons:

• TikTok has over 500 million active users and over 50% of them are over the age of 34 – this platform isn’t just for kids!
• TikTok’s average engagement rate is 29% – almost 10% higher than traditional email marketing engagement.
• Video marketing is all the rage – 86% of people want to see more videos from brands in 2020.
• Only 4% of marketers are leveraging TikTok to advertise – TikTok is a way to have an edge over your competitors.

It should be clear now that TikTok is not just a viral video-sharing app for kids. In fact, it might just be the thing that takes your business to the next level. Now let’s dive into the 4 tips to find out how.

Tip #1: Launch a Hashtag Challenge to Drum-Up Excitement

By launching a hashtag challenge, you are encouraging users to perform a certain task or challenge and tag the video with your specific hashtag. 

Hashtag challenges can generate lots of views – Samsung’s #GalaxyA campaign garnered over 30 million views in a matter of days. 

However, not all challenges go viral. For your hashtag challenge to flourish, you must first do your research! Take a look at previous successful hashtag challenges and understand why they have taken-off.

Then think of a challenge that both allows for users to show creativity and is tied to your business’ vision. Be sure to keep the focus of the challenge on your brand so that the challenge is always attached to your business!

Finally, keep your hashtag short and sharp. 

#NoOneLikesReadingReallyLongHashtags. 

Tip #2: Link-Up with TikTok Influencers to Maximise Exposure

TikTok also lets you to collaborate with famous influencers and partnering up with the right influencers can open untapped audience channels for you.

One example is Ralph Lauren’s TikTok partnership with influencer Diana Silver, which has now generated over 8 million views.  What made this even more effective was Ralph Lauren’s use of the hashtag #USOpen, which gave the company exposure to both Diana Silver fans and US Open tennis fans.

In other words, pairing an influencer partnership with a hashtag could lead to tremendous awareness and ROI for your business.

Before you pick your influencers, be sure to understand who you are partnering up with. Do the influencer’s videos align with your business’ views and values?

Remember – just because a certain influencer has double the followers compared to another, it doesn’t mean your ROI will be doubled by choosing the more followed one. It’s all about choosing the right influencer for your business.

Tip #3: Invest in TikTok Paid Ads to Stay Ahead of the Curve

For a competitive edge over others, you might want to consider investing in TikTok’s paid advertising tools on their ‘TikTok for Business platform’.

There are four marketing tools at your disposal on TikTok for Business. The two that I find most effective are Brand Takeovers and In-Feed Native ads.

Brand Takeovers are short video ads that appear on a user’s TikTok feed before they view any other content – guaranteed impressions. You can link to any landing page and also easily target community segments to reach your desired audience.

In-Feed Native ads are <15 second video ads that appear on the users’ TikTok feed. These ads are a fantastic way to tell your story in a creative way. Unlike Brand Takeovers, In-Feed Native ads can be swiped away so be sure to make every second worthwhile and engaging.

These are just two of many different advertising tools at your disposal on TikTok. Consider which tools align best with your vision, budget and audience needs.

Tip #4: Be Authentic & Let Your Business’ Personality Shine

Finally, stick to your business’ (proverbial) guns and be yourself! This is the tip that should guide all that you do on the platform.

The videos that are embraced by the TikTok community are not the ones that look inch perfect or professionally shot. Rather, the ones that make it are original, genuine, and funny.

“With TikTok, advertisers have the opportunity to flip traditional marketing on its head, and place their brand at the forefront of innovative storytelling” -Katie Puris (Managing Director, TikTok)

Let LinkedIn be the platform where you show the professional side of your brand and allow TikTok to be the place where you show the humorous and human side of your business!

Don’t fret if you don’t have the expensive camera equipment or huge marketing budget. What’s more important is staying true to your business’ vision and delivering your message across in a fun and unique way.

After a few posts and interactions, you’ll soon get a feel of what is working and what is not. Let both your knowledge of what your business is about, and user engagement dictate what you post going forward.

At the End of the Day…

You know how awesome your business is.

However, your amazing products and services are likely invisible to many people right now. That’s why the tips from this post – like hashtag challenges and influencer partnerships – are so powerful.

I hope today’s post showed you how you can harness the power of TikTok to boost your business.