How to Use TikTok for Business in 2020

Alright, confession time: during this season of social distancing and staying inside, I’ve joined TikTok.

If you aren’t familiar with the app, TikTok allows its users to share short videos up to 60 seconds that can be paired with songs, special effects and text overlays. Remember Vine back in the day? It’s similar to that, only better.

And it’s completely blowing up, with 800 million active users to date.

I got curious and joined TikTok as a way to stretch my creativity, take a much-needed break from Instagram and to learn something new. And so far? I’ve learned that TikTok is an awesome space for creative businesses – it’s just a matter of knowing how to use TikTok for business the right way.

Ready to learn more about how to use TikTok for business? I’m breaking down helpful video prompt ideas for brand and web designers, photographers and small shops and makers to help you get started!

How to Use TikTok as a Brand & Web Designer

If you’re like me, you may want to use your TikTok account to help share about your design business and educate users in the process. Here are a few thought-starters on how to use TikTok as a brand and web designer:

• Design tutorials: share quick design tutorials and how-tos, like how to create GIFs in Photoshop, how to pull together color palettes, how to create clipping masks and more – the possibilities are endless!

• Client management tips: film quick vlogs of yourself speaking to the camera sharing personal experiences of working with clients and tips for managing relationships, like how to hold a successful pitch call, what your client onboarding process looks like or a lesson in how you successfully handled a tough client situation. TikTok users love content that is educational and helpful, so always keep how you can benefit your audience in mind.

• Behind-the-scenes business tips: I’m all for sharing sneak peeks of my process, and truly believe that there are no secrets. TikTok is the perfect platforms for sharing snippets of the inner-workings of your design business, like how you put together brand guidelines, your process of designing a logo, the tools you use to run your business and more. I recently shared a quick look at the elements I include in client brand guidelines in this video.

How to Use TikTok as a Photographer

• Day-in-the-life videos: a great way to use TikTok as a photographer is to share intimate day-in-the-life videos that share about your routine as a business owner. This could look like filming on-site at a shoot, sharing peeks at your office or letting users get a birds eye view of you in full-on editing mode.

• Shooting tips and tricks: again, remember that TikTok is a platform where users comes to be entertained, engaged and educated. Share tips and tricks for shooting (especially for beginners!), like how to start shooting on manual, your favorite editing programs, how to adjust apertures and more.

• Prop and photo styling tutorials: some of my favorite TikTok videos from photographers showing how creative photoshoot backdrops can be set up and styled in your home on the cheap with everyday items! Get creative and share your favorite tips for shooting on a budget, how to style props and have optical illusions can be used to make photoshoots even more appealing. I recently shared this video on how I style flatlays for content shoots.

How to Use TikTok as a Maker or Small Shop

• ‘How I started’ vlogs: some of the most popular TikTok videos within the maker and small shop community are vlogs that share how business owners got started with selling their products and how they marketed themselves to success. Don’t be afraid to hop on camera and share your own story – this helps encourage other aspiring small business owners to go for it, too!

• Order packaging videos: I’ve favorited a ton of videos from small makers who share the careful, loving process of packaging up their orders for customers. In case you’re new to shipping products to customers, these videos shed valuable insight on why creating thoughtful packaging for orders matters – and they’re all pretty darn cute, too.

• Behind-the-scenes product creation: we love a good behind-the-scenes video, especially when it comes to product creation. Some of my favorite videos include a ceramic earring maker sharing how she molds and cuts clay to design her earrings; how a pom-pom jewelry maker selects and twists her yarn to create her colorful jewelry; how a watercolor artist carefully sketches and fills in her artwork with gorgeous paints. Sharing your creative process with potential clients and customers will inspire them to purchase after they see how passionate you are about creating your products.

Tips for Posting to TikTok and Increasing Your Engagement on TikTok

1. Pair a trending song with your video: TikTok videos are meant to be paired with songs, so become acquainted with how to pair songs with your content and pay close attention to the use count of each song. The higher the count = more popular = more potential views!

2. Stay on top of TikTok trends: sure, TikTok is full of some wild dance videos but there are other trends within the platform, too. Research what type of content is trending on TikTok by opening the app and heading over to the Discover tab. A ‘level up challenge’ recently trended on the app, so I took advantage of this by posting this video tutorial showing how business owners can ‘level up’ their content on Pinterest. Think creatively, and you can make more trends work for you – with no dancing required!

3. Include text captions in posts: TikTok is designed to be enjoyed with the volume on, but be mindful to include text captions in videos when you can for accessibility and for users who may choose to view content with the volume on low or off. This will help retain viewership and better communicate what you’re trying to convey in each video.

When it comes to learning how to use TikTok for business, remember these three key Es: users want to be entertained, educated and engaged. Let me now if you have any questions about TikTok, follow me @lindscholz and I can’t wait to see the videos that you create!