Should Your Business Be on TikTok? Here’s How to Know

I have long tossed and turned over whether or not small businesses (like my own!) should be on TikTok. A few weeks ago, I set out on the journey of trying to find a definitive answer. I was sick of a lot of “it depends” answers, so I’m going to try to be as exact in my answer as possible for your benefit.

To get to the answer, we need to follow the bouncing ball a little bit:

1. What is TikTok?

By now, if you use a social media profile of any kind, you’ve heard of TikTok. It’s a social media platform that is built entirely around 15 - 60 second long video clips. There is a special emphasis on virality, and mixing and re-editing the videos of others to create trends and widespread memes.

Side: For a little while, there were concerns around the safety + security of user data with a Chinese-owned company (due to the Chinese Government’s ability to access this data), but I won’t get much more into that here. Do your own research if the safety of using TikTok still concerns you. For the sake of this article, we’re going to assume it is generally safe for most people.

Internet gurus like Gary Vee have long been peddling TikTok as the next big thing.

2. Who uses TikTok?

This is a really important question to answer in the lead-up to deciding if your small business should be using it.

32% of users in the USA are between ages 10-19. 29% are between 20-29. The trend is downward in age from there.

Source for above statistics.

This means that the demographic on TikTok is primarily young folks. If your business does not cater exclusively or primarily towards people under the age of 30, I can already tell you it isn’t worth your time (most likely).

If your demographic is within that age bracket and you’re still considering it, read on.

3. What kind of content is shared on TikTok?

As I said earlier, it’s entirely video content. What kind of video content?

TikTok is almost entirely entertainment focused, with only a small minority of TikTok creators focusing on educational or brand awareness content.

This is where we get a lot of the viral dance videos, pointing to captions that appear on screen, hilarious short skits, and other types of content that makes us chuckle, makes us feel wowed, or makes us think, “Me too!”.

Maybe I’m wrong, but anyone I’ve spoken to about TikTok only talks about the fun(ny) people they follow; not brands that are utilizing the platform. Because of this, I’m going to argue TikTok is not going to be an attractive platform for a lot of small businesses. But that’s not necessarily to say it couldn’t be.

4. Can I share Instagram/Facebook/LinkedIn content on TikTok?

Again - I’m in no way saying you can’t or shouldn’t be on TikTok if you have a small business. There’s no denying that there are small business owners on TikTok. But it’s important to understand that:

The content you share on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn is not usually going to be directly applicable to TikTok.

This is to say that:

TikTok is going to require its own strategy for content.

This is where we start to really get into the return-on-investment analysis of whether the time you spend on TikTok is going to benefit your business in the short or long term.

If your business does not already invest in video as a serious marketing tool, you’re going to have to determine an entire video strategy—with its own branch for TikTok specifically—before you can really consider taking TikTok seriously.

5. What kind of content should small businesses share on TikTok?

There is no definitive answer here. What works for you may not work for others, and vice versa. But based on the demographic and type of content that makes up TikTok, it’s safe to say that:

TikTok content should first be funny, interesting, or relatable; and only contain self-promotion thereafter.

If you’re jumping straight into hard-selling people on your products, you’re going to have very few followers and very little success for all the effort you’re putting in. Why? Because this is not how TikTok is structured. If you disagree with me, please follow up in 4 weeks and let me know if I was right or wrong! I would genuinely love to know.

What does all of this mean for small business owners?

It means a couple key things:

1. Expanding to TikTok is going to require more effort and time

Are you willing to become invested in the TikTok community, observe and participate in trends, and spend more of your time/effort/mental space on another social media platform with its own unique needs? Then go for it!

2. Organic reach is great on TikTok

The biggest upside to using TikTok is that it appears—for now—the organic reach of TikTok is really great. This means that the videos you do share actually get seen by both people that follow you and those that don’t. I couldn’t find any credible sources to quote here, but it’s long been a well-known fact that the organic engagement for Instagram + Facebook content is usually like… 5% - 15% of your audience. There aren’t exact studies I can link for TikTok, but general trends show a much higher engagement.

