I’d imagine by now you’ve heard about the app called TikTok. I’d also imagine that you’ve heard it’s an app that’s only for children and pervos.

I wanna dissect that last thought first before we dig into some benefits you could get from having (and using) TikTok for your biz. I am part of the generation that got to experience Facebook first when it first started. I was in my second year of college and I remember hearing about this website called Facebook.

In order to have a Facebook account, you had to have a college email account. Period. Then it evolved to be open to the public. Then adults and grandmas got in on it, kids started getting accounts and before you know it, businesses got in on the action.

Instagram is notoriously known for food pics when it first came out. There were so memes and jokes about ‘why would you take a pic of your food and share it?’ Jokes on them yo – it’s a great platform for business and influencers.

My point is – many of the large apps used for businesses started with the youth and started with the idea of ‘why are you on there you big weirdo?’

So let me introduce you to TikTok, my experience(s) and how it can benefit your business. Honestly, you might might be surprised at the amount of adults and small businesses that are starting to find their way to the land of TikTok. I swear every day I login to my account there’s a new celebrity and business getting in on the platform. Later has an account and just posted this little article on how to use TikTok for your insta stories.

I personally love it and I think there’s a lot of great potential to use the app (even if it’s a short game) to help build your brand. Here’s why:

1. Super easy video editing. Seriously, so easy. AND you can add music to it without having to search for royalty free music.

2. It’s a really fun way to step outside of the highlight real and showcase a unique behind the scenes to you and your business.

3. For where I’m from, a lot of our local hashtags that are big on instagram (like #hifromsd), has almost zero competition for hashtag views. A lot of those big local hashtags on other platforms have LOADS of real estate you can take up. Hop on it before other big local brands get in on the app.

4. If you’re a creative – this is a super fun creative outlet.

5. Uhm… MONTAGE. Like, seriously, who doesn’t want a sweet montage to their business/day-to-day life?

6. It takes little effort to share what you do. You have limited character space, the video does most of the content/talking for you, and TikTok prompts you on what hashtags are trending. Take a hot hashthag topic and use it to fit a topic within your business/brand.

7. Video content is hot. Super hot. If you’re not doing video yet, you should really, really, really, really think about starting to use it. It can be IGTV, live video, timelapse video, how-to, behind the scenes, your stories on insta/facebook… I encourage you to get into video content for your brand/business.

8. These videos are real easy to repurpose and they do REALLY good on Pinterest.

Since having a TikTok account I’ve noticed a direct relationship to my followers on Instagram. I have one video that has over 48,000 views, another that’s growing past 20k.

As far as a mental health/stigma goes – accounts are super laid back and so much fun. You don’t see as much of the highlight reel on the app.

I wanna add one more note for mental health on the app, being a business owner is hard. Trying to keep up with social media, marketing and advertising is hard. Especially when you’re still working IN your business. So, I by no means want this post to make you feel guilty for not being on the app or that you NEED to be on the app. But I do think that TikTok is an app that should be seriously looked into and considered.

While the demographic is still young, with the amount of people that are flocking to it, there’s a good chance your niche is gonna be on there sooner than later. And TBH, again, it’s so fun and so easy to use. It’s a great way to show a laid back and quirky side to your biz, behind the scenes, showcase your employees, and repurpose your videos to all your other social media accounts. Seriously it’s SO EASY TO REPURPOSE. Work smarter, not harder.

I hope you found this helpful! If you have the app, I’d love to hear what your thoughts are on it.

As always, happy branding, friend!

Carly