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TikTok marketing for small businesses

On TikTok you don't need followers. You need one useful video.

TikTok is built to put your video in front of people who have never heard of you. It also takes more effort than a photo. Here is how to tell whether it's worth yours.

Time:
1 to 2 hours a week
Cost:
Free
2.4k86@yourshopIcing a wedding cake in Dayton2,400 viewswith only 31 followers“Do you ship?”

Is it worth your time?

Worth it if

  • Your work is satisfying to watch: cooking, cleaning, cutting, building, transforming.
  • You or someone on staff is comfortable talking to a phone camera.
  • You want to reach customers under 40.

Skip it for now if

  • Nobody on the team wants to film regularly. Forced videos look forced.
  • Your Google listing and reviews aren't sorted yet. Do those first; they bring in customers sooner.
  • Your customers are mostly older, or are other businesses.

Step one

Set it up once

Do these in order, in one sitting if you can. After that, the only work is the weekly rhythm further down.

  1. Step 1: Open a business account

    It is free and shows you how your videos are doing. One trade-off to know about: business accounts are limited to sounds cleared for commercial use, so not every popular song is available.

  2. Step 2: Say what and where in your profile

    “Custom cakes in Dayton. Order link below.” Many viewers won't be local, so make it obvious to the ones who are.

  3. Step 3: Put your town in every video

    Name your town or neighborhood in the caption and say it out loud. It helps the video reach people nearby and turn up when they search.

  4. Step 4: Find your filming spot

    A window for light, somewhere to lean the phone and a tidy background. Hold the phone upright, not sideways.

What to film

You are not making ads. You are letting people watch you work.

  1. 01

    The process

    The work itself, start to finish: packing an order, a deep clean, a fade. Speed it up if it runs long.

  2. 02

    The answer

    Take a question customers ask and answer it in thirty seconds, looking at the camera. Open with the question.

    “How often should you really change your oil? Here's what we tell our own family.”

  3. 03

    The before and after

    Show the mess first, then the result. Hold each one long enough to take in.

  4. 04

    A day in the shop

    Unlocking the door, the morning rush, closing up. People like seeing how a small business really runs.

Get an idea to film →

A rhythm you can keep

1 to 2 hours a week
Once a week
Twenty minutes filming three or four clips while you work
Two or three days
A video goes out
Every day
Ten minutes answering comments
When a good question comes in
Answer it with a new video

Mistakes to skip

  • Opening with your logo or a greeting. Start with the most interesting moment.
  • Polishing. A steady phone and good light are enough.
  • Judging it after three videos. Give it a month of steady posting before you decide.
  • Copying trends that have nothing to do with your business.

Do this today

Film fifteen seconds of the most satisfying part of your job. Don't post it yet. Watch it back and ask yourself whether you would keep watching.

Businesses that get the most from TikTok

Each page ranks every channel for that kind of business and gives you the first jobs to do.

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