It’s also important to note though, these things change. As users flock to TikTok, I predict an inevitable change in its algorithm that will eventually begin limiting brands (similar to Facebook and Instagram) and their reach. TikTok is the new, shiny toy right now, but it will eventually become a tool no more special on its own than LinkedIn or Youtube.

3. Indirect marketing is the only real way to use TikTok

If you’re a small business owner that isn’t really into social media for the long haul, ready to build relationships with your clients long before they spend any money on you, TikTok probably isn’t going to be your forte. You can’t sell to people on TikTok like you might on Instagram or Facebook (though I could also argue that hard-selling on those platforms isn’t super great either; though it can be).

4. If you’re looking for real customers, not internet fame, TikTok probably isn’t right for you

If you’re a business that is heavily dependent on geography (as in, a brick-and-mortar store, or a realtor, or a construction company) and not an online retailer (think clothing places, small gift makers, etc.), TikTok might not be worth your time. As I’ve said a few times, TikTok is primarily a place for entertainment. Can brands be entertaining? Of course! But it involves having your finger on the pulse of pop culture, and being spry enough to engage in it. If that appeals to you, excellent. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t.

If nothing else, I just don’t believe there’s enough credible research done on the acquisition of new customers for most small businesses on TikTok. Again, internet retailers or businesses with a young customer demographic: absolutely. Most businesses: probably not. I have found that there’s no proof that TikTok will boost your customers in a profitable way for the amount of time you have to spend on it.

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My personal take on TikTok:

Note that this is my current and personal opinion; not my professional or long term advice. Things change. By the time you’re reading this, I might’ve adopted a new philosophy on TikTok. Don’t panic. Don’t take me as your only source of advice.

For me, as a videographer and marketer who helps small businesses, the idea of creating a TikTok presence really turns me off.

I use social media to share the cool stuff I do outside of social media. TikTok, on the other hand, is entirely about doing “cool” stuff within the app itself.

It’s less about self-promotion, and more about participation.

I have no problem with that. I firmly believe, even on platforms like Instagram and Facebook, participation is a far-more effective growth tactic than self-promotion.

But I can’t stand the idea of having to develop silly, unimportant skits, memes, or trends just to stay relevant. If that’s what it takes to be a small business these days, I don’t want it.

Memes and virality are not why I started my small business.

And I know that forcing yourself into doing the things you hate to do are exactly what leads you to burnout.

I’m a video / photo / marketing guy because that’s my passion. Entertaining people through my own micro-television program is not my strength (nor that of many people currently on TikTok, I’ll argue), and it’s not a sustainable tactic for me long term.

I have no doubt that many people have and will continue to see a great benefit to their small business because of TikTok.

And all evidence notwithstanding, I am not anti-TikTok as a whole. I have the app and I scroll it once a week. But I am anti-TikTok for the types of clients I have, and the types of small business owners that follow me online.

I think a big part of the reason TikTok is such a hot topic right now really comes down to 3 major reasons:

• In this coronavirus-laden world, a lot of us are home often, bored, and need something new to entertain us

• Facebook and Instagram can sometimes feel like necessary evils; not places of joy and interest

• TikTok is fascinating and different from what we currently know. It feels fresh.

But things that are fresh now become stale later. And I don’t know that I believe TikTok has the sustainability longterm to benefit small businesses in their current state.

I often think of the phrase “Adapt or Die” and as much as I am cognizant of it in a marketing world, I think there’s a danger in rushing into the newest trend; investing a ton of time and energy without knowing if it’ll stick around or have been worth the effort.

I have long been a proponent of doing fewer social media platforms well, over doing many poorly. This remains true for TikTok. If you can’t be bothered with the time to give TikTok its own, honest effort, you shouldn’t start. Half-hearted attempts aren’t going to work.

Of course: if you have a unique idea for how your small business could exist on TikTok, you could be at the forefront of finding a new way to use it.

But my guess is that you aren’t reading this blog, deciding if it’s worthwhile if you’re already dreaming up creative ways to try TikTok out. And that, perhaps, in my very biased and opinionated view, is why it isn’t going to be sustainable for you longterm either.