TikTok as a Marketing Tool for Entrepreneurs

TikTok was launched by ByteDance in 2016, and by 2020, it became the world’s most downloaded app. In the second quarter of 2024, the app ranked as the third most downloaded app on Google Play and Apple Store. It is also the most engaging platform in the world, followed closely by Instagram, and is responsible for a high percentage (55%) of impulse buying decisions among users. The platform currently boasts of a shop feature that allows users to buy items on its feeds or stories easily. While this feature is yet to be available in the African market, the use of the app poses immense potential for African entrepreneurs. In markets where it is active, such as the United Kingdom and the United States of America (USA), among others, over 70% of users have made purchases using the TikTok shop.

In Africa, TikTok is the second most used social media platform, at a 60% active user rate, competing closely with Facebook which has an 80% active user rate. Young Africans, particularly millennials and Gen-Z use TikTok for entertainment, learning new skills and acquiring knowledge about general or niche areas. The app’s creative and bite-sized content, entertaining live videos and games make it attractive to young people. The platform’s virality, engagement and affinity among the younger demographic make it an excellent channel for advertising your products and creating brand awareness. 

Building a Community and Creating Content that Works 

Like every other social media channel, you need to create content to stay visible, engage your audience and sell your products or services. However, it is important to note that forms of content that do well on other platforms may not do so on TikTok if it is not suited to the platform’s video requirements and audience’s style. To ensure that you create content that your target audience will engage with and promote your products or services effectively, here’s what you need to do:

1.Understand your Audience: It is almost impossible to engage with those you do not know, therefore understudying your target audience and understanding their likes, dislikes, attitudes and buying patterns is of utmost importance. A practical approach to this is finding top accounts in your industry and location, identifying factors that make their content engaging and converting learned information into leads for business growth. Find out everything including length and type of videos, song choices, trends and challenges they partake in, and interaction patterns with followers (either via comments, tags or live videos). Doing this provides a strong insight into the behaviours of audiences in your industry or niche and guides you to create content that will attract them to your brand. 

2. Create Engaging Content: Now that you know your audience and their likes, it’s time to create content that resonates with them. This could include showcasing your products or services, sharing behind-the-scenes insights, demonstrating how-tos or tutorials related to your business, or telling compelling stories. For example, Snag Inspector, a Nigerian entrepreneur in property development, grew his account from 0 to over 20k by identifying architectural defects of houses built by other developers in Nigeria and providing this information for free to followers looking to rent homes or build theirs.   Creating these informative and engaging videos positioned him as an expert property developer who can build quality properties for clients. As such, his followers grew in no time as well as the patronage of his services. Similarly, Danyallx, a South African, has amassed 824,900 followers by offering hair-care tips for men and now leverages this large network to sell hair-care products on Amazon.

To maximise engagement on TikTok, focus on creating videos that are between 3 to 10 minutes in length. According to data analysed from millions of TikTok videos, this duration tends to attract higher total views. However, for retaining viewer attention throughout the entire video, shorter clips of 10 seconds or less perform best in terms of full video watch rate. This means that your video length will depend on the objectives of your content. A video showcasing your new products could be 10 seconds or less, while an educational video about using your products or industry facts could be 3 minutes or more. Regardless of length, the key to grabbing and holding viewer attention lies in starting your video with a strong, persuasive hook within the first three seconds. This initial hook is critical for capturing interest and encouraging viewers to watch your TikTok video in its entirety.

3. Leverage TikTok's Interactive Features: TikTok has both inbuilt and dynamic interactive features that your business can take advantage of. You can use the live video feature to connect more with your customers, answer their questions and address their challenges in real-time. Make use of the platform’s geo-tagging function to show your content to users in your tagged location and hashtags to reach people passionate about your industry or niche. Equally, you can leverage the platform’s popular challenges and trending sounds to increase your visibility and engagement. While challenges have the potential of virality, it is important to note that it is a double-edged sword. Participating in ones that do not align with your brand values or industry standards may cause backlash from your audience, therefore, it is best practice to only participate in interactive activities that match your brand identity and values. 

Measuring Success on TikTok

After creating content and engaging with your audience,it is best to know how this has translated into tangible results. The first step is to always define what success means to your brand. If you are a social entrepreneur who provides educational content to underserved people, your success metrics may be the number of individuals who have watched your videos, saved and shared them. Contrarily, success for a ready-to-wear fashion designer may be the number of individuals who have ordered a certain number of outfits via the app. Nevertheless, these key metrics will give you a general overview of the effectiveness of your content and its impact on your audience:

1. Views: The total number of times your video has been viewed. Views indicate initial interest in your content.

2. Likes: The number of likes your video receives. Likes signify positive engagement and interest from viewers.

3. Comment: Comments show direct engagement and interaction with your content. They can provide insights into viewer sentiments and feedback.

4. Shares: The number of times your video has been shared by users. Shares indicate that viewers found your content valuable enough to share with their followers.

5. Followers:  Increasing followers indicates growing interest in your brand and content.

6. Engagement Rate: Calculate the engagement rate by dividing the total number of likes, comments, and shares by the total number of views, and then multiplying by 100 to get a percentage. A higher engagement rate indicates that your content is resonating well with your audience.

7. Video Completion Rate: Analyse how many viewers watch your entire video. A higher completion rate suggests that your content is compelling and retains viewer interest.

8. Click-through Rate (CTR): For videos that include links or prompts to external content (e.g., your website), track how many viewers click through. A higher CTR indicates effective call-to-actions and viewer interest in learning more about your brand. 

9. Trending and Virality: Track how often your video appears in search results, TikTok’s Discover page or hashtag feeds to gauge discoverability and reach.

10. Audience Demographics: Use TikTok's analytics to understand the age, gender, and location of your audience. This helps tailor content to better meet their preferences.

Using TikTok as a marketing tool for your business requires no small effort. Achieving your brand affinity, sales and popularity is reliant on the consistency of your posting and engagement, using storytelling to build trust and authenticity with your audience, and staying updated with trends. Did you find this article insightful? Join our exciting community to receive all our educational content